The Lyric Theatre

The Lyric Theatre opened on January 14, 1914 as a stop on B.F. Keith's Vaudeville Circuit. Designed by architect Claude Knox Howell (C.K. Howell), who designed multiple theaters on the B.F. Keith circuit in the South, it was built specifically for vaudeville acoustics and intimate seating — features that, according to the Encyclopedia of Alabama and Bhamwiki, make it one of the few remaining buildings of its kind in the United States.

Its opening was marked by a brief but well-publicized injunction filed by competing theater operator Karl Hoblitzelle over a dispute about opening acts; the resulting two-day delay was reported in the national entertainment magazine Variety. Once open, the Lyric became a regular stop for major vaudeville stars including the Marx Brothers, Mae West, Sophie Tucker, Will Rogers, and Milton Berle, who reportedly called it 'as fine a theatre as any in New York.' The Lyric was an early adopter of artificial cooling, blowing air over two tons of ice stored beneath the stage.

Unlike many Southern venues of its era, the Lyric admitted Black and white audiences to the same shows, though seating was strictly segregated; Black patrons entered through a separate door and sat in the upper balcony. NPR's 2017 coverage of the theater addresses this segregated history in detail.

The Lyric declined in the mid-20th century as vaudeville gave way to film and as downtown Birmingham contracted. It closed and stood largely vacant for decades. Birmingham Landmarks, Inc. — the nonprofit that also operates the Alabama Theatre across the street — acquired the property and undertook an extensive restoration beginning in 2009. The theater reopened on January 14, 2016, exactly 102 years after its original opening, as a live-performance and special-event venue.