Lyric Theater
114 S. Main Street,
Albia,
IA
52531
114 S. Main Street,
Albia,
IA
52531
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This theater appears on the 1913 Sanborn, in the northern storefront of a two story brick commercial building constructed sometime between 1899 and 1907, when the map shows agricultural implements and feed sold here.
Doubtless a quickie conversion to cash in on the movie craze, this small theater was closed in 1916, and by 1922 the map shows this space as retail. It is possible that the operation was moved into a large structure at 120, but the two theaters may have been unrelated.
The building today is very well kept. The ground floor had been divided into two rather drab postwar storefronts, but has now been unified into one space. It is a combination cafe and boutique.
Contributed by
Seth Gaines
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Recent comments (view all 3 comments)
The notes on this building from the NRHP listing do not offer any identification for this theater, but they do note that the large number of early theaters indicate an intense interest in entertainment, particularly from the coal miners in the area. The coal industry in this part of Iowa is long gone, but Albia had nearly 5,100 people in 1920 (versus just over 3,700 today), and Monroe County peaked at well over 25,000 people in 1910, which today has shrunk to 7,500, less than its 1860 population.
This may possibly have been the Lyric, which opened in Spring 1913, and closed in 1916. That theater offered vaudeville, and I’m not sure this space would have been large enough.
The Lyric didn’t make the American Motion Picture Directory in 1914, but it was the only picture theater listed at Albia in that year’s Gus Hill directory. It was listed there with a capacity of 388 (which, if accurate, does seem a bit large for this space) and admission prices of five and ten cents. The Lyric subscribed to the Mutual picture service, and the manager was named C. A. Hibbard.