The Hall is CLOSED

The Empire Amusement Hall - the once and future home of the one and only FreakShow Deluxe carnival-style sideshow, has closed its doors.

Sorry about this folks, but due to situations beyond our control (we lost our lease), the Empire Amusement Hall has been closed and the shows produced by Gunn & Son Company have been suspended at this time.

This site exists to celebrate what the Empire Amusement Hall was AND to prepare you for the opening of a NEW venue in the near future.

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The History
Reverend Tommy Gunn, after years of traveling on the road with a variety of circuses, carnivals and shows, realized his dream of having a permanent home when he opened his own theater in Hollywood in October, 2005! On any given night while it was open, audience members could come by and see sizzling burlesque dancers, dangerous sideshow stunts, magnificent magicians, astounding escape artists and real human marvels - LIVE ON STAGE - All in one sitting!

After finding a on Santa Monica Boulevard in Hollywood’s Theatre Row, Reverend Tommy Gunn, founder of FreakShowDeluxe, and the Empire’s staff – which included fellow sideshow misfits Miss Malice Aforethought, Wereverend Vincent Wolf, the Devil's Plaything and Kitty Karloff uncovered an architectural gem underneath old plaster and decay! Refurbishment took some time – but the old building’s almost Victorian charm made it the perfect place to launch their theater!

Check out the Empire Amusement Hall here:

See pictures from the Giant Opening (with special guest performer George the Giant) here:

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The Theater and Shows
Gunn & Son Company set out to create something totally unique. No where else in Hollywood, or the world, is it possible to still see classic sideshow acts such as fire-eating, the Torture of India (bed of nails), glass eating, escapes of all kinds, amazing mind-reading techniques and a human blockhead all in one place! Audiences could also enjoy the bawdy entertainment of classic burlesque, comedy vaudeville acts, sultry singing sirens, amazing musical acts, and even a movie or two – ALL ON ONE STAGE!!

ALL LIVE – ALL REAL!

Check out pictures here:

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The Museum Displays
The lobby of the Empire Amusment Hall, featured a variety of obscure and mysterious items from several private collections assembled together to create an Exhibition of Oddities, making it possible for audiences to marvel at the exotic marvels from the far reaches of the Earth! No where else could one see a goat in a jar, mysterious pagan idols from the far east, shrunken human heads from South America, and the actual skulls of some unfortunate African explorers! Other artifacts included real Voodoo dolls from the bayous of Louisiana, a real blowgun from the Cannibal tribes of Indonesia, and even the tomahawk carried by the famed Shawnee warrior Tecumseh during the Battle of Thames (rumor is: it bleeds on the anniversary of the battle)! The crown jewel of the collection was Hermie, the taxidermy pachyderm ~ once on display in P.T. Barnum's own museum (and the only real elephant in Hollywood) ~ followed closely by another artifact: the Chair of Death - the very chair in which four mobsters were brutally murdered – and audience members were invited to sit in!!

Once audiences saw the sites and the shows, they could purchase their own strange and bizarre items in The Empire Amusement Hall's uncommon gift shop. Who wouldn't want to own a shrunken head, an original Day of the Dead sculpture, or a bottle of moxie? Real Human Blockhead nails, delicious confections and countless more surprises that awaited those who visited the shop.

Check out some more pictures here:

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The Future
Gunn & Son Company's Empire Amusement Hall was also the official home of The FreakShow Deluxe carnival-style sideshow.


Every third Saturday of the month, the Empire hosted Hollywood's classiest Diva for Veronique's Red Velvet Variety Show and gave a home to Reverend Wolf's Stageshow Oddities, which alternated with Reverend Tommy Gunn's Old Tyme Revival & Burlesque Review the last Saturday of every month!

The Empire Amusement Hall could (and will) be rented for private parties, events, productions, film screenings... and was a great film and photo shoot location!

The Empire Amusement Hall: the greatest place you never realized you always wanted to be!

Our very own Wereverend Wolftakes the stage!

The beautiful burlesque dancer Dolores De Muela