I moved to Birmingham at the age of nine in 1954 and saw several movies at the Lyric in the mid-to-late 50's: "The Werewolf," "Earth Versus the Flying Saucers," "The Land Unknown," "The Creature Walks Among Us," and others of that type: science fiction, monsters, etc. Last one was about 1959 just before it closed in 1960. Missed the Grand Bijou/Foxy/Roxy era but came back as a UAB grad student from 1983 to 1989 and it was closed and deteriorating the entire time.
@@exploringhistory I was like 12-15 years old, but I remember the theater was pretty run-down. The outside exit doors didn't seal very well and there were a lot of light leaks. OTOH, it was still too dark inside to make out much detail of the auditorium. Looking at photos nowadays, it's hard to match things up. Restrooms were down one flight from the lobby and were definitely original to the building. Of the downtown theatres, Lyric was the oldest and most decrepit. The Strand/Newmar on 2nd Avenue North was about five years newer, but still pretty sad; Ritz 10; Empire and Alabama 12; and Melba 20, built in 1946.. Alcazar/Capitol, Galax, Royal, and Trianon had all closed before I arrived in town. The Temple no longer showed movies but was still open for Birmingham Symphony concerts and occasional live touring shows. We lived in Homewood so I also went to the Homewood, about the same age as the Alabama (1927) but completely refurbished in the mid-'40's.
Cecil Whitmire, Brant Beene, Ray Lyons and so many other individuals, from workers/ticket sellers/employees who spearheaded the renovation of the Lyric and the Alabama. These are the people with the vision and hopes and commitment to preserve the history of our remaining great theaters in Birmingham. We owe them a debt of gratitude for staying with these projects to restore for us and future generations. We have spent many hours of entertainment at the grand and glorious Alabama Theater.
Outstanding! I've been in Birmingham all my life and I never knew it was an adult theater at one time.
I moved to Birmingham at the age of nine in 1954 and saw several movies at the Lyric in the mid-to-late 50's: "The Werewolf," "Earth Versus the Flying Saucers," "The Land Unknown," "The Creature Walks Among Us," and others of that type: science fiction, monsters, etc. Last one was about 1959 just before it closed in 1960. Missed the Grand Bijou/Foxy/Roxy era but came back as a UAB grad student from 1983 to 1989 and it was closed and deteriorating the entire time.
Thanks for sharing William! How was the experience watching those movies?
@@exploringhistory I was like 12-15 years old, but I remember the theater was pretty run-down. The outside exit doors didn't seal very well and there were a lot of light leaks. OTOH, it was still too dark inside to make out much detail of the auditorium. Looking at photos nowadays, it's hard to match things up. Restrooms were down one flight from the lobby and were definitely original to the building.
Of the downtown theatres, Lyric was the oldest and most decrepit. The Strand/Newmar on 2nd Avenue North was about five years newer, but still pretty sad; Ritz 10; Empire and Alabama 12; and Melba 20, built in 1946.. Alcazar/Capitol, Galax, Royal, and Trianon had all closed before I arrived in town. The Temple no longer showed movies but was still open for Birmingham Symphony concerts and occasional live touring shows.
We lived in Homewood so I also went to the Homewood, about the same age as the Alabama (1927) but completely refurbished in the mid-'40's.
@@williamwingo4740 this is fascinating!! Thank you for sharing!!
Cecil Whitmire, Brant Beene, Ray Lyons and so many other individuals, from workers/ticket sellers/employees who spearheaded the renovation of the Lyric and the Alabama. These are the people with the vision and hopes and commitment to preserve the history of our remaining great theaters in Birmingham. We owe them a debt of gratitude for staying with these projects to restore for us and future generations. We have spent many hours of entertainment at the grand and glorious Alabama Theater.
Thank you Marian for sharing your information. We need more people like them to keep History alive!!
Great job telling the story William!
Thank you!
That is so cool and good job
Thanks!!
This was excellent
AWESOME!