Metropolitan Opera House
515 Washington Avenue,
Iowa Falls,
IA
50126
515 Washington Avenue,
Iowa Falls,
IA
50126
1 person
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Related Websites
Metropolitan Opera House (Official)
Additional Info
Previously operated by: Fridley Theatres
Architects: Eugene S. Ellsworth, Didrik A. Omeyer, Martin P. Thori
Firms: Omeyer & Thori
Functions: Movies (First Run)
Styles: Italian Renaissance
Previous Names: Metropolitan Theatre
Phone Numbers:
Box Office:
641.648.0099
Manager:
641.648.0099
Nearby Theaters
News About This Theater
- Sep 19, 2013 — Hometown theater saved by Hollywood Executive
The Metropolitan Opera House opened as an 831-seat playhouse on December 27, 1899. Originally seating was provided for 441 in the orchestra and 390 in the balcony.
It was designed by Eugene S. Ellsworth of Iowa Falls. In recent years it became the Metropolitan Theatre and was operated by Fridley Theatres, but in the mid-2000’s was taken over by the BigTime Cinema chain. It re-opened under new ownership in 2013 as the Metropolitan Opera Hose.
Contributed by
Bryan Krefft
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Recent comments (view all 9 comments)
There is a small photo of the Met on this site:
http://tinyurl.com/4qp59w
Some additional photos here:
http://tinyurl.com/4dm2df
The additional information notes style is Italian Renaissance.
This appears to be the correct spelling of the name of one of the architects of this theater: Didrik A. Omeyer. Somehow the NRHP document slipped an inapposite apostrophe into his surname. He was apparently of Norwegian ancestry, not Irish, and so was his partner Martin P. Thori. Their firm was located in St. Paul, Minnesota.
The Mertropolitan Opera House has been independently operated since 2013. It is no longer operated by Fridley Theatres. They now go by The Metropolitan Opera House. Theyt show first run attractions. Website
Early 1900s photo added via the I grew up in Hardin County, Iowa Facebook page.
Typo in the listing, ‘Hose’. The ‘in recent years’ is a bit vague and confusing, and no longer accurate. Seems to have maybe taken place in the 1990s? The history on the theater website is not terribly clear.
Was renamed the ‘Met’ by around 1944, when the lobby was redone, and a new marquee added. That still existed when the building was listed in 1975.
1902 Sanborn calls this the Metropolitan Opera House, but 1911 and later show it as the Metropolitan Theatre. If Fridley had anything to do with that name, it was a renaming after many years as the Met.