New Lyric

My old neighborhood movie theater... Saturday matinees for a quarter. Godzilla, Hercules, Sinbad, Martians and 13 Ghosts. This is also the place I first saw Spartacus, James Bond, 2001 Space Odyssey, Clint Eastwood, Lawrence of Arabia, Planet of the Apes, The Alamo, The Great Escape and the Village of the Damned.

I grew up about two blocks away and we went there regularly on Saturday afternoons and later on at night as a teen.

It had Lyric on the sign but it was always referred to as the New Lyric because of some renovation done in the 1930's. It was originally opened in 1914. It closed in 1971 and judging from the condition of the property this photo was probably taken in the mid-70's during the decline of the neighborhood. The Little Dog House next door too.

I moved back to the neighborhood in early 1974 and lived around the corner from it again but was disappointed to see that it was closed. A year later in 1975 I was sad to watch it burn down one evening.