My Trip to The Emperor's Headquarters

Shangri La for the historical wargamer! The sun of Austerlitz always shines on the Emperor's Headquarters (EHQ) - until it moved then closed a few years later.

I'm from California, had gone to school in Michigan, and as a graduation outing in May of 1994, my Mom, sister and I decided to take a week long tour around the Great Lakes. I had sort of planned on getting to EHQ if we were near which was at this time a legendary place. They were the hub of Napoleonic research in North America, home of Emperor's Press, and involved in wargaming and Napoleonic societies of all kinds. Plus I knew they carried a ton of Napoleonic miniatures and books. If we were near I was gonna stop in.

Except. Mother and I had competing agendas as I recall and EHQ was out of the question. After much pleading and assurances of my haste, I was granted five minutes - five minutes and then she's taking off. I was convinced she would, so I began a breakneck tour through the place with my sister in tow covering it all with the camera.

Yup, yup - I'm hurrying.

In recent years this kind of thing was common but it is nearly always filled with some other supportive product, be it Games Workshop, comics, RPGs, CCGs, vehicle models, board games, Fantasy, Sci Fi - what made EHQ great was is it was exclusively historicals and huge.

Honestly, the whole thing is a blur, I couldn't quite get my rushed mind around the whole place. I darted up each and every aisle like a loon trying to absorb it all.

Another bummer: I had no money to speak of so picking up anything was out of the question.

Rows and rows of Minifigs!

Scenic Effects (now defunct) buildings up top

I can't make out who made these Napoleonics on display - Front Rank?

The whole thing is just too much as the clock rapidly winds down.

Ah - the painted counter - always fun to peruse. At this time I had not yet been to the Last Grenadier in Burbank, nor Brookhurst - they were comparable in scale, but still had a mix of Fantasy, Scifi and other games by the time I got to them years later.

Not sure what I was trying to explain here ...

What's over here?

Ah - and a huge gaming area - how many games of Empire V were thrashed out on these tables? (None, by the look of them. Saturdays only?)

Times up! Never been back to the EHQ before it shuttered, nor Chicago sans layovers at O'Hare. But I did cast a shadow on the place, got a few pics and can say I was there.

Thanks for looking - questions, comments and followers are welcome and encouraged!