Lyceum Theatre, Memphis, program, February 1904

Description

Program for "Ben-Hur" at the Lyceum Theatre, Memphis, Tennessee, beginning February 15, 1904. It starred William Farnum in the title role. The program is damaged in the lower left. The second Lyceum Theatre was built by H.L. Brinkley in 1894 at Second and Jefferson. This new Lyceum interior was lavishly decorated in a Spanish motif, with imperial green, rich yellow, and gold. It was the first Memphis playhouse to have electric lights. In a very short period, the Lyceum was considered the finest theater in the South. But new theaters opened downtown and the Lyceum began to decline. To survive, it switched to vaudeville in 1919, and then to motion pictures (the first to show movies regularly), and finally boxing and burlesque. It closed in 1935 and was demolished the same year.