Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Curtain Going Up!


It will be a long time before the curtain will go up on the fully renovated Lyric Theater. Built in 1917 as a vaudeville theater, it has been in sad disprepair for many years, but progress is being made.  Today two shots of the original curtain. Back in the day,  when backstage fires were a common occurance, an asbestos fire curtain was something to brag about. How times have changed.

14 comments:

steviewren said...

So am I right in thinking that the curtains were painted trompe l'oeil on a sheet of asbestos material?

jb said...

Re backstage fires.

Did you know that stage lighting in those days was a cylinder of calcium oxide (quicklime) heated to 2572C by an oxyhydrogen flame. Hence "limelight"

I believe that eutectics also play a role

brattcat said...

These are wonderful. Can't wait to see the progress over the coming year(s). Are you active in theater, V?

Daryl said...

Love these shots ..

Anonymous said...

That peek behind the curtain is sensational, Virg.

Wayne said...

Something tells me this isn't the last shot we'll see from the Lyric.

A nice image V.

Petrea Burchard said...

What a delightful relic. These old theatres we have around the country are our treasures.

Virginia Floyd said...

Beautiful and interesting! You visit the most entertaining places! I love to see them through your lens.

Chattahoochee Valley Daily said...

Great curtain. I hope they can save it.

Bob Crowe said...

You still see the fireproof curtains in British theaters - must be part of the building code. Are there some efforts underway to restore this building?

Cloudia said...

You do your town proud!





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Jilly said...

This is fascianting and what a lovely shot.

Dystopos said...

Yes, there are early efforts underway to raise funds to restore this lovely gem of a playhouse. Visit http://www.lyricfineartstheatre.com or http://www.facebook.com/lyrictheatre for more information. I'm told the big push will start in 2011.

Dystopos said...

Oh, also, I heard a rumor that sometimes that "asbestos" slogan on theatre curtains could have been a false reassurance. I guess now we hope that it is.