The Lyric Theater is a historic

theater Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors to present experiences of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The performers may communi ...

Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

at 819 Northwest Second Avenue. It served Miami's African American community. On January 4, 1989, it was added to the

U.S. The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguous ...

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

after being proposed by Dorothy Jenkins Fields. Renamed the Black Archives Historic Lyric Theater Cultural Arts Complex (BAHLT), it is considered the oldest legitimate theater in

. Located west of Miami's downtown business district, it is a central focus for the Historic Overtown Folklife Village and a center of both black cultural pride and economic renewal.

History

The 400-seat Lyric Theater was built, owned and operated by Geder Walker, a black businessman from Georgia. After opening in 1913 in Overtown, then a segregated area known as "Colored Town", the Lyric Theater provided a center for entertainment for blacks in Miami. In 1915, ''

The Miami News ''The Miami News'' was an evening newspaper in Miami, Florida. It was the media market competitor to the morning edition of the ''Miami Herald'' for most of the 20th century. The paper started publishing in May 1896 as a weekly called ''The Miami ...

'' described the Lyric as, "possibly the most beautiful and costly playhouse owned by Colored people in all the Southland." The theater was a key element in the community of "Little Broadway," an area whose hotels, restaurants and nightclubs attracted both black and white tourists and residents. The Lyric Theater operated as a movie and vaudeville theater for nearly fifty years. Representing black economic influence and freedom from discrimination, the Theater fueled a sense of pride and culture within Overtown. It helped the area to earn the nickname of "Harlem of the South". Following Geder Walker's death in 1919, ownership of the Lyric Theater passed to his wife Henrietta. The Lyric continued to operate as a theater and concert venue and as a community auditorium. Schools and civic groups performed there, and held special events such as commencement ceremonies. Overtown was a popular vacation destination for Black Americans, recommended by

The Negro Motorist Green Book ''The Negro Motorist Green Book'' (also, ''The Negro Travelers' Green Book'', or ''Green-Book'') was a guidebook for African American roadtrippers. It was founded by Victor Hugo Green, an African American postal worker from New York City, and ...

. Well-known speakers and performers appeared at the Lyric throughout the 1940s and ’50s, attracting a diverse audience that included Blacks, Latinos, and whites. Those who appeared at the Lyric Theater included W.E.B. DuBoise,

Mary McLeod Bethune Mary McLeod Bethune (; July 10, 1875 – May 18, 1955) was an American educator, Philanthropy, philanthropist, Humanitarianism, humanitarian, Womanism, womanist, and civil rights activist. Bethune founded the National Council of Negro Women in ...

Marian Anderson Marian Anderson (February 27, 1897April 8, 1993) was an American contralto. She performed a wide range of music, from opera to spirituals. Anderson performed with renowned orchestras in major concert and recital venues throughout the United S ...

Bessie Smith Bessie Smith (April 15, 1892 – September 26, 1937) was an African-American blues singer widely renowned during the Jazz Age. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Empress of the Blues" and formerly Queen of the Blues, she was t ...

Ethel Waters Ethel Waters (October 31, 1896 – September 1, 1977) was an American singer and actress. Waters frequently performed jazz, swing, and pop music on the Broadway stage and in concerts. She began her career in the 1920s singing blues. Her no ...

, and the

Fisk Jubilee Singers The Fisk Jubilee Singers are an African-American a cappella ensemble, consisting of students at Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee, Nashville, Tennessee. The first group was organized in 1871 to tour and raise funds for college. Their early ...

, among many others. The Lyric operated as a movie theater until it was acquired by the General Assembly of the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ of the Apostolic Faith in 1959, and was put to use as a church. In the 1960s, the federal, state, and city governments used

eminent domain Eminent domain, also known as land acquisition, compulsory purchase, resumption, resumption/compulsory acquisition, or expropriation, is the compulsory acquisition of private property for public use. It does not include the power to take and t ...

to forcibly acquire buildings in the predominantly black community of Overtown, building a highway and other “urban renewal” projects. Most of the buildings in "Little Broadway" were destroyed. The Lyric Theater escaped destruction, but it remained closed for several decades. By 1974 it was owned by Bishop Walter McCollough and The United House of Prayer For All People''.'' In 1988, the Lyric Theater was acquired by the Black Archives, History and Research Foundation of South Florida, Inc. In 1989, the Theater was listed in the

. The building had suffered considerable damage over the years, including a hole in the roof and fire damage to the interior. At least four periods of restoration have occurred since 1988. In 2000, following extensive renovation, the Lyric Theater was once again able to open to audiences. A second phase was completed in 2004, involving reconstruction of the lobby, box office, concessions and offices for the theater. Phase 3 involved renovations to the stage and administrative offices, with an official reopening in February 2014. Further renovations occurred in 2020, during the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, when termites were detected and the stage was completely rebuilt. The Lyric Theater is once again a social center, reflective of both black economic influence and cultural pride.

References

External links

{{Commons category, Lyric Theater (Miami, Florida)
Dade County listings
a
National Register of Historic Places

Florida's Office of Cultural and Historical Programs
*
Dade County listings
*
Lyric Center
African-American history in Miami National Register of Historic Places in Miami Theatres on the National Register of Historic Places in Florida Theatres in Miami 1913 establishments in Florida Theatres completed in 1913 Historically African-American theaters and music venues