Miller Symphony Hall is the oldest live performance theater in Allentown, its heritage dating to 1817 when Northampton Town got its first farmer's market on Center Square.

[3] The Lyric opened with a comic opera production based on the life of 18th century Prussian King Frederick the Great.

[3] The theater offered vaudeville, operas, plays, dramatic skits, minstrel shows, films and concerts, and also became one of the leading burlesque halls in the United States.

[4] The building was renovated and sported a new neo-classical facade, designed by Allentown's first Jewish architect, David Levy, and had become one of the nation's leading "tryout" theaters, a place where new stage shows appeared before being taken to Broadway.

As a result, Boxing matches and appearances by marginal entertainers such as Busty Russell and Ding Dong Bell, whose names suggested their talents were more physical than strictly theatrical, were considered the only types of acts the venue merited.

Prize fights and burlesque strip shows may not have been the most decorous forms of entertainment, but they "filled the hall," as the saying went, and paid the rent.

"[10] However, by the late 1950s, the Lyric was losing money and its owners, I. Hirst Enterprises, Inc. planned to close the theater and sell the property.

[3] However, just before the sale to Park & Shop completed, Donald and Sam Miller, the owners of The Morning Call, offered to buy the theater from Hirst Enterprises.

The Millers proposed a plan on June 2, 1959, to the Allentown Symphony Association to purchase the building for the orchestra as a dedicated concert hall.

[2] Although the burlesque shows at the Lyric continued until 1975, Allentown Symphony Hall became primarily a venue for classical music concerts and stage play productions.

A fund-raising effort resulted in the Allentown Symphony Association raising $10 million from public and private sources to improve the hall.

[2] A second phase of renovations, funded as part of its $6 million 60th anniversary fundraising campaign held in 2011 replaced and reinforced the main stage floor and added doors between the inner lobby and the auditorium.