Metropolitan Opera House (Grand Forks, North Dakota)

Metropolitan Opera House (Grand Forks, North Dakota)
Metropolitan Opera House
Location: 116 S. Third St.
Grand Forks, North Dakota
Architect: Warren B.Dunnell
Architectural style: Romanesque
NRHP Reference#: 99001048
Added to NRHP: August 27, 1999

The Metropolitan Opera House (or The Met) is located at 116 South Third Street in the downtown area of Grand Forks, North Dakota. The building, constructed in 1890, faces the Red River of the North and sits between the BNSF Railway tracks and a parking structure. At one time, the Opera House was considered the best opera house between Minneapolis and Seattle.[1] Today, the building has been converted into an apartment building called the Opera House Lofts.

Contents

History

The Metropolitan Opera House was built in 1890 by the Grand Forks Opera Company on land donated by James J. Hill of the Great Northern Railway at a cost of $91,000.[1] Though the term "Metropolitan" may have been an overstatement for a community that, at the time, had just 5,000 citizens, those behind construction of the building were looking to the city's future growth. The building required two mortgages to complete and struggled to stay in the black after opening. Nonetheless, it was able to provide citizens 50 years of opera and theatre.

By the 1940s, opera had fallen in popularity due to new forms of entertainment such as film. The Met was no exception and the curtain fell for the last time. Over the next 50 years, the building was home to a variety of businesses. During this period, the 1890s interior was gutted and replaced by bars and bowling alleys.

Badly damaged during the 1997 Red River Flood, the building sat empty for several years and came close to meeting the wrecking ball. However, the former opera house was saved by the Historic Preservation Commission. The exterior has since been restored to its 1890s appearance, while the interior has been converted to high-end apartments with space for businesses on the first floor.

Architecture

The building was designed by prominent Minneapolis architect Warren B. Dunnell in the Richardsonian Romanesque style.[2] It went through an extensive renovation/restoration by JLG Architects in 2005 and 2006.[1]

References

External links


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать реферат

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Metropolitan Opera House — The Metropolitan Opera House may refer to: Metropolitan Opera or the Met , the famed opera company in New York City Metropolitan Opera House (39th St), the old Met was the first home of the Metropolitan Opera Metropolitan Opera House (Lincoln… …   Wikipedia

  • National Register of Historic Places listings in Grand Forks County, North Dakota — Location of Grand Forks County in North Dakota This is a list of the National Register of Historic Places listings in Grand Forks County, North Dakota. This is intended to be a complete list of the properties and districts on the National… …   Wikipedia

  • Fargo, North Dakota — City of Fargo Fargo Downtown Seal …   Wikipedia

  • Downtown Grand Forks — Historic District U.S. National Register of Historic Places U.S. Historic district …   Wikipedia

  • National Register of Historic Places featured properties and districts — This is a list of National Register of Historic Places featured properties and districts. The National Park Service features one new listing on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) each week. The featured new listings are announced by… …   Wikipedia

  • Crookston, Minnesota —   City   Crookston Commercial Historic District …   Wikipedia

  • United States — a republic in the N Western Hemisphere comprising 48 conterminous states, the District of Columbia, and Alaska in North America, and Hawaii in the N Pacific. 267,954,767; conterminous United States, 3,022,387 sq. mi. (7,827,982 sq. km); with… …   Universalium

  • Calendar of 1997 — ▪ 1998 JANUARY JANUARY 1       Ghanaian Kofi Annan replaces Egyptian Boutros Boutros Ghali in the position of United Nations secretary general.       Among those knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in the annual New Year s Day ceremony is pop musician …   Universalium

  • National Register of Historic Places listings in Minnesota — Map of all coordinates from Google Map of all coordinates from Bing Export all coordinates as …   Wikipedia

  • National Register of Historic Places listings in Colorado — There are more than 1,300 properties and historic districts in Colorado listed on the National Register of Historic Places. They are distributed over 63 of Colorado s 64 counties. (Broomfield County is the sole exception.) Contents: Counties in… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”