Metropolitan Theatre (Winnipeg) facts for kids
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The Met
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Metropolitan Theatre in downtown Winnipeg
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| Former names | Allen Theatre (1919–1923) Metropolitan Theatre (1923–1987) |
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| Address | 281 Donald St. |
| Location | Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada |
| Coordinates | 49°53′35″N 97°8′34″W / 49.89306°N 97.14278°W |
| Owner | Canad Inns |
| Type | Theatre |
| Construction | |
| Opened | 2 January 1920 |
| Renovated | 2012 |
| Architect | C. Howard Crane |
The Metropolitan Theatre is a famous building in downtown Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. It was designed by an American architect named C. Howard Crane. You can find it at 281 Donald Street, near Bell MTS Place and the Holy Trinity Anglican Church.
This theatre was first called the Allen Theatre. It was named after the Allen brothers, who built many movie theaters across Canada in the early 1900s. In 1923, a company called Famous Players bought it and changed its name to the Metropolitan Theatre. Today, it's known as the Metropolitan Entertainment Centre, or simply "The Met".
The building was updated in 1948 and then closed in November 1987. In 1991, it was recognized as a National Historic Site of Canada. This means it's an important place in Canadian history. In 2006, Canad Inns bought the theatre. They planned to turn it into a rock and roll museum, but those plans changed.
By 2011, work began to fix up the building to look like it did when it first opened. The newly renovated building opened in November 2012. It now has a restaurant, a lounge, and spaces for special events.
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The Met's Early Days
In the early 1900s, the Allen family from Brantford, Ontario, was building the biggest chain of movie theaters in Canada. The family included brothers Jay J. Allen and Jules Allen, and their father Bernard Allen.
The theatre in Winnipeg was one of 45 movie houses owned by the brothers. It was designed by C. Howard Crane, who designed all the theaters in the Allen chain. This large building, about 24,000-square-foot (2,200 m2), was built in 1919. It was designed in a style called neoclassical, which means it looked like old Greek and Roman buildings.
The Allen Theatre officially opened on January 2, 1920. The owners had hoped to open on Christmas Day 1919. However, the special organ wasn't ready, and some of the inside decorations weren't finished. The first movie shown there was called Upstairs and Down.
Building Features
The theatre was built on Donald Street, south of Portage Avenue. The Allen brothers bought several smaller properties, like a billiard hall and a florist, to create the space for it. It was directly across from the huge Eaton's store, which was a very important department store in the city.
The main room, called the auditorium, could hold 2,500 people. It had a beautiful plaster ceiling dome with a large chandelier hanging from it. There were also two matching staircases that led up to a mezzanine, which is a partial floor above the main one.
The outside of the building is made of light-brown bricks with fancy designs made from terra cotta. Tall, flat columns called pilasters stand next to the arched windows. Each window has a rounded top part called a fanlight and a terra cotta swag (a decorative design). Below each window is a fake balcony made of wrought iron. The top edge of the building, called the cornice, has a brick wall above it. This wall features detailed carvings of urns and decorative bands called friezes.
When it first opened, the ground floor had the theatre's entrance in the middle. On either side were shallow shops with big windows. These shops were later combined into one larger shop on the north side and one on the south side. The north shop sold candy, and the south shop had different businesses over the years, like a blouse shop, a barber, an optician, and a music store.
In 1923, Famous Players bought the theatre and renamed it the Metropolitan Theatre. They used it to show new, popular movies. In 1948, the theatre was updated. The box office and entrance were moved, the ceiling was lowered, and the candy counter was made bigger.
The theatre closed on November 26, 1987, after showing its last movie, Date with an Angel. In 2006, the city sold the theatre to Canad Inns for $100,000. Canad Inns planned to turn it into a museum about rock and roll. Some important business leaders, like Leonard Asper, were also involved in this idea.
Modern Renovation
The theatre was empty for 25 years after closing in 1987. Then, Canad Inns decided to renovate it. Their goal was to make it look like the original Allen Theatre. The renovation started in 2011. Canad Inns provided $17 million for the project. The city of Winnipeg gave $1.5 million as a heritage grant, and the Government of Manitoba also gave $1.5 million. The province's money came with a condition: the building had to be available for nonprofit organizations to use 30 days a year.
The city's grant required the renovations to be finished by 2013. The theatre became a key part of a new entertainment area planned for downtown Winnipeg. Even though there was some water damage inside while it was closed, the interior was still in surprisingly good shape.
The renovation included building a new section on the south side for a kitchen, bathrooms, and elevators. The original sloped floors were replaced with flat, tiered platforms. Important historical parts, like the front, main entrance, mezzanine, and decorative mouldings, were carefully kept. Any historical parts that had been damaged or removed in earlier renovations were rebuilt. Other work included taking down a fake canopy, fixing the bricks, and installing new windows and special lighting inside.
The building officially reopened to the public on November 30, 2012, with a special invitation-only event.
What The Met Offers Now
Today, the Metropolitan Entertainment Centre is a busy place. It has a restaurant, a lounge, and spaces for different kinds of special events. It also has a large 35-by-26-foot (10.7 by 7.9 m) screen.
The Met is used for many things, like:
- Concerts
- Fundraising events
- Film screenings
- Fancy dinners
It has even shown Winnipeg Jets playoff hockey games and hosted the team's NHL Entry Draft parties. The restaurant usually has 20 to 30 employees, but for big events, up to 50 people might work there. They offer "dinner and movie" nights, which include a buffet dinner, a movie, and popcorn. They also run a special "supper club".
A National Historic Site
The Metropolitan Theatre was named a National Historic Site of Canada in 1991. This is a very important recognition. It is one of only four theatres built by the Allen brothers that are still standing in Canada. It is also one of only three Canadian buildings designed by architect C. Howard Crane that still exist.
