The Colonel Drake Cultural Alliance’s dream of bringing the old Lyric Theater in Oil City back to life keeps moving closer to reality.
The Alliance said in a press release it has now reached 81% of its goal of $2.2 million to renovate the Lyric.
A grant from the Edith C. Justus Trust of $58,313 and a grant of $66,687 from the Elizabeth S Black Trust, both through the PNC Charitable Trust grant review committee, will be used to construct a new facade and marquee for the theater, the press release said.
The Alliance received a $925,000 grant through the state’s Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program last December, and since that time the Alliance has been seeking more funds to match the grant.
Earlier in 2021, the Alliance hired a professional consulting firm, Delta Development Group of Camp Hill, to fine tune and jump start the funding program.
The cultural alliance and partner Community Playhouse Inc. must now raise $150,000 to complete the required match funds for the RACP state grant awarded earlier this year.
An application has been filed for another $400,000 in grant money. The funds will be required to complete the building effort, according to the press release.
The goal to start construction next year and open the theater in 2024 is still on track.
The Alliance and Community Playhouse have completed more than $200,000 worth of construction and have put in hundreds of hours of volunteer time in their 21-year effort to save the last existing example of a “vaudeville theater” in the Oil Region.
Alliance president Joe Boland said that in the past the alliance has done work on the theater as funds have been raised, but they weren’t able to get very far on the project because “inflation was just killing us.”
Renovations planned
Renovations will include a new lobby and multipurpose space in the front of the building. The auditorium would be seat 214 people, and both movies and stage plays would be shown, Boland said.
He added that a structural engineer has assessed the building and found it to be in good shape.
A state of the art system to clean the air just like the one recently installed in the Warner Theater in Erie will be installed in the Lyric, Boland said.
Boland said there is a “need for a very efficient air handling system” in the theater. and the group decided to go beyond the minimum requirements with the air system to make sure patrons will be as comfortable as possible.
Community Playhouse, which owns the building, will be the theater company in residence, Boland said, adding that the playhouse is planning to put on about four shows a year.
In addition, the plan is to show second run movies and classic movies and well as bringing in small shows, he said.
The facility will also be available for rent for meetings, receptions, art shows and other events, Boland said.
“There is nowhere in Oil City you can seat 200 people. When it is finished the theater will seat 214,” Boland said.
He added that “the lobby in front will be available for receptions and art shows. It will be all glass on Seneca Street, so when something is going on you will be able to see it from the street.”
Boland said the Alliance wants to keep the building in use and the prices down so that area residents can afford to come to the theater.
The prices will depend on how the project is funded, he added.
Theater history
The theater opened in 1907 as the Airdome and operated under several names and managers over the next several years.
Following a fire, the theater was rebuilt as the Lyric Theatre in 1927 and operated as a vaudeville house until 1937 when it was converted into a movie theater.
In 1953, the front of the theater was converted into two storefronts and the auditorium was walled off and converted to storage space.
Boland said there are no known pictures of the theater’s interior and no one they have talked to can remember what the inside of the theater looked like. All anyone remembers is that it was dark.
Boland said that if anyone has pictures of the interior of the Lyric he would like to see them.
Boland said donations may be sent to the Colonel Drake Cultural Alliance Inc., P.O. Box 1145, Oil City, 16301. Donations should not be dropped off at the theater, he added.
The Colonel Drake Cultural Alliance is a 501C3 charity, Boland said.
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