LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — City leaders helped cut the ribbon Friday on a new theater in west Louisville.
The Grand Lyric Theater is part of the Louisville Central Community Centers' Old Walnut Street development at 13th Street and West Muhammad Ali Boulevard, across from Walnut Park in the Russell neighborhood.
It's being called "vibrant new space for arts, culture and community." Leaders said the project pays homage to the old Grand and Lyric theaters, which were once located on Old Walnut Street.
Leaders said the opening of the theater is the culmination of the late Sam Watkins' vision. Watkins died in March at 83. He spent nearly three decades leading the LCCC, where he focused on expanding opportunity and driving investment in west Louisville, particularly in the Russell neighborhood.
The $3.4 million theater has 330 seats and is 8,000 square feet, according to our partners at Louisville Business First. It will serve as the venue for LCCC's theater and performing arts programs.
The Old Walnut Street campus also includes the Old Walnut Street Family & Strengthening Conference Center, a commercial kitchen, a small business incubator and a smaller event space, LBF reported.
Crews broke ground on the theater back in 2019 in an old warehouse that was used largely for equipment and vehicle storage for LCCC.
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