THE LYRIC THEATRE:
A Look Back at the Beginnings
University Libraries, Special Collections
in collaboration with
The Department of Housing, Interior Design and Resources Management
The Lyric Theatre opened on April 14, 1930 and quickly became a focal point of downtown Blacksburg. Designed by Roanoke architect Louis Philippe Smithey, the Lyric was one of only three theaters in the state built for the new "talkie" sound technology. Boasting a lobby, stage, orchestra pit, and balcony, the "fire-proof" building originally seated nearly 900. Built for $150,000 by the Blacksburg Realty Corporation (which is still the owner), it finally closed in the 1980s.
The Lyric is now poised for a revival of activities: film, live theatre, dance, music, and lecture...very much reminiscent of its early vaudeville days. The Lyric Council is the organization which plans to reopen the theater for limited runs beginning mid-February, 1996.
An exhibit of architectural drawings and sketches and for the construction of the Lyric is mounted in the Wallace Hall Gallery, Lower Atrium Level, at Virginia Tech. The exhibit was curated by Eric Wiedegreen and Tamara Kennelly using materials from Special Collections in the University Libraries.
About the actual
exhibit in Wallace Hall Gallery
About the virtual
exhibit
Collaborations with Virginia
Tech and the Lyric
Credits