Lyric Theatre

DavidZornig on June 1, 2020 at 11:27 pm

I received this back from the Rock Springs Historical Museum.

The buildings in the photograph are located at 403-405 North Front Street. You can see in the included photograph that the roof lines and decoration are the same. The Elk Saloon and Barber Shop opened in 1908 and the Lyric Theatre was next door by the 1912 photo. By 1920 the Paris Café had replaced the Lyric Theatre at that location. The REX Hotel at 545 North Front Street was also the location of two theatres, the Oracle and the Lyric, which operated at the same time. Both theatres were bought out by the REX Amusement company in 1924, who were in turn bought out by Thomas Berta the owner of the Rialto Theatre (located at 310 South Front Street) to stop the competition. I cant tell if the two Lyric Theatres were owned by the same people, it was a very popular name for Theatres, so it could go either way. Let us know if you have more questions, we would love to help!

I submitted a single page for the other Lyric Theate and Oracle Theatre at 545 N. Front Street.

DavidZornig on May 26, 2020 at 4:11 pm

The Lyric later became the Oracle and possibly Rex Theatre. I am waiting for confirmation from the Rock Springs Historical Museum as to the location. Another source claims those theatres were in the Rex Hotel which is a block away. However the July 4, 1912 photo I added matches the current street view, and the museum is who supplied the original address.