HauntBound archive · catalog record
Reported phenomena — as catalogued
A 1919 downtown Grand Forks theater where staff and a paranormal group report a resident spirit nicknamed Lester
415 DeMers Ave, Grand Forks, ND 58201
Research updated June 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
$$
Ticket prices vary by event. The box office can be reached at 701-746-5500; see the event calendar for individual show pricing.
Access
Wheelchair OK
Downtown theater with paved sidewalk access and a lobby on the main floor.
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1919 · Opened 1919 as the New Grand Theatre, a downtown movie palace · Survived the 1997 Grand Forks flood and downtown fire · Restored and reopened in 1998 as a nonprofit arts center · Downtown Grand Forks cultural anchor drawing 30,000+ visitors a year
The building at 415 DeMers Avenue opened on November 10, 1919, as the New Grand Theatre, a so-called movie palace that local coverage at the time praised down to the detail of its restrooms. It was one of several theaters in a downtown Grand Forks entertainment district, replacing an earlier Grand Theatre that had burned in early 1919.
The theater operated as a cinema for much of the twentieth century. The 1997 Red River flood and fire devastated downtown Grand Forks, but the building survived, and a community effort restored it. The Empire Arts Center reopened in 1998 as a nonprofit, and it has since become a downtown cultural anchor that draws more than 30,000 visitors a year.
The Empire now programs concerts, regional and touring theater, ballet, youth music, and film. It is operated as a community arts organization rather than a commercial cinema, and its calendar and box office handle ticketing for individual events.
The building's age and its location in the historic district have made it a fixture of local ghost lore, but the organization presents itself first as a working performing-arts venue. Staff accounts of unusual experiences are part of the building's reputation rather than its programming.
Sources
The Grand Forks Herald reported that during a paranormal sweep tied to a Rocky Horror Picture Show event, a research group identified what it described as three presences in the building, and a development coordinator relayed the account. Staff at the Empire refer informally to a resident presence nicknamed 'Lester,' said to be tied to the auditorium. A member of a local paranormal society attributed activity at the venue to its large interior volume and quantity of electronics, framing electromagnetic fields as a draw rather than proof.
The Herald also recorded a notable counterweight: the Empire's executive director said she spends more time in the building than nearly anyone and has never experienced anything. A separate Grand Forks roundup recounts a staff member seeing a figure walk past the ticket area without the door chime activating, and reports that during a 2023 investigation a camera captured a cloudy shape moving through the building's service tunnels.
Local lore also links a spirit to a man said to have died in a fire connected to the property in the 1919 era, though that identification appears only in informal accounts and is not established by the historical record. HauntBound presents the staff and investigation accounts as reported, and does not assert the identity or cause of any presence. The reports are consistently described as curious and peaceful.
Notable Entities
The Empire Arts Center hosts concerts, theater, dance, and film throughout the year in its restored 1919 auditorium. Tickets are sold per event through the venue calendar and box office. The Empire does not market itself as a haunted attraction and does not currently offer ghost tours.
Every HauntBound history is researched from documented sources. We clearly separate verified historical fact from paranormal folklore.
Biddeford, ME
City Theater occupies a site originally developed as a municipal building and opera house in the 1840s. After fire destroyed the original structure in 1894, architect John Calvin Stevens designed the current building in 1895. The rebuilt opera house reopened January 20, 1896, and has operated continuously as a cultural venue for nearly 130 years.
Billings, MT
The Alberta Bair Theater in downtown Billings opened in 1931 as the Fox Theater, a movie palace built by 20th Century Fox. It was later renamed for benefactor Alberta Bair, who died in 1993, and operates today as a restored performing-arts center.
Lead, SD
The Homestake Opera House opened in 1914 in Lead, South Dakota, built by the Homestake Mining Company as a cultural and recreation hall for mine workers and their families. Designed in a Classical Revival style, it included a large theater, library, swimming pool, and social rooms. It served as an emergency hospital during the 1918 influenza epidemic and was heavily damaged by fire in 1984 before a community-led restoration.