Lyric Theatre

The Lyric Theatre was one of the earliest theaters in downtown Chicago that was designed specifically for showing movies that was not a nickelodeon, opening around 1907 or 1908.

It could seat 286 and was located in the South Loop at S. State Street & W. Quincy Street.

The Lyric Theatre’s management caused some controversy in 1910 when it hired all female ushers. The management would not have to pay the female staff as much as they would were they men. Many aldermen were concerned that the women would not be able to handle any emergencies that might arise as well as men could.

The Lyric Theatre must have closed before 1937, because that year the Art Moderne Benson & Rixon Building by Alfred S. Alschuler was built on the site of the theatre.

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