Lyric Theater

The Lyric was actually one of three theaters in a two block stretch of W 18th St. It was a small theater, seating maybe a few hundred in a very long and narrow auditorium. The building also contained apartments above the theater. In its day, it was known as the "Ranch House" due to all the western movies shown there. Kids got in for 10 cents and you got a penny candy as 'change". when CinemaScope came along in 1953, the LYric closed because it was too small and it was too expensive to upgrade. The American Theater just down the block closed about the same time for the same reasons. The 18th Street Theater, the largest of the three, continued showing movies until 1961. It is now a warehouse. The other two were torn down years ago.