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Lyric Theatre The Lyric Theatre in Indianapolis, Indiana was originally located on the northeast corner of the 100 block of N. Illinois Street. At the time it opened in February of 1906 it was basically a room with folding chairs nailed in rows and sat about 200. Six years later a new, larger Lyric theatre was built on the property.
Designed by Herbert L. Bass Company and built by Halstead & Moore, construction began in April of 1912 by the Central Amusement Co. at a cost of $75,000. With a total seating capacity of 1400, the new Lyric opened on October 14, 1912 at at 121- 135 N. Illinois Street. With the use of fireproof materials throughout, the exterior was of concrete, brick and steel, finished was artistic brick with white terra cotta trim. The main entrance was located in the center of the building with a spacious lobby finished in marble and illuminated by large massive cluster lighting. The main auditorium was elaborately furnished by done by the German artist William Kock.
Six years later the theatre went through another major remodeling that left only three original walls standing, Starting on April 20, 1919, a new lobby was constructed to the south of the theatre and the stage that originally had faced West now faced south. It had its grand reopening on September 1, 1919. In 1926 the Lyric went through yet another remodel at a cost of $185,000 which included construction of a new four story building, a new main entrance, lobby and executive offices for Central Amusement Co. The pitch in the auditorium was changed and 300 more seats were added. At this time a new ventilated system and cooling plant was installed. A new projection booth and new master switchboard were installed also. The entire inside of the theatre was redecorated, again by William Kock. The lobby and the auditorium were wainscoted with Italian marble and the ivory and gold lobby was lined with French mirrors and six French crystal chandeliers. The basement housed rehearsal areas and dressing rooms named for cities on its doors.
A new marquee was added. At 10 feet high, 50 feet long and 16 feet deep, It held up to 440 letters and at the time was said to be the largest changeable one in the state. The following year a new Marr-Colton pipe organ was dedicated at a cost $30,000.00, which at that time too was said to be the largest in the state.
On February 2, 1940, Frank Sinatra made his debut with the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra on the Lyric stage and 15 years later, Elvis, Scotty, Bill and DJ made their only appearances there, just over a month before their national television debut on the Dorsey Brothers Stageshow. On a bill that included Hanks Snow, Mother Maybelle and the Carters and Rod Brasfield, their appearance their ran for four days, Sunday December 4th through Wednesday December 7th.
Of the engagements, Lee Cotten wrote: Elvis, billed as “a county and bop singer, " was scheduled to join Hank Snow for a four-day run at the Lyric Theater in Indianapolis. According to a later report in the Indianapolis Times (August 8, 1956), Snow was detained by a winter storm. When he failed to make the first date, Elvis carried on with just the supporting acts, comedian Rod Brasfield and Mother Maybelle and the Carter Sisters. For the four-day engagement, Elvis was paid a total of $750. The William Morris Agency of New York, which was already involved in negotiations with Colonel Parker, sent out Lou Mindling from Chicago to take a look at Elvis. Mindling’s positive report to the head office soon led to Elvis signing with the powerful William Morris Agency, which would negotiate future bookings.1
They would only make one other appearance together in the state of Indiana, in Fort Wayne when they performed at the Allen County Memorial Coliseum on Mar 30, 1957. In the '70s however, Elvis would return to Indianapolis and his last concert ever was at the Market Square Arena on June 26, 1977.
The theatre closed again on May 24, 1956 for the summer for a remodel and clean up and reopened on August 29, 1956. With the installation for Norelco 70-35 projectors it was equipped to show 70mm film and the first in Indianapolis to feature the Todd-AO sound system. A new screen measured 50 feet by 25 feet. The opening film was “Oklahoma” which played for six months. In the sixties the Lyric was a part of the Indianapolis Amusement group which also included the still standing Circle and Indiana theaters. On March 31, 1965 the “Sound of Music” opened at the Lyric and ran until January 17, 1967, the longest run for a motion picture at the Lyric. Likely another victim of the multiplexes, the Lyric closed in 1969, with “Shoes of the Fisherman” and “Where Eagles Dare” the last two films to play there. The building is now gone. page added September 8, 2013 The history of the Lyric Theater presented here is courtesy of the Cinema Treasures website and its members, specifically chuck1231 and Paul Page, and also in part to the Indiana Historical Society. 1 excerpt from "Did Elvis Sing in Your Hometown" by Lee Cotten Paul Norris of Indianapolis told us his mother, Kathy Hodges (Norris) worked at the Lyric making out the checks for the stars who performed there sometimes in the 1950's. He has a few photos of hers that were taken at the Lyric with Faron Young, Ray Price and others. He said, Mom was asked if she wanted to go out with a man named Elvis Presley at the time that he sang there in 1955. She told me that she declined because of the sound of his name. I wish that I could have seen the Lyric at the time that she worked there. Paul was kind enough to share those pictures with us for use on the site.
Paul said, I think Mom would be pleased that her pictures were included on a page about the Lyric, she told us that she lied about her age in order to work there but enjoyed working there very much. section added September 13, 2013
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All photos on this site (that we didn't borrow) unless otherwise indicated are the property of either Scotty Moore or James V. Roy and unauthorized use or reproduction is prohibited. |
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