Lydia’s

History

Lydia’s was built as a dancehall and private theater in 1927. Named Lloyd’s Dancehall, it was moderately successful, enough so to survive for several years. A secret partition in the basement was designed to hold illegal liquor during Prohibition, although it was not served in the building itself. A tunnel was dug from the basement to a speakeasy across the alley to the rear, but that was filled in when the club closed.

When Prohibition ended, Lloyd’s was refurbished as a nightclub, which it remained until after World War II, when it closed in 1946 because of the death of its owner Lloyd Bannister. It remained closed until 1951, when Morgana was seeking a stable Haven. Together with her mentor she discovered the old nightclub (where, by chance, both had performed in the past) and decided to refurbish it, naming it the Magic Circle.

To throw off curiosity, the nightclub has been closed and renamed twice in its history: once in 1963 to Pentacle and again in 1979 to its present name of Lydia’s. Its most recent name comes from an old Sherlock Holmes film “The Woman in Green”, where the title character Lydia was a hypnotist in the employ of Professor Moriarty. Morgana is considering doing the same again except for the fact the nightclub is very popular.