Prattville names downtown spaces Esther’s and The Lyric at Esther’s

Esther Ticknor Pratt, the wife and trusted partner of founder Daniel Pratt, is now the namesake linking two downtown Prattville spaces meant to blend memory with new use. City leaders used the name Esther’s for the former Hancock Whitney Bank building, known during planning as Project Star, and The Lyric at Esther’s for the adjacent outdoor venue next door, framing both as part of one larger downtown identity.

The city said the choice was deliberate. In its Oct. 1, 2025 announcement, Prattville described Esther Ticknor Pratt as an original partner in the town’s establishment and said she helped urge Daniel Pratt to remain in Alabama, a decision the city says helped spur economic growth in Autauga County and the broader River Region. Officials also noted that Esther means star in ancient Persian origins, a fitting detail for a project that had already carried the working name Project Star.

That historical thread runs through Daniel Pratt’s own story. He was born in Temple, New Hampshire, on July 20, 1799, married Esther Ticknor in 1827, arrived in Alabama in 1833 and founded Prattville in 1838. Esther Ticknor Pratt died in 1875. By choosing her name for a prominent downtown building and a public gathering space beside it, the city is tying present-day redevelopment to the founders’ legacy rather than treating the site as a stand-alone commercial project.

The physical work has been moving forward for some time. Prattville bought the closed Hancock Whitney Bank building in 2021 for about $1.3 million. On June 6, 2024, Prattville City Council approved the outdoor venue project and awarded the work to Construction One, Inc. at a cost not to exceed $3,742,645. The venue sits at 124 West Main Street in historic downtown Prattville, and its website describes it as under construction and intended to be an emerging destination for food, entertainment and community gathering.

The Lyric name also reaches back to one of downtown Prattville’s cultural landmarks. Coverage of the naming points to the historic Lyric Theatre, once a cornerstone of downtown life and a stage for performers including Hank Williams. That reference gives the new outdoor venue a civic and artistic lineage, not just a physical address, and helps explain why the branding carries meaning beyond the walls of the old bank building.

The site has already played a practical role in city operations. A 2023 report said FEMA leased the former bank building for $100,000 per month for three months, with an option to extend another three months. Now, with Esther’s and The Lyric at Esther’s, Prattville is making a different claim about the property: that downtown renewal can still point back to the people and places that shaped the city in the first place.