The Met Philadelphia
A historic Philadelphia opera house that was restored and reopened in 2018 as The Met Philadelphia, a major live-music venue managed by Live Nation Philadelphia.
Last updated August 22, 2026
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Overview
The Met Philadelphia is the present-day concert-venue identity of Philadelphia's Metropolitan Opera House, a historic theater at 858 North Broad Street in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The building opened in 1908 as the Philadelphia Opera House, created by theater impresario Oscar Hammerstein I as the home of his Philadelphia Opera Company. It was designed by William H. McElfatrick of J. B. McElfatrick & Son and opened with Georges Bizet's Carmen on November 17, 1908. With seating for more than 4,000 people, it was described at the time as the largest theater of its type in the world. The venue's first opera era was brief but important. Hammerstein's company performed there until March 1910, when financial pressure led to the sale of the building to New York's Metropolitan Opera. The purchaser renamed it the Metropolitan Opera House, and the Metropolitan Opera began using it for Philadelphia performances in December 1910. The New York company staged more than one hundred performances there over the following decade, while the building was also rented to other companies, including the Philadelphia-Chicago Grand Opera Company. After the Metropolitan Opera returned primarily to the Academy of Music for the 1920–1921 season, the building continued to host the Philadelphia Civic Opera Company, the Philadelphia Operatic Society, traveling productions, and other regional opera organizations. Its last opera production was a double bill of Cavalleria rusticana and Pagliacci in May 1934. The building then passed through several distinct commercial and civic uses. Silent films were shown there from the early 1920s, and the venue hosted an early radio broadcast by J. F. Rutherford in April 1922. By the late 1930s it had become a ballroom. In the 1940s, the orchestra pit was covered so that basketball, wrestling, and boxing could be staged; the Philadelphia Lumberjacks played some home games there during the 1946–1947 season. In 1954 the property became a church. The Philadelphia Orchestra also used the building for recording because of its acoustics. The theater was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972. After the church's membership declined in the late twentieth century, the building deteriorated substantially. It fell into disuse after 1988 and was considered imminently dangerous by city authorities. The Holy Ghost Headquarters Revival Center acquired it in 1996 and spent approximately $5 million on stabilization work between 1997 and 2013. A later redevelopment effort encountered a legal dispute and left portions of the interior unfinished. In 2017, the church and developer Eric Blumenfeld reached a joint-ownership arrangement, while Live Nation signed on as promoter and tenant. A reported $45 million renovation restored the building as a mixed-use property and contemporary concert venue while retaining its connection to the Holy Ghost church. The restored venue reopened to the public on December 3, 2018, with a Bob Dylan concert. Since then, The Met Philadelphia has operated primarily as a large-scale live-music room presenting touring artists, special performances, and radio or media events. Its identity combines a preserved historic theater shell with modern concert operations, making it one of Philadelphia's notable adaptive-reuse entertainment venues.
History
The Metropolitan Opera House was conceived in 1907 by Oscar Hammerstein I as the permanent Philadelphia home of his new Philadelphia Opera Company. Architect William H. McElfatrick, working for J. B. McElfatrick & Son, designed the building, and construction began in 1908. The Philadelphia Opera House opened on November 17, 1908, with Bizet's Carmen. Its auditorium could accommodate more than 4,000 people, giving the new theater a scale appropriate to Hammerstein's attempt to challenge the established opera institutions of New York and Philadelphia. The Philadelphia Opera Company used the building through March 1910. Hammerstein's financial difficulties then led to a sale to the Metropolitan Opera of New York. The building was renamed the Metropolitan Opera House, and the Metropolitan Opera inaugurated its ownership with a performance on December 13, 1910. It presented opera there regularly for roughly a decade, while also renting the theater to other organizations. The Philadelphia-Chicago Grand Opera Company, Philadelphia Operatic Society, Philadelphia Civic Opera Company, Philadelphia Grand Opera Company, and Philadelphia La Scala Opera Company all used the building at different times. The Metropolitan Opera's final performance there was Eugene Onegin on April 20, 1920; the final opera staged in the building was a Chicago Grand Opera Company presentation of Cavalleria rusticana and Pagliacci on May 5, 1934. The building's post-opera history reflected changing entertainment patterns and the changing condition of the surrounding neighborhood. It began showing silent films by 1920 and continued as a cinema after opera ended. In April 1922, J. F. Rutherford delivered a speech from the theater that was broadcast by radio to a large estimated audience. During the late 1930s the property became a ballroom, and during the 1940s it was adapted for sports by covering the orchestra pit and installing a floor suitable for basketball, wrestling, and boxing. The Philadelphia Lumberjacks used it for some home games in the 1946–1947 season. In 1954, the building was sold to Rev. Theo Jones and became a church. Its acoustics also attracted the Philadelphia Orchestra for recording sessions. The structure was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972. By the late 1980s, declining church membership and deferred maintenance had left it in serious disrepair, and it fell out of regular use after 1988. City building authorities eventually classified it as imminently dangerous. The Holy Ghost Headquarters Revival Center purchased the property in 1996 and stabilized it over many years, reportedly spending about $5 million between 1997 and 2013. A development agreement with Eric Blumenfeld followed in 2012, but interior demolition and delays led to a dispute. In 2015, the church sued, claiming that the developer had failed to restore the building as promised. A joint-ownership arrangement was reached in May 2017. Live Nation simultaneously committed to become the concert promoter and tenant, and the parties announced a $45 million renovation. Led by Atkin Olshin Schade Architects with Domus as general contractor, the work converted the historic property into a modern mixed-use concert venue while preserving its church use. Reopened on December 3, 2018, with a Bob Dylan performance, the venue adopted The Met Philadelphia as its public-facing concert identity. Its subsequent programming has included touring music acts and special broadcasts, including a SiriusXM-hosted Phish performance in December 2019.
