Lyric SquareEst. 1918 · Anniston, Alabama
The Lyric Square facade at dusk on Noble Street, downtown Anniston, Alabama

Since 1918

From the 1918 Lyric Theatre to Lyric Square

Opening Night, 1918

A vaudeville house on Noble Street

The Lyric Theatre opened in downtown Anniston in April 1918 as a live house on the Keith Vaudeville circuit, bringing touring acts to Noble Street. A decade later the movies arrived: leased by Publix Theaters and renamed the Ritz in 1928, it screened its first film that October — Al Jolson in The Jazz Singer, the picture that ended the silent era. It ran as a cinema into the late 1960s.

The framed 1918 Lyric Theatre gala opening bill for Keith Vaudeville, preserved at Lyric Square

The Timeline

A century on Noble Street

  1. 1918

    The Lyric Theatre opens in April on the Keith Vaudeville circuit, one of downtown Anniston's premier entertainment venues.

  2. 1928

    Leased by Publix Theaters, renamed the Ritz, and converted for motion pictures — its first film is Al Jolson's The Jazz Singer.

  3. 1960s

    After decades as a movie house, the theatre closes and, over the following years, faces the threat of demolition.

  4. 1976

    Listed on the Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage, recognizing its architectural and cultural significance.

  5. 1980

    Added to the National Register of Historic Places on May 22 (reference #80000681).

  6. 1980s

    A group of local investors acquires the building and completes a roughly $1.1 million renovation into professional offices — work later recognized by the American Planning Association for innovative development.

  7. Today

    The building operates as Lyric Square, a full-service office community with its atrium, proscenium arch, and original theatre seats preserved for the professionals who work here.

Preserved

The theatre you can still see

The 1980s conversion kept the soul of the place. The original proscenium arch still frames the atrium — the old auditorium, now the building's skylit common space — and original theatre seats remain along its galleries. Even a vintage popcorn sign survives.

Tenants take client meetings where Anniston once watched vaudeville. It's a working office building that never stopped being a landmark.

See the photo gallery
Original wooden theatre seats preserved in the atrium at Lyric Square, Anniston, Alabama

Be part of the next chapter

Lease an office in a building that has anchored downtown Anniston for over a century.

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