Take a Step Back in Time at the Lyric
A Historical Timeline: 1912-Present
- Lyric Theatre constructed at a cost of $50,000 - one of the oldest remaining theatres in Saskatchewan.
- The original purpose of the building is for Vaudeville shows and silent movies. Vaudeville was a form of live entertainment for all ages that combined music, dance, animal tricks, magic acts, theatrical monologues and slapstick comedy routines.
- The opening performance, a musical entitled The Red Rose, featured a cast of 70 performers.
- Steel girders used to support the ceiling in the main theatre, removing any sightline obstructions.
- Jack Lundholm, a Swedish electrician, starts work as projectionist at the Lyric; he later became owner and operated the theatre until 1960.
- Upper level of the building used as an isolation hospital during the Spanish Flu epidemic.
- RCA Photophone Sound Projector installed by Jack Lundholm; the Lyric shows its first "talkie", Maurice Chevallier's The Love Parade.
- Lundholm renovates again, this time filling in the orchestra pit and removing the stage, thus ending the Lyric's Vaudeville era.
- The Lyric operates as a popular movie house, beloved to many in the community.
- The Lyric is sold and converted into a nightclub. Much of the building's history including the lighted sign, sloped floor, fixed seating and other memorabilia is removed at this time.
- The string of nightclubs continues, ending with the Inferno. The building stands abandoned.
- The Southwest Cultural Development Group (SCDG) is formed with the purpose of converting the building into a Community Cultural Centre.
- The SCDG re-opens the theatre with a sold-out performance entitled "Vaudeville Revisited", bringing the history of the building full-circle.
