Philadelphia

Historic Philadelphia Opera House to Become Live Music Venue

A glorious old opera house that takes up a full city block in Philadelphia will reopen as a live music venue.

The Philadelphia Inquirer reports that developer Eric Blumenfeld has entered an agreement with Live Nation to revive the Metropolitan Opera House for $45 million.

The theater on a major artery through the city was built in 1908 by impresario Oscar Hammerstein and served as an opera house and movie theater for its first three decades. Then a sports promoter bought it and held wrestling and boxing matches inside.

It sat vacant from 1988 to 1995, when a church bought the building.

Blumenfeld says the rehabbed 3,500-capacity music venue should open by the end of 2018.

Copyright The Associated Press
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