The Lyric Theatre - A Visual History

Historic Hometown Theatres

We hope you will join us for a photographic tour of the Lyric Theatre at Homewood Library, Sunday, October 1 at 3 p.m.

Built in 1914 for Vaudeville circuit, the Lyric is one of few theatres still existing today that was specifically designed to maximize the acoustics and close seating needed for vaudeville shows. Major stars such as the Marx Brothers, Mae West, Sophie Tucker, Will Rogers and Milton Berle played the Lyric. Berle said it was “as fine a theatre as any in New York.”

Though seating was segregated, the Lyric was one of the first venues in the South where blacks and whites could watch the same show at the same time for the same price.

The Lyric was once the finest performing arts theatre in the city and through its $11.8 million restoration, it is again. Listed on the National Register as part of the Birmingham Downtown Retail & Theatre Historic District, this century-old venue is a beacon of history, entertainment, and culture in the heart of Birmingham.

We hope you will join us for a photographic tour of the Lyric Theatre at Homewood Library, Sunday, October 1 at 3 p.m.  Glenny Brock will bring the before and after shots from the renovation.  It is a journey you don’t want to miss!

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