Tuesday, April 21, 2009

A Trip to the Basement - Lyric Theatre



Last week I promised the "nitty-gritty" of the old Lyric Theatre.  Well today, I'm really delivering on that promise.  I earned my City Daily Photo badge for Valor on this mission!   My friend Tom Cronier, who was my intrepid tour guide,  insisted that I go down under the stage with him to see the dressing rooms.  There had been previous discussion concerning ummmm........rodents down there.  I have a hefty phobia about those,  but I won't go into that now.  Let's just say I went,  but not cheerfully!  Actually when I got down the dark, grungy steps there was light, for which I was eternally grateful.  What Tom knew I'd groove on werethe interesting signs on the old doors.  Well see for youself.  We used his flashlight to highlight my "favorite" - Tom's Rat Room!  We didn't stay long after I got a load of that one.

* I know you're wondering what the  signs on the doors meant.  No one knows!


33 comments:

Ramadhani said...

the door looks soo old..
I have follow your blog and verry enyoy..
Thank you
Ramadhani-Indonesia

Olivier said...

une histoire dans chaque photo. superbe lumiere.

cieldequimper said...

OOO courageuse Virginia... ;-) Thanks for going down there because the photos are magnificent.

Kim said...

Methinks the funny bone of the theater's old staff was extremely active or that Tom did a bit of preparation for your excursion himself! I'm glad you were accompanied on this adventure, though. Looks like someone applied paint remover to refinish the doors, then forgot to scrape them and finish the job. Door knobs are removed, too. Cool shots!
-Kim

Marie Reed said...

You delivered with gusto V!

Kate said...

Your description of the excursion underscores the ominous appearance of the doors. I'd say a touch of witicism by the former actors were in play.

Thérèse said...

You certainly mean that no one wanted to tell you what the signs on the doors meant...otherwise we would not have had these pictures. lol

Julie said...

I like this set, V. Especially the final one with the peeling paint. It is such a desperately sad image of grander days.

Such a wonderful contrast ...

B SQUARED said...

I think all those places are haunted. If they're not, they should be.

Halcyon said...

Those are some cool doors. Thanks for braving the rodents to bring us the lovely photos.

Virginia said...

My friend Tom reads my blog every day. I hear him chuckling I think!!

B2,
If this place isn't it missed a good chance!

Therese,
If I had seen Tom's Rat Room first, I wouldn't have gotten a single photo down there!

Kim,
I was fascinated by how the paint had peeled away myself. We decided moisture had done that job.

James said...

Great post. I would love to explore a place like that.

Anonymous said...

Anything for your art, Virg. Creepy.

Marie-Noyale said...

If you didn't learn your role quick enough that's where you ended up!!!
You managed to beautify a creepy place!!!
I think,behind the walls, the whole "Ratatouille"Family is giggling too!!!!

Jilly said...

How incredible! You really have earned your badge for valour and what a beautiful - strangely beautiful photograph you ended up with. Bizarre tho. Ditto the Rat rom. Pack Rats perhaps as per Sinatra.

Janet said...

Virginia, now that you have earned your badge of valor in B'ham, come on down to Selma and take photos inside our underground tunnels. Perhaps you can help solve their mysteries!

FireLight said...

I dub thee Queen of the Dungeon for this one....it is a cringy, creepy, space. Though we once had a teachers' lounge in one of my old schools which could have given this area some competition.

Tom said...

There as got to be a great story tied into there signs... well done for going down there.. do not feel to bad about the rodents.. my fear would have been something much smaller... Spiders.. ha!

Virginia said...

FL
I"ll take Queen of the Dungeon! And I know what you mean about the old Teachers' Lounges. Scary!

Tom,
Spiders??? They were the least of my worries.

RR,
No thanks, I've done all dungeon diving I'm going to do.....I hope!

And don't anyone even bring up the Catacombs of Paris. No sirreeee! If you want to see them, try Google.com. This photographer won't be covering that beat.

PJ said...

The things we do for our art. I'm not sure even I would feel comfy there. But then again, I didn't think I would enjoy 100 Strangers and we know how that turned out.

Well, I'm sure you're having fun right now, I envision giggling girls and lots of picture snapping. I want photos of the pot roast and at least one of everyone sticking their tongues out. It's a beautiful day for the drive. Keep me posted.

Unknown said...

You're a brave lady, V.! I don't know many who would go down there! :-) One of the things I will never forgive myself when I was in India, is not to have visited the Rat Temple, which is something unique and out of this world! Just do an image google search under this name and you will see why. But I was not alone, so...
Incredible doors, by the way!

Alex said...

Hi Virginia, Great shots once again, i feel that you secretly crave dark and mysterious places (lol). The things we have to endure to get our shots.

Anonymous said...

As I told PJ, we on the west coast are all ready raising bail money should you need it. Have a wing-ding.

Walker said...

Interesting pictures. Thanks for making the trip.

marley said...

Doesn't look the best place for stars of stage, and now the rats have taken over! Great collection of photos :)

Ken Mac said...

like a detective, you rooted out some amazing shots! Love the color. Maybe those signs had something to do with a stage show? WOW

Always a Southern Girl said...

What a neat place that is. I love B'ham. I have been there many times. It really is a great city. I enjoyed looking at your other pictures as well.

Have a great day and I will stop back by soon.

Bob Crowe said...

Well, maybe the place in the top photo was Cheney's undisclosed location. But on the other hand, are you sure no water boarding took place there? Deep mysteries all around.

Janet Kincaid said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Virginia said...

Bob,
Well that would be a good place for him!

KM
I"m learning the grunge stuff from you my friend.

Always,
Thanks for stoppping by. Please come back soon.

Alex,
Believe me I'm not craving the dark. Ewwww.

AH>
We're holding it in the road and having a ball.

Pat said...

Very interesting...I'm thinking up all kinds of stories about the signs on these rooms...

Jane Hards Photography said...

Please don't put me in here when I'm naughty. Interesting stuff, but solitary cell is a little intimidating.

Maya said...

Oh, what we photogs go through to get a good shot! I'm glad you braved it, 'cause that top shot is top notch!