Birmingham Landmarks, Inc

Birmingham Landmarks, Inc. is the 501 (c)(3) organization that owns and operates the historic Alabama Theatre and Lyric Theatre in downtown Birmingham, Alabama. About the Alabama Theatre: Built in 1927 by Paramount Studios, the Alabama Theatre was used primarily as a movie palace for 55 years, with the exception of the annual Miss Alabama pageant and the weekly Mickey Mouse Club. In 1987, the owners of the facility declared bankruptcy and the theatre was purchased by Birmingham Landmarks Inc, a non-profit corporation formed by members of the Alabama Chapter of the American Theatre Organ Society — the group that still cares for the theatre’s Mighty Wurlitzer theatre organ. After a front-to-back restoration in 1998, the Alabama Theatre now seats more than 2,100 guests and hosts more than 200 events each year. About the Lyric Theatre: Built in 1913, the Lyric opened January 14, 1914, as a vaudeville theatre. The Marx Brothers, Mae West, Milton Berle, and Buster Keaton performed there in its heyday. For more than 40 years, the Lyric served as a cinema, a concert hall, a house of worship and a playhouse. The Lyric was one of the first theatres in Birmingham where Black and white audiences saw the same show for the same time at the same price, but it was a segregated space — with a separate entrance and separate seating for Black patrons. The theatre closed in 1960. Birmingham Landmarks Inc. acquired the building in 1993. Following an $11.8 million restoration, the Lyric reopened on January 14, 2016 — 102 years after the original opening night. The 750-seat venue once again serves as a showcase for live performance, hosting concerts, comedy, dance recitals and drama.