Metropolis Fremantle
A historic live-performance venue and nightclub in Fremantle, Western Australia.
Last updated August 25, 2026
AI crawler reads
No AI crawler has read this profile since Oct 28, 2026.
Overview
Metropolis Fremantle is a live-performance venue and nightclub at 58 South Terrace in Fremantle, Western Australia, beside the Sail and Anchor Hotel. The current venue identity dates from 1991, when the historic building was reopened as Metropolis Concert Club Fremantle. Following extensive renovations, it reopened under the shorter name Metropolis Fremantle in 2002. Its programming and commercial role place it within Western Australia's live entertainment and nightlife sector rather than the record-label industry. The building has a much older entertainment history. The site was originally used for the Old Englyshe Fayre, an open-air entertainment area established in 1897 by Court, Butcher and Co. A permanent theatre was commissioned by James Gallop, who owned the adjoining hotel property. Its foundation stone was laid on 20 February 1904, and the building opened as King's Theatre on 27 September that year. It was also known as the Dalkeith Opera House, reflecting Gallop's association with the Perth suburb of Dalkeith. The original two-storey theatre was designed for approximately 1,200 people. Its layout included shops along the street frontage, a ground-floor foyer and stalls, supper rooms above the shops, a dress circle, and a balcony extending over the pavement. The building incorporated features associated with early twentieth-century theatre production, including a sliding roof, a substantial fly system, and twelve dressing rooms. Its rendered brick construction, decorative cornice, stuccoed parapet, and pediment remain important elements of the surviving structure, although the street frontage is now occupied by shops. During its early decades, the venue hosted a broad range of public entertainment. Promoters presented concerts, pantomimes, plays, and variety or revue-style programs featuring singers, dancers, musicians, and acrobats. The theatre also screened films and served as a boxing venue, demonstrating the flexible use typical of large urban entertainment halls of the period. During the First World War it was used by the Black Butterflies, a repertory group. Under the Metropolis name, the site has been positioned as a concert club and nightlife venue. The 2002 renovation and relaunch marked a significant transition from a historic theatre building to a contemporary club and live-music operation, while retaining the address's long-standing association with public entertainment. Available reference material does not identify a parent company, owner, founder of the modern Metropolis brand, financial performance, or a detailed current programming roster. Its documented identity is therefore best understood as a Fremantle venue brand operating from a heritage entertainment site.
History
The site now occupied by Metropolis Fremantle began as an entertainment property before the current venue brand existed. In 1897, Court, Butcher and Co established the Old Englyshe Fayre, an open-air entertainment area on the site. The later theatre was developed in connection with James Gallop, who owned the property and the adjoining Freemasons Hotel, now known as the Sail and Anchor Hotel. Tenders for the theatre project were issued in January 1904. The foundation stone was laid by Gallop on 20 February 1904. At the time of the ceremony, contractor James Brownlie had completed the foundations and begun the external brickwork. The project included a theatre and five shops on land next to the hotel. Visitors entered through an opening between the shops into a ground-floor foyer. From there, the auditorium provided stalls, while a staircase led to supper rooms over the shops and to the dress-circle area. A balcony projected over the pavement. The building opened on 27 September 1904 as King's Theatre. It was also referred to as the Dalkeith Opera House, a name linked to Gallop's ownership and his association with Dalkeith. With capacity for about 1,200 people, the two-storey venue was designed for varied entertainment rather than a single artistic format. It accommodated concerts, pantomimes, plays, and revue or variety programs involving singers, dancers, musicians, and acrobats. It was also used for cinema screenings and boxing. During the First World War, a repertory company known as the Black Butterflies used the theatre. The structure retained several features associated with historic theatre production and audience management. These included a sliding roof, a fly system for stage scenery, and twelve dressing rooms. Its exterior was built in rendered brick and finished with a decorative cornice, stuccoed parapet, and pediment. The street-level frontage has since been adapted for shops, but the building remains standing at the South Terrace address. The contemporary Metropolis chapter began in 1991, when the venue reopened as Metropolis Concert Club Fremantle. This represented a change from the building's earlier theatre, cinema, and variety-show uses toward a modern concert-club and nightlife model. Extensive renovations preceded a further reopening in 2002, after which the venue operated as Metropolis Fremantle. The modern brand consequently combines a long-established entertainment location with a late twentieth- and early twenty-first-century club identity. Publicly available reference material provides limited information about the modern venue's corporate ownership, management, financial results, or specific artists and event series. The documented history does, however, establish a continuous association between the address and public entertainment from the 1897 fairground operation, through the 1904 King's Theatre, to the Metropolis concert-club and nightclub business.
- 2002
Reopened as Metropolis Fremantle
[1]After extensive renovations, the club reopened under the Metropolis Fremantle name.
- 1991
Reopened as Metropolis Concert Club Fremantle
[1]The historic venue began its modern concert-club era under the Metropolis Concert Club Fremantle name.
- 1914
Use by the Black Butterflies repertory group
[1]During the First World War, the venue was used by the Black Butterflies repertory group.
- 1904
Foundation stone laid for King's Theatre
[1]James Gallop laid the theatre's foundation stone on 20 February, while contractor James Brownlie was completing the foundations and beginning the external brickwork.
- 1904
King's Theatre opened
[1]The new theatre opened on 27 September with capacity for approximately 1,200 people.
- 1897
Old Englyshe Fayre established
[1]Court, Butcher and Co established an open-air entertainment area known as the Old Englyshe Fayre on the site.
Products and positioning
A heritage-based Fremantle entertainment venue combining live music, nightclub programming, and event services in a historic theatre building.
Live entertainment · 1991
Live music events
Metropolis Fremantle operates as a concert and live-performance venue, presenting public entertainment in a converted historic theatre environment. The modern venue identity developed from the 1991 reopening as Metropolis Concert Club Fremantle and the 2002 relaunch after renovations. Reference material does not provide a complete archive of performers, genres, ticketing arrangements, or recurring event series.
Nightlife · 2002
Nightclub programming
The venue's contemporary business includes nightclub and dance-oriented entertainment. This extends the site's historic role as a flexible public amusement venue into a modern club format. Specific schedules, capacity figures, resident programs, and operating terms are not established by the supplied reference material.
Venue services · 1904
Historic theatre and event venue
The building supports a broad event function rooted in its former use as King's Theatre. Between its opening in 1904 and the modern Metropolis era, the premises hosted concerts, pantomimes, plays, variety performances, films, repertory theatre, and boxing. The venue's surviving theatre architecture and central Fremantle location remain part of its operational identity.
Controversies
Brand decisions
2002
Post-renovation relaunch as Metropolis FremantleStrategyBackground
The concert club operated from a historic theatre building that had undergone multiple changes of use since its 1904 opening.
Action taken
Following extensive renovations, the venue reopened under the shorter Metropolis Fremantle name.
Aftermath
The premises continued as a Fremantle live-music venue and nightclub.
1991
Shift to a modern concert-club identityStrategyBackground
The historic theatre site had previously served as a venue for many forms of live and filmed entertainment.
Action taken
The venue reopened as Metropolis Concert Club Fremantle, establishing the modern Metropolis entertainment identity.
Aftermath
The site continued operating as a contemporary music and nightlife venue and was later relaunched as Metropolis Fremantle after renovations.
Sources2 sources
Cite this profile: Cite the canonical profile. /brand-wiki/metropolis-fremantle · Editorial policy · How profiles are compiled