Metropolis Theatre

Metropolis Theatre was a historic entertainment venue in the Bronx, New York City. It opened in 1893 with seating for approximately 1,600 people and stood at the corner of Third Avenue and 142nd Street, in the southwest part of the district known as the Hub. Its location reflected the rapid expansion of the Bronx and the improved public transportation that made the area accessible by elevated railway, cable cars, and trolley lines. Contemporary coverage treated it as an important theater for a district north of Manhattan, at a time when large formal theaters were still relatively concentrated elsewhere in New York. The venue was designed for live theatrical entertainment and was associated with a succession of popular forms rather than a single permanent repertory. A 1897 report in The Spirit of the Times described the theater as being managed by Mortimer Theiss and hosting a Klaw & Erlanger production of In Gay New York. The same account emphasized the building's ornate interior, including green, gold, and pink decoration, a richly ornamented proscenium arch, and a painted scene depicting young figures dancing to pastoral music. The building also reportedly included a Rathskeller in the basement and a roof garden above the main structure, features that broadened its role as a social and leisure destination. Performers associated with the theater included Francis X. Bushman, Leo Dietrichstein, Clara Kimball Young, and Pat Rooney. Over time, the Metropolis moved beyond conventional stage productions. Earlier owners presented vaudeville, motion pictures, Italian stage shows, and eventually burlesque. By 1914, the venue had been converted for motion-picture exhibition, a change connected with the competitive pressure created by the Bronx Opera House, which had opened in 1913. The transition illustrates the broader shift in urban entertainment from theatrical variety programs toward cinema and specialized popular amusements. The theater's later history was less stable. Its burlesque programming ultimately contributed to a police-ordered shutdown in 1926, and the building closed that year. Loew's did not operate the Metropolis as a public theater, but it subsequently used the premises for storage of scenery, curtains, and draperies from its vaudeville and stage operations. The site also housed a shop that produced signs and posters for Loew's theaters. These uses continued while the chain's older stage infrastructure was being phased out. Most of the building was demolished during the 1940s, although part of the facade survived for a time. The surviving facade became the principal physical remnant of a venue that had reflected several stages of Bronx entertainment history: late nineteenth-century legitimate theater, vaudeville, immigrant-language performance, early cinema, and burlesque. The Metropolis Theatre is therefore remembered less as a continuing commercial brand than as a representative former theater in the Hub and an example of the changing cultural and architectural landscape of the Bronx.

The Metropolis Theatre opened in 1893 in the Bronx, New York City, with seating for about 1,600 patrons. It occupied a prominent position at Third Avenue and 142nd Street, in the southwest of the Hub, a commercial and transportation center of the Bronx. Elevated, cable, and trolley services helped make the district accessible and supported the development of large-scale entertainment venues outside Manhattan. The theater's early identity was rooted in live performance. In 1897, The Spirit of the Times reported that Mortimer Theiss managed the venue and that a Klaw & Erlanger company was presenting In Gay New York. The report described a richly decorated auditorium in green, gold, and pink, together with a decorated proscenium arch. The building reportedly had a Rathskeller in its basement and a roof garden, giving it functions beyond the auditorium itself. Performers associated with the venue included Francis X. Bushman, Leo Dietrichstein, Clara Kimball Young, and Pat Rooney. The Metropolis later became a multipurpose popular-entertainment venue. Its owners presented vaudeville, motion pictures, Italian stage productions, and eventually burlesque. By 1914, it had been converted for film exhibition. This change occurred in the context of growing competition from the Bronx Opera House, which had opened in 1913, and reflected the wider reorganization of urban entertainment around permanent cinemas and newer forms of mass amusement. The venue's final years were marked by burlesque programming and increasing official scrutiny. A police action led to its closure in 1926. The closure ended its career as a public entertainment house. Loew's did not operate the Metropolis as a theater, but used the building afterward for storage of scenery, curtains, and draperies associated with its vaudeville and stage activities. A shop producing signs and posters for Loew's theaters also operated there. These uses continued during the phase-out of the chain's older stage equipment. Most of the building was demolished in the 1940s, leaving only a portion of the facade. The remaining architectural fragment represented a theater whose programming had followed the principal transitions in Bronx popular culture: legitimate drama and touring productions, vaudeville, Italian-language theater, cinema, and burlesque. Its history documents both the growth of the Hub as an entertainment district and the pressures that repeatedly reshaped commercial theater in New York.

• 1940

  Most of the structure is demolished

  [1]Metropolis Theatre (Bronx)en.wikipedia.org

  Most of the former theater building is demolished during the 1940s, while part of the facade remains.

• 1926

  Closure after police action

  [1]Metropolis Theatre (Bronx)en.wikipedia.org

  The theater closes after a police shutdown associated with its burlesque programming.

• 1914

  Conversion to motion pictures

  [1]Metropolis Theatre (Bronx)en.wikipedia.org

  The Metropolis is converted for motion-picture presentation as cinema becomes more prominent in the Bronx.

• 1913

  Bronx Opera House creates new competition

  [1]Metropolis Theatre (Bronx)en.wikipedia.org

  The opening of the Bronx Opera House adds competitive pressure to the local theater market.

• 1897

  Early live-theater prominence

  [1]Metropolis Theatre (Bronx)en.wikipedia.org

  The Spirit of the Times reports Mortimer Theiss as manager and records a Klaw & Erlanger production of In Gay New York at the venue.

• 1893

  Metropolis Theatre opens

  [1]Metropolis Theatre (Bronx)en.wikipedia.org

  A new theater with approximately 1,600 seats opens at Third Avenue and 142nd Street in the Bronx.

A large neighborhood entertainment venue serving the Bronx's Hub district and adapting its programming as popular entertainment shifted from live theater and vaudeville toward cinema and burlesque.

• 1926

  Closure following police interventionOther

  Background

  Later owners had presented several entertainment forms, including burlesque, before the venue attracted police action.

  Action taken

  The theater was shut down and ceased operating as a public entertainment venue.

  Aftermath

  Loew's subsequently used the premises for storage and for production of theater signs and posters rather than operating it as a theater.

  Source

• 1914

  Conversion from stage theater to cinema venueGeneration change

  Background

  The Metropolis operated amid changing audience preferences and new competition, including the Bronx Opera House, which opened in 1913.

  Action taken

  The venue was converted to show motion pictures while continuing its broader history of adapting to popular entertainment formats.

  Aftermath

  The conversion marked a shift away from an exclusively live-theater identity and toward film exhibition.

  Source

1. 1Metropolis Theatre (Bronx)en.wikipedia.org