- 2019
Phish special performance
[1]SiriusXM hosted a Phish performance described as the group's smallest in two decades.
- 2018
Reopens as The Met Philadelphia
[1]The restored venue reopened on December 3 with a Bob Dylan concert.
- 2017
Concert redevelopment announced
[1]The owners and Live Nation announced a major renovation and Live Nation's role as promoter and tenant.
- 1996
Saved from potential demolition
[1]The Holy Ghost Headquarters Revival Center acquired the deteriorating building and began a long stabilization effort.
- 1972
Historic designation
[1]The Metropolitan Opera House was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
- 1954
Converted to church use
[1]The property was sold to Rev. Theo Jones and became a church.
- 1934
Final opera production
[1]The last opera production was a double bill of Cavalleria rusticana and Pagliacci on May 5.
- 1920
Metropolitan Opera ends regular use
[1]The Metropolitan Opera gave its final performance at the building in April 1920, after which the theater's programming broadened further.
- 1910
Sold to the Metropolitan Opera
[1]Arthur Hammerstein sold the property to New York's Metropolitan Opera, which renamed it the Metropolitan Opera House.
- 1908
Philadelphia Opera House opens
[1]The building opened on November 17 with Carmen, inaugurating the Philadelphia Opera Company's first season.
Products and positioning
Historic adaptive-reuse live-music venue in Philadelphia, combining a restored early-twentieth-century opera house with contemporary concert production and touring entertainment.
Live entertainment · 2018
Live concert program
The Met Philadelphia's core offering is a calendar of touring concerts across rock, pop, hip-hop, electronic, country, and other contemporary genres. The restored theater provides a large indoor room with the architectural character of an early twentieth-century opera house and the production infrastructure expected of a modern touring venue.
Venue rental · 2018
Historic venue and event space
Beyond ticketed concerts, the building functions as a distinctive event setting. Its preserved historic auditorium and large capacity support special performances, media events, broadcasts, and other productions requiring a prominent Philadelphia location.
Controversies
2015
Dispute over stalled redevelopment
Holy Ghost Headquarters Church sued developer Eric Blumenfeld, alleging that he had misrepresented his financial position and failed to restore the property as promised after interior work began. The dispute preceded the later joint-ownership and Live Nation redevelopment arrangement.
1939
Christian Front gathering at the theater
On July 14, 1939, Father Charles Coughlin addressed a crowd of approximately 6,000 at the building in connection with the launch of a pro-fascist Christian Front organization. The gathering included people associated with anti-Jewish and Nazi sympathies.
Marketing campaigns
- 2019SiriusXM Phish performance
United States
SiriusXM used The Met for a special Phish performance, emphasizing the venue's ability to host high-profile broadcast and limited-capacity music events.
Outcome. The December 3 performance was reported as Phish's smallest show in two decades.
- 2018Reopening of The Met Philadelphia
United States
The restoration campaign repositioned the former opera house as a contemporary Philadelphia concert venue while retaining the building's historic identity and ongoing church connection. Live Nation served as promoter and tenant.
Outcome. The venue reopened to the public on December 3, 2018, with Bob Dylan as the inaugural post-renovation performer.
Brand decisions
2018
Launch The Met Philadelphia concert venueProduct launchBackground
The completed renovation restored a historically significant but long-underused theater for contemporary entertainment.
Action taken
Live Nation Philadelphia began managing the reopened property as a live-music venue, with Bob Dylan performing at the public reopening.
Aftermath
The building became an active Philadelphia destination for touring artists and special music events.
2017
Redevelop the property as a mixed-use concert venueStrategyBackground
After years of deterioration, stabilization work, and a failed or disputed development effort, the owners sought a viable adaptive-reuse plan for the historic building.
Action taken
The owners reached a joint-ownership arrangement and partnered with Live Nation, announcing a major renovation that would restore the theater as a concert venue while maintaining the church's presence.
Aftermath
The restored building reopened in December 2018 under The Met Philadelphia identity and entered active commercial concert operations.
Announced renovation cost. $45 million (2017 announcement)
1910
Sell the opera house to the Metropolitan OperaM&ABackground
Oscar Hammerstein's Philadelphia Opera Company had achieved strong attendance but encountered financial pressure and debt.
Action taken
Arthur Hammerstein sold the building to the Metropolitan Opera of New York, which changed its name and used it for regular Philadelphia performances.
Aftermath
The sale ended the building's initial Philadelphia Opera Company period and brought it into the Metropolitan Opera's touring and performance network.
Recent events
- 2019
SiriusXM presents a Phish performance at The Met[1]
Campaign · Other
SiriusXM hosted Phish at the venue on December 3, 2019, for what was described as the band's smallest performance in two decades.
- 2018
The Met Philadelphia reopens with Bob Dylan concert[1]
Product launch · Other
Following restoration, the venue reopened to the public on December 3, 2018, with a performance by Bob Dylan.
- 2017
Live Nation joins $45 million redevelopment of the historic theater[1]
M&A · Other
Live Nation signed as concert promoter and tenant as the owners announced a major renovation intended to return the building to use as a mixed-use concert venue.
- 2015
Church sues developer over stalled Met restoration[1]
Lawsuit · Other
Holy Ghost Headquarters Church sued developer Eric Blumenfeld, alleging that promised restoration work had not been completed and that interior demolition had left the project in disarray.
- 1996
Holy Ghost Headquarters Revival Center acquires the deteriorating theater[1]
Other
The church purchased the building when it faced possible demolition and subsequently undertook stabilization work.
- 1972
Metropolitan Opera House added to the National Register of Historic Places[1]
Other
The historic Philadelphia theater received National Register recognition while it was still in use as a multipurpose building.
Sources2 sources
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