Lyric Theatre (II)
127 W. Washington Street,
Osceola,
IA
50213
127 W. Washington Street,
Osceola,
IA
50213
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Looks like some of the history is wrong, too. This has not been demolished, and the correct address is 127 W Washington. The building is the Emil Jarl building, constructed in 1906-07 as a department store. The Lyric was here 1929-35. This building was remodeled into the Osceola, which operated until about 1970. All this information comes from the NRHP listing for downtown.
The one obvious conflict with this information is that the Lyric is the only theater listed in the 1914-15 directory. The listing makes reference to a skating rink being here in 1913 (probably upstairs), and a fire ruining the Jarl store in 1917. I think what may have happened is that the Majestic (which I’ve added a listing for) became the Lyric in 1913. That property became a hatchery in 1928, which makes a 1929 opening date at this address quite sensible.
This building today is in decent shape, with a fairly unattractive ground floor, and used as a clinic.
If the history is correct, the address has to be wrong. 103 is a large building from about 1900. There’s a history painted on the side, and it was never a theater. I’d suggest something like 107-113 which is an empty lot to the west of 103, although the scar on the side indicates a small one story building is missing directly next door. The fire department is at 135, and that building is definitely post 1956.