Ghosts of the Lyric

February 23, 2005 1:02 PM

The Lyric Theatre, Blacksburg, Virginia, opened in 1930; was closed in 1989 when an eight-screen multiplex opened nearby; and was saved and reopened in the 1996 thanks to community involvement. Take a virtual tour; read about the haunted theatre's ghosts; then play the text adventure.
posted by plep (12 comments total)

plep, as always: awesome!
posted by Steve_at_Linnwood at 1:42 PM on February 23, 2005

not bad ;)
posted by halo7879 at 1:50 PM on February 23, 2005

I currently live about 5 minutes walking distance from the Lyric and go to the films and concerts there pretty regularly. Its amazing, the seats are comfortable, the audiences are always appreciative and attentive. A really great theatre.
posted by cyphill at 2:15 PM on February 23, 2005

I was a student at Virginia Tech in the late 70's and saw many movies at the Lyric. I remember 1978 fondly: a buddy and I spent one Saturday consuming copious amounts of our favorite herbal preparation and watching The Last Waltz six times in a row.

I'm glad to see the Lyric back in business. Thanks, plep, for the deja vu.
posted by Benny Andajetz at 2:17 PM on February 23, 2005

I took in many great shows at the Lyric, including Princess Mononoke, which may be my all-time favorite, and a midnight showing of The Wall, which I never thought I'd get to see on the big screen. Monday night was free popcorn night, too - can't beat that. Not to mention live music; Del McCoury did one of the best live sets I've ever seen there.

Much love for the Lyric.

T'ain't haunted, though.
posted by Wolfdog at 2:22 PM on February 23, 2005

Oh man. One of my fondest childhood delinquent memories was in 10th grade, standing in line to see a midnight show of . . . Heavy Metal? The Wall? . . . it's a misty recollection. Anyway, I remember instigating a donut fight while standing in line with the leftover goods that the donut shop next door had tossed out on the sidewalk and then smoking and drinking some ill-gotten 7-11 alcoholic swill in the balcony. I guess I can see why the place eventually needed renovations.

Oooh. I also remember seeing Dune there. I vividly remember my "What the Fuck" reaction.

I left Blacksburg, gladly and for good, in 1986, but the Lyric brings back some powerful memories. I'm glad they're attracting a better clientele than my former self these days.
posted by bibliowench at 3:24 PM on February 23, 2005

I lived one block from The Lyric up until two months ago. I saw some great shows there, most recently The Frank and Joe Show in December.

It's funny to see The Lyric on Metafilter.
posted by waldo at 4:19 PM on February 23, 2005

Wow. Scrolling past the FPPs and catch The Lyric in Blacksburg, Va...screech!!

Lived just up the street (500 Draper...anyone been to those Halloween parties?), and visited The Lyric on a couple of occasions. Nice theater--cozy and comfy seats. And good popcorn. I wish more theaters were like that.

Thanks for the post, plep. :)
posted by snwod at 4:31 PM on February 23, 2005

My father got his PhD from Virginia Tech and until this popped up, I had completely forgotten about that theater. I was just a little kid, but we went there with his labmates to watch The Woman In Red. They "snuck" in paper grocery bags full of popcorn seasoned with various things - none of which were salt or butter.

I left Blacksburg when my dad finished his PhD, and I think that was around 1990, but I don't recall much of The Lyric other than that.
More of my memories focus around that donut shop.
posted by MrFancypants at 6:53 PM on February 23, 2005

I went to Virginia Tech in the early 90's. They did play a few movies when I was there: midnight showings of The Wall, The Road Warrior, Heavy Metal, etc. The theatre was pretty run down at the time. In my first year, I even took a Poli Sci class in the Lyric. The floor was sticky.

Glad to see it's doing better now.
posted by Loudmax at 10:26 PM on February 23, 2005

My family was in Blacksburg until about '92, and I remember how entirely bummed the whole town was that the old place was shutting down. Jay (nee Joel) Furr, the author of the Ghosts piece, has been a good friend of mine, and he in particular took it pretty personally.

Ah, the memories. Smuggling beer under my Corps-issued field jacket—I'd dropped out by then—to watch the midnight (re-)showings of such greats as This is Spinal Tap and A Clockwork Orange. The only problem with beer, late night showings, and old-style comfortable balcony seats, of course, is that I never saw the endings.
posted by phrits at 4:33 AM on February 24, 2005

Loudmax is right. My first viewing of The Wall took place there, in 1990 or '91. I'm told.
posted by NortonDC at 6:12 PM on February 24, 2005