The auditorium contains elements from the old Lyric's and the Apollo's interiors, including a ceiling dome, boxes, and a proscenium arch, which were modified to fit the new theater's dimensions.

[6] In the first two decades of the 20th century, eleven venues for Legitimate theatre were built within one block of West 42nd Street between Seventh and Eighth Avenues.

[20][21] The old Lyric contained three levels of seating, topped by a ceiling dome that was surrounded by moldings of lyres and Greek masks.

[24] The current Lyric Theatre was designed by Beyer Blinder Belle (BBB) and Peter H. Kofman for Garth Drabinsky; it opened as the Ford Center in 1998.

[31] According to Richard Blinder of BBB, the current theater's design had to conform with preservation guidelines because it was part of a city-owned district controlled by New 42nd Street.

[36] On the second story, the outer bays contain rectangular windows flanked by pilasters, above which are entablatures with carved masks of comedy and tragedy.

[40] BBB initially planned to use a modern decorative scheme that contrasted with the historical design elements, but Richard Blinder said this proposal was "too diagrammatic".

[23] When the theater opened in 1998, architectural critic Herbert Muschamp wrote of the lounge: "Bad paintings hang on walls covered with tasteful vanilla moire".

[31][38] The ceiling contains the Apollo Theatre's original dome, which is surrounded by a newer plaster ring to make it appear larger.

[4][c] When the theater was built, Drabinsky specified that the fly loft had to be 100 ft (30 m) high, and the stage house was to contain dressing rooms for 75 performers.

[13] To maximize space within the stage house, its support columns are embedded into the western wall, adjoining the Selwyn (American Airlines) Theatre.

[61] The Urban Development Corporation (UDC), an agency of the New York state government, then proposed redeveloping the area around a portion of West 42nd Street in 1981.

[66] From 1987 to 1989, Park Tower and Prudential hired Robert A. M. Stern to conduct a study on the Apollo, Lyric, Selwyn (later American Airlines), Times Square, and Victory theaters on the north side of 42nd Street.

[68] City and state officials announced plans for the five theaters, along with the Liberty Theatre on the south side of 42nd Street, in September 1988.

[83][84] Government officials hoped that development of the theaters would finally allow the construction of the four towers around 42nd Street, Broadway, and Seventh Avenue.

[33][18] That September, MTV took an option on the Apollo, Lyric, and Times Square theaters, which it planned to convert into a production studio.

[91][92] The proposed large theater, a continuation of Stern's late-1980s plan for the site,[93] would be the second-largest Broadway venue behind the Gershwin Theatre.

[16][39] Beyer Blinder Belle and Peter Kofman were hired to design the new, larger theater,[93] construction of which began in June 1996.

The steel skeleton was being erected by February 1997 and the prefabricated facade panels were shipped from Canada after the roof was installed in June.

[4][31][32] Drabinsky, New York governor George Pataki, mayor Rudy Giuliani, and several theatrical personalities dedicated the Ford Center for the Performing Arts on December 12, 1997.

[108][109] Broadway producers attributed the bankruptcy proceedings in part to the costs of the Ford Center's construction and of Livent's frequent full-page advertisements in The New York Times.

[120] The Ford Center's first new production of the 2000s was a revival of Andrew Lloyd Webber's Jesus Christ Superstar, which opened in April 2000.

[133][134] Chitty only lasted through the end of the year, with 285 performances;[135] its director Frederick Zollo cited the Hilton's poor sight lines as a reason for his show's failure.

was profitable during its short run, both Hot Feet and The Pirate Queen closed at a net loss, leading theatrical executives to label the theater as "cursed".

[150] The musical Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark was booked for the theater shortly afterward, although previews were not expected to start until early 2010, leaving the Hilton unused for an entire year.

[151] Further issues arose in August 2009 when Spider-Man ran out of money, causing work at the Hilton to be halted,[127][152] though construction quickly resumed.

[164] In May 2013, during the run of Spider-Man, British theater operator Ambassador Theatre Group (now ATG Entertainment[165]) paid $60 million to lease the Foxwoods from New 42nd Street for up to 60 years.

[179][180] Harry Potter and the Cursed Child was booked for the Lyric in December 2016,[181] and ATG asked Cirque du Soleil to relocate so the theater could be renovated.

[185] Cursed Child opened on April 22, 2018,[187][188] and it ran until all Broadway theaters temporarily closed on March 12, 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

[189] The Lyric reopened on November 12, 2021, with performances of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, the run time of which had been shortened during the theater's closure.