Lyric Theater

Joe Vogel on November 17, 2014 at 1:15 am

The Lyric Theatre in Osceola, Iowa, is mentioned in The Moving Picture World of August 24, 1918. If it was in the same building as the theater in the photo above then it must have been remodeled in the 1930s. It’s also possible that the Lyric got a new building in 1934. The September 8 issue of Motion Picture Herald said “JOHN WALLER is erecting a modern picture theatre in Osceola, Iowa. House will open in early fall.”

50sSNIPES on August 20, 2023 at 7:00 pm

There were two Lyric Theatres in Osceola throughout its history.

Free Vreeland was the first manager of the first Lyric Theatre, who opened Osceola’s playhouse located on the north side of the square on May 10, 1913 featuring an original capacity of 750 seats. The first Lyric opened with two vaudeville acts by the Downes Sisters and their Classy Kids and a special piano performance by Kate McDonald, although its first film screened at the Lyric has not yet to be found. It was first owned by William and Carl Shields.

On November 7, 1929, then-owner and manager John Waller (who also helped constructing the Idle Hour Theatre in Leon and install talkies in Shenandoah) announced that sound from both Vitaphone and Movietone systems will be installed in Osceola’s Lyric after contacting the DeForest Sound & Tone Company. After a whole month of wiring, the Lyric became an all-sound theater beginning with “The Return of Sherlock Holmes” along with a comedy reel “A Hollywood Star” on December 29, 1929.

Early-September 1934 comes an announcement led by Waller that a new Lyric Theatre will be built on its now-current site located in the west side of the square. The Lyric on the north side continued to operate until December 26, 1934 when it closed with John Lodge in “Menace” along with a musical subject of Cab Calloway’s “Hi-De-Ho” and a short entitled “Old Kentucky Hounds”. The first Lyric Theatre will have its own Cinema Treasures page soon.

The second and current Lyric Theatre opened its doors two days later on December 28, 1934 with William Powell in “Evelyn Prentice” along with the short “Fall Of The Vienna Woods” and a sportlight “Pro Football” plus a special performance by the Iowa Ladies Band led by Mayo Williams before showing, featuring an original capacity of 600 seats and original installations of heavy wine-colored velvet curtains that close by sliding along a track at the top of the stage, with an old gold color of the backdrops. Some of its equipment including the sound system were relocated from the old Lyric to the current Lyric. The projectionist during its heyday is Fred Ketcham.

Nearly a month later in early-February 1935, E.L. Bryant of Zearing announced that the former first Lyric Theatre will be rebuilt at that same site and reopen as the city of Osceola’s second movie house on the north side of the square called the Osceola Theatre. Osceola’s second movie house, known as the Osceola Theatre, would later open its doors on April 12, 1935 with Eddie Cantor in “Kid Millions” along with a Fox Movietone Newsreel and a Walt Disney’s Silly Symphony “Funny Little Bunnies”. The Osceola Theatre will also have its own Cinema Treasures page soon.

Both the Lyric and the Osceola theaters throughout the 1940s and early-1950s share an equal and fair amount of first-run features each week, but it wasn’t until the CinemaScope era when things started to rattle. In May 1954, it was announced that the Lyric Theatre at the west side of the square would be the main target of the city’s CinemaScope installation. At that same time, the Osceola Theatre at the north side was on its last legs after the building went under a sellout. The Lyric Theatre ran its first CinemaScope film, “Lucky Me”, on July 11, 1954. A few years later, the Lyric Theatre officially became the only movie house in Osceola after the closure of the Osceola Theatre in 1956.

Throughout portions of its history, there is one unique about the lighting inside the Lyric Theatre. In its May 1941 remodel featured a “black light” whenever the theater was darkened or whenever blackout drills during World War II were presented making it a very unusual decorative effect.

Gerald Clark operated the Lyric Theatre for 14 years beginning in 1974. This lasted until 1988 when it was taken over by Frank Munyon, and a short time later, its original marquee was removed and was replaced by a traditional blocky black-and-white marquee. This lasted until the Lyric closed for a time in January 2000 for remodeling. Neon lights return to the Lyric after a new marquee was installed, and reopened a couple of months later under the Fridley Theatres chain only for a short time.

As of today despite being independently operated, first-run films are still going strong at the Lyric.

50sSNIPES on August 21, 2023 at 6:06 am

Another fun fact is that the marquee that was installed in January 2000 is actually a restored/redesigned version of its original 1934 marquee. Also at that same time, the blue stadium-style seats that were installed at the time during the 2000 remodel were from the Irwin Signature Series. The Lyric’s last projection before digital is Christie Electric with JBL ScreenArray speakers as well as Dolby amplifiers.

SethG on December 17, 2024 at 11:38 am

The NRHP listing says it opened Christmas Day on 1935, but given the film, that is likely wrong. It still has beautiful art deco light fixtures in the lobby and auditorium.

50sSNIPES on December 17, 2024 at 5:32 pm

Also to note, December 28, 1934 is on a Friday, while December 28, 1935 is on a Saturday. It opened on a Friday evening.