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EB Realty Management has released renderings for North Broad's Metropolitan Opera House and, well, it looks like the Met we know with purple lights and a "Box Office" sign.
Without it's pediment and crown restored, it gives of an Eastern State Penitentiary vibe, a preserved state of decay. In some ways, like Eastern State, that's quite beautiful. And on an Avenue that hasn't quite figured out what it wants to be, it could be incredibly unique.
Considering developers Eric Blumenfeld and Billy Procida have been teasing us with the notion that the Met will host one of the "nation's biggest concert promoters," it seems they'd have the prospective funds to completely restore the Met to it's original grandeur. But Blumenfeld and Procida have proven themselves unconventional developers with an admiration for beleaguered brick and mortar.
We know the Met won't be showing operas, at least not conventional ones. Those venturing up North Broad for a concert won't be looking for a classical venue, but something unique. The Met's current facade offers just that, and perhaps that's why Blumenfeld and Procida chose to leave it as-found.
Not that anyone cares, but I'd offer only two changes: track down it's rooftop and sidewalk signage.
There's a scene in the movie Twelve Monkeys where a homeless preacher (from the future) is prophesying outside of the abandoned opera house, and it's deteriorating sign hangs in the background.
Find it, and reinstall it. In the 1990s, the Met sign was every bit a part of North Broad's cultural legacy as the Divine Lorraine's, and you know someone has it stored in a barn somewhere.
That said, as Philadelphia's historic theater's go, we've had some losses. But the preservation of the Met exponentially outweighs the loss of places like the Boyd. The Boyd was a cinematic, Art Deco beauty. Not the best, but the best - and only - we had left. But the Met was and is something else. Something iconic from it's inception. It's salvation, even in it's current state, is a win for preservation in this city.
The Divine Lorraine isn't the only beleaguered relic on Philadelphia's once - and briefly - grand North Broad Street. And I'm not just referring to the building's time worn glory, but also the development hell in which it sits.
The Metropolitan Opera House, which is probably more remembered for its role in 12 Monkeys than any opera it ever showed, stands nearby, barely recognizable from its former panache.
Both are owned by developer Eric Blumenfeld, and both sit under giant question marks.
The Metropolitan Opera House's ownership is a unique headache. Previously owned by the Holy Ghost Headquarters Revival Center at the Met, Inc.," presided over by Reverend Mark Hatcher, many were under the impression that the theater's renovation was to be a joint venture between the church and the developer.
Say what you will about an "incorporated" church, the agreement certainly reeks of a shady deal.
According to a recent article in the Daily News, Hatcher relinquished the $20M building's title to Blumenfeld for $1 in 2013. Whether or not the deal was insidious will be up to the courts. Hatcher is currently suing Eric Blumenfeld for fraud.
Considering developers typically have a team of lawyers allocated to just this sort of claim, it may come down to one very expensive case of "seller beware." But as ridiculous as it is that a church is operating out of the basement of a building so large, and as naive as Hatcher may have been to assume that Blumenfeld ever saw a place for his church in such a costly project, I doubt Blumenfeld will ultimately wind up keeping the title for $1.
But just look at the building's condition. There is no way the building's proposed $10M renovation could cover the cost of truly restoring the opera house without divine intervention, perhaps something Hatcher was hoping for.
Philadelphia has demolished bigger buildings in better condition, and in better neighborhoods well within the 21st Century. Did Eric Blumenfeld ever intend on getting into the theater business, or did he take advantage of someone sitting on a piece of property in a part of the city just begging to pop?
