Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, July 24, 1994 TAG: 9408170007
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: F2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
But, thankfully, some look at the old Lyric Theater on College Street and see a jewel that can be polished to shine again.
This is a vision with beauty, worth reaching for.
A "Bring Back the Lyric" committee has launched a campaign to save Blacksburg's once-elegant 64-year-old movie palace, which was shut down when movie fans deserted it for a mall movie house and television.
The rescue mission's goal: to restore and refurbish the Lyric, to reopen it to show foreign and avant-garde films, and for recitals, plays and lectures.
The restoration project - which has the support of Virginia Tech President and Mrs. Paul Torgersen; Gibson Worsham, chairman of the New River Valley Preservation League; Blacksburg's Downtown Merchants Association; Blacksburg Mayor Roger Hedgepeth, and other local citizens - could cost $500,000 or more.
And, unfortunately, there's no guaranteeing the Lyric can draw crowds and thrive again, even if the building is magnificently restored. Similar efforts in other cities and towns to renovate old movie palaces have had mixed results.
Still, such theaters have a value to their towns that goes beyond the nostalgia of those who remember watching favorite flicks there years ago. The value goes beyond the theaters' potential for financial success, as well, and their place as architectural delights on the cityscape.
Too many downtowns in America have lost their dream palaces. Too many have lost their distinctive character.
The Lyric is history - a fixture, landmark, source of community - and as much as any other building and probably more, a part of Blacksburg's personality. A part of its future, too, we can only hope.
Bringing the Lyric back may not be easy. It certainly won't be cheap. But the effort is well worth making.
by CNB