Lyric Theatre

215 W. Tom T Hall Boulevard,
Olive Hill, KY 41164

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Lyric Theatre

The Lyric Theatre was opened by 1914. It appears on the 1920 Sanborn, in a simple one-story brick building. It had closed by 1926.

Apparently, a dealership occupied this corner in the 1930’s-1940’s, but the theatre building was certainly gone by 1965, when the new Federal Building/Post Office was constructed. While it was operating, the address would have been on Main Street.

Contributed by Seth Gaines

Recent comments (view all 4 comments)

Joe Vogel
Joe Vogel on July 10, 2023 at 2:52 pm

A 1928 Sanborn map shows this building at what is now 215 W. Tom T. Hall Blvd. occupied by a Baptist church. The only movie theater on that map is on Railroad Street.

The July 10, 1915 Motion Picture News said that a new brick building, 100x35 feet, was being built for the Lyric Theatre at Olive Hill, Kentucky, replacing the old Lyric. It was expected to be ready by July 20. The earlier Lyric had suffered a fire on April 22, according to the July, 1915 issue of Safety Engineering.The May 29 issue of Motography reported the loss at $7,000.

The October 18, 1913 Moving Picture World had listed an unnamed house at Olive Hill to be “[a]mong the new houses started recently in Kentucky….” That was likely the original Lyric.

The Lyric is mentioned in the trade journals in 1916, but I don’t find any mentions of Olive Hill after that until 1923, when a house called the Dixie Theatre is mentioned. That was the theater on Railroad Street. The Lyric is mentioned in the local paper at least as late as 1919, but from 1923 on Dixie is the only theater name I find associated with Olive Hill.

SethG
SethG on July 15, 2023 at 3:52 pm

Where did you find the 1928 map? I couldn’t find an online version.

Joe Vogel
Joe Vogel on July 15, 2023 at 4:16 pm

It’s at the University of Kentucky’s web site: 1928 Sanborn. I think it might be up by mistake, as their map collection front page says they have only pre-1928 Sanborns online (publications with 1927 copyrights just entered the public domain on January 1 this year.)

SethG
SethG on July 15, 2023 at 7:57 pm

Aha! I tried that site, and got the impression that it was one where you needed a login. Thanks.

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