Lyric Theatre
172 West 23rd Street,
New York,
NY
10011
172 West 23rd Street,
New York,
NY
10011
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This little-known theatre was showing motion pictures when it caught fire on February 5, 1922. As reported in the New York Times, the patrons left “hats, coats and even a Maltese cat in flight” at this small theatre located on 23rd Street near Seventh Avenue.
“Panic was averted by the presence of mind of the management and the employees of the theatre, whose efforts enabled the spectators to march out in an orderly manner while the pianist played The Star Spangled Banner”.
The only person injured was the projectionist, who was “scorched”. The cat was assumed to have been brought in by a patron as he had never been seen before.
The Lyric was still operating in 1924 when it was advertised running a week of Paramount pictures.
Contributed by
Al Alvarez
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Recent comments (view all 13 comments)
Was that last comment meant to be funny? Just wondering. I thought it was.
Yes, it was a joke. I make them once in a while.
It would appear that Manhattan had at least 3 theaters named “Lyric” at about the same time. Could there have been common ownership or were the operators of that time less possessive of their trademark?
A photo of this Lyric in 1927 can be found at:
View link
I don’t see the 1927 photo. When I click on the link, I receive a “Page not found” error.
Oops! Sorry for the broken link.
Try:
www.TinyURL.com/2zj7mf
Your link works now. Thanks.
I don’t know why people with Scrapbooks bother to display photos that are so dark that details can barely be seen. Photos can very easily be rejuvenated with free programs like Picasa. I’m a computer illiterate, but this one took me only 30 seconds:
www.i8.photobucket.com/albums/a18/Warrengwhiz/lyric23.jpg
If I recall correctly, the corner site that included the theatre is now occupied by a low-rise apartment building, with stores on the ground floor.
A photo of a Lyric Theater on Third Avenue between 12th and 13th Streets, Manhattan, NYC on April 24, 1936.
View link
What a great photo J.F. only 10 cents admission.Those were the days.