16°c Overcast
14°c Cloudy periods
Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION
Old Met theatre making comeback
'Event space' slated to debut Nov. 30
JOHN WOODS / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS The redeveloped Metropolitan Theatre retains heritage features and includes a south-side addition for kitchens, washrooms. (JOHN WOODS)
THE MTS Centre is quieter than usual this fall, but there are signs of life on the other side of Donald Street.
The 93-year-old Metropolitan Theatre is slated to reopen next week after a quarter-century of inactivity, thanks to a $16-million renovation, expansion and heritage restoration.
Winnipeg's Canad Inns Corp. has issued invitations for a Nov. 30 unveiling of the newly revitalized theatre, which has been converted into what the hotel chain has called a "multi-function event space."
Canad Inns has spent two years restoring the main theatre space, installing lounges in the lobby area and building a new structure on the south side of the building to house kitchens, elevators and washrooms. The project included efforts to restore heritage elements such as mouldings that originally adorned the venue when it opened in 1919 as the Allen Theatre.
"It's quite an extraordinary adaptive restoration," said Ross McGowan, president and CEO of CentreVenture, Winnipeg's downtