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The Lyric Center for the Arts, (aka Lyric Theater) is a historic
theater Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actor, actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The p ...
in
Virginia, Minnesota Virginia is a city in St. Louis County, Minnesota, United States, on the Mesabi Iron Range. With an economy heavily reliant on large-scale iron ore mining, Virginia is considered the Mesabi Range's commercial center. The population was 8,423 ...
. The theater was originally built as a
vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment born in France at the end of the 19th century. A vaudeville was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a dramatic composition ...
/movie theater and
opera house An opera house is a theatre building used for performances of opera. It usually includes a stage, an orchestra pit, audience seating, and backstage facilities for costumes and building sets. While some venues are constructed specifically for o ...
in 1912. Architects Franklin Ellerbe, Olin Round and William Sullivan, (located in the Palladio Building in
Duluth, Minnesota , settlement_type = City , nicknames = Twin Ports (with Superior), Zenith City , motto = , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top: urban Duluth skyline; Minnesota ...
), designed the building in 1911. Virginia businessman, Henry Sigel commissioned the architects to design an opera house to be built on the site of the McGarry Hotel, which burned to the ground during the catastrophic fire in Virginia in 1900. The building was designed for use as a mixed-use commercial space, with the auditorium located behind a
storefront A storefront or shopfront is the facade or entryway of a retail store located on the ground floor or street level of a commercial building, typically including one or more display windows. A storefront functions to attract visual attention to a bu ...
space. The two-story auditorium was designed in a vernacular style fitting the current style and materials available. The second floor also houses a
ballroom A ballroom or ballhall is a large room inside a building, the primary purpose of which is holding large formal parties called balls. Traditionally, most balls were held in private residences; many mansions and palaces, especially historic man ...
and a lounge. The building was renamed the State Theater, when it was remodeled in the 1930s by then owner, Paramount Studios, who utilized it as one of their cinema chain of State Theaters. The architect was Jack J. Liebenberg, who would later found the architectural firm
Liebenberg and Kaplan Liebenberg and Kaplan (L&K) was a Minneapolis architectural firm founded in 1923 by Jacob J. Liebenberg and Seeman I. Kaplan. Over a fifty-year period, L&K became one of the Twin Cities' most successful architectural firms, best known for designin ...
, in
Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...
. It remained in business as a movie theater until the 1950s. The building is of special historic interest, and became a contributing property to the ''Virginia Commercial Historic District''. At that time, the building was then purchased by the ''Laurentian Arts and Culture Alliance'' (LACA), with the intent to redevelop the building back to a functioning theater and
arts centre An art centre or arts center is distinct from an art gallery or art museum. An arts centre is a functional community centre with a specific remit to encourage arts practice and to provide facilities such as theatre space, gallery space, venues for ...
. The restoration of the building is being done in phases, with funds coming from various sources. The current owners, Laurentian Arts and Culture Alliance have completed securing the building from further deterioration, remodeled a small portion for use as an art gallery and completed reconstruction of front facade of the exterior storefront to restore original exits and comply with
ADA Ada may refer to: Places Africa * Ada Foah, a town in Ghana * Ada (Ghana parliament constituency) * Ada, Osun, a town in Nigeria Asia * Ada, Urmia, a village in West Azerbaijan Province, Iran * Ada, Karaman, a village in Karaman Province, ...
regulations, and modern
building code A building code (also building control or building regulations) is a set of rules that specify the standards for constructed objects such as buildings and non-building structures. Buildings must conform to the code to obtain planning permission ...
s. The next phase will renovate the lobby area and create a 120-seat performance/multi-use space on the street level. Fundraising efforts have been steady and ongoing, with activities such as a
GoFundMe GoFundMe is an American for-profit crowdfunding platform that allows people to raise money for events ranging from life events such as celebrations and graduations to challenging circumstances like accidents and illnesses. From 2010 to the b ...
page, as well as a summer
Silent Film A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, when ...
Festival fundraiser. While the main building is being restored, current events are being presented in the Lyric Annex building, next door to the main building. The Lyric Center is on track to become a regional hub for
performing arts The performing arts are arts such as music, dance, and drama which are performed for an audience. They are different from the visual arts, which are the use of paint, canvas or various materials to create physical or static art objects. Perform ...
.


References


External links


Lyric Theatre
a
Cinematreasures.orgLocal news story about the Lyric Center
by Fox21 of Duluth
GoFundMe campaign for the Lyric Center
Theatres in Minnesota Theatres completed in 1912 Event venues established in 1912 Silent film 1912 establishments in Minnesota {{US-theat-struct-stub