One of the most charming, and hazardous, features of the Lyric Theatre before the restoration, was the asbestos curtain. In vaudeville days, an asbestos curtain was something to brag about as there were frequent backstage fires. Unfortunately there was no way to seal this beautiful old curtain to make it safe by today's standards. I just found this photo in my archives. I love it.
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.
