The Lyric Theater opened in Holyoke on March 17, 1910, with great promise. The theater was located at 319 High Street, on the west side of the street between Suffolk and Division Streets. It was also opposite Holyoke's fire department headquarters. The space was narrow: the four-story building was 24 feet along the sidewalk and 90 feet deep. Two upper stories were subsequently removed.
The newly designed theater presented movies and musical artists. A New York City soloist entertained patrons at its opening performance.
No information about future performances or other news of this theater appeared until June 30, 1910. At that time, a news article revealed that the theater's personal property, including 100 orchestra chairs, would be auctioned on August 2nd and 3rd, 1910.
On September 3, 1910, after the theater's final performance for the evening, a fire broke out. The manager had returned to the theater, detected smoke, and called the nearby fire station. The fire was quickly extinguished.
Ten days later, the theater became the new location of the Bijou Theater, which had relocated from 413 High Street. A separate blog series has been posted, providing the Bijou Theater's history.
Citations:
Newspapers.com (paid subscription): Citations: Holyoke (Massachusetts) Transcript -Telegram; publication dates and pages shown.
Ancestry.com (paid subscription): Genealogy Records and Price & Lee, Holyoke, Massachusetts, City Directories
Massachusetts Cultural Research Information System, Boston, Massachusetts
Google Maps
1911 Richards Atlas of Holyoke, Massachusetts
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