Built by the opera impresario Oscar Hammerstein I and opened on 17 November 1908 with a performance of Carmen, the Metropolitan Opera House on North Broad Street was, in its day, the largest theatre of its kind in the world, with seating for more than 4,000 and acoustics renowned across the city. Hammerstein, grandfather of the famed lyricist of the same name, conceived it as a home for his opera company to rival New York. After staging opera until the 1930s, the building passed through a long succession of uses, serving as a movie theatre, a ballroom, a sports venue and, for decades, a church, while its grand interior slowly deteriorated. By the time serious revival talks began, its seats had been torn out and much of its decorative plaster ceiling had been ruined by water damage, and the building came perilously close to demolition. A rescue arrived through developer Eric Blumenfeld and Live Nation, who in 2017 announced a major renovation in partnership with the resident Holy Ghost church. The project, ultimately costing around 56 million dollars, used laser scanning to recreate the lost plasterwork, restored the cornices, gilded the balcony boxes and rebuilt the seating, reopening the venue on 3 December 2018 with a sold-out Bob Dylan concert. The restored room, marketed under a Highmark sponsorship, seats around 3,500 across an orchestra level, a two-tier balcony and box seats, with several hundred floor seats removable for general-admission shows. It retains its opera-house grandeur, with gold-flecked ornamentation across the ceiling, walls and columns, while functioning as a modern concert hall capable of hosting major touring acts. Occupying a full city block at Broad and Poplar streets, the Met has become one of Philadelphia's flagship live-music rooms, hosting concerts, comedy and the occasional special event while the partner congregation continues to worship in the building. Its revival is widely cited as a landmark of historic preservation and adaptive reuse in the city.

Type: Theater / Concert Hall

Address: 858 N Broad St, Philadelphia, PA, United States, 19130

Website: https://themetphilly.com

Capacity: 3500

Opening Date: 17/11/1908