Lyric Theatre
12952 Western Avenue,
Blue Island,
IL
60406
12952 Western Avenue,
Blue Island,
IL
60406
9 people
favorited this theater
The Lyric Theatre was opened in 1917, and was located a couple blocks away from Blue Island’s then main entertainment center, the Grand Opera House. After a fire in 1924, the Grand was rebuilt as a movie house, showing mostly B-grade features, while the Lyric showed the more mainstream Hollywood films.
The Lyric was destroyed in a 1960 blaze which occured during a children’s matinee. Fortunately, everyone in the Lyric escaped uninjured. It was rebuilt and reopened, and began to show lower and lower quality films before it was finally closed in the late 80s.
The theater reopened in 1995 as the Dream Street Theatre, which presented both live entertainment and movies. In a year, the Dream Street closed and was later reopened again as the Legacy Theatre, as a live theater venue. In late 2003, the theater received a new name again, the Oasis Edutainment Theatre and underwent a $50,000 renovation.
Currently, the Lyric Theatre building is unused.
Contributed by
Bryan Krefft
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Recent comments (view all 20 comments)
A Kimball theater organ was installed in the Lyric Theater in 1924.
Here is a vintage postcard view of the Lyric Theater.
If I remember clearly, this theatre was once a Plitt.
Excellent Lyric pic from the 80’s here:
View link
Here is another 1985 photo.
Prior to its destruction by fire on St. Valentine’s Day in 1960, the Lyric was operated under lease by Publix Great States Theatres. The new house was to be leased to Square Amusement Co., a subsidiary of Great States.
I’m wondering of the seating capacity of 939 currently listed above was for the old Lyric? Two issues of Boxoffice (March 26, 1962, and February 4, 1963) each give the seating capacity of the rebuilt theater as 800. The 1962 item mentions that seats “…of the new wide variety….” were planned for the new Lyric.
The LYRIC Theatre facade is featured toward the beginning of the 2011 picture “The Rite”, though it doesn’t figure into the plot. The letterboard in the storyline and in real life reads “Redemption Theater”.
Man…I remember seeing He-Man and She-Ra: The Secret of the Sword here along with Transformers the Movie (the animated one of course). Saw Flight of the Navigator here. Good times.
The current owner is the granddaughter of the long time owner. She is rallying support to try and re-open the theatre and is eager for community activism to do so. There is an upcoming meeting at the theatre. Sorry I don’t have that information currently.
Please visit facebook.com/thelyricmovienight for listings and times