{"nrhp_refnum":"72001163","name":"Metropolitan Opera House","other_names":["The Met","Philadelphia Evangelistic Center"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"858 N. Broad St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Philadelphia","county":"Philadelphia","state":"PA","lat":39.970384215000024,"lon":-75.16004553499994,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1972-02-01","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Performing Arts"],"significance_levels":["national"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A former opera house and theater building on the southwest corner of Broad and Poplar Streets in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, designed by William H. Elfatrick of Brooklyn, a specialist in theatrical structures.","why_significant":"The building opened in 1908 as Oscar Hammerstein's opera house, a period when Philadelphia briefly had two opera houses. It hosted major operatic stars and Philadelphia premieres, and its exterior and history reflect the opulence of turn-of-the-century Philadelphia society and changing uses along North Broad Street.","narrative":"Built on the southwest corner of Broad and Poplar Streets, the Metropolitan Opera House was designed by William H. Elfatrick of Brooklyn, a specialist in theatrical structures. Its neo-classical design uses ivory white Philadelphia pressed brick, terra cotta and white marble, with rusticated brickwork on the first two stories and a pedimented center on both street fronts. The Broad Street facade is five bays wide and the Poplar Street facade three. The interior once seated more than 4,000 people and included 28 grand tier boxes and an orchestra pit for 120 musicians. Begun in April 1908, it opened in November that year with a performance of Carmen, and it was one of two opera houses in Philadelphia at a time when the city briefly shared that distinction with Paris and New York. Major singers of the era performed there, and several operas given in Philadelphia were first staged in the city here. Opera ran until 1920, after which the building hosted vaudeville, revivals, sports, dances and union meetings. A 1948 fire destroyed much of the interior, and later alterations followed.","period_of_significance":"1908","architect_builder":"William H. Elfatrick (architect)","architectural_style":"Neo-classical","criteria":[],"status_note":"Now the Philadelphia Evangelistic Center; altered after a 1948 fire and later uses.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.1-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 17:11:30.431263-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_PA/72001163.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/72001163/b4351330a9-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/72001163/b4351330a9-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Smallbones","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Philly_Met_Broad_St.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Smallbones</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Philly_Met_Broad_St.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71997530","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metropolitan_Opera_House_(Philadelphia)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6825168"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/pennsylvania/philadelphia/metropolitan-opera-house-72001163/"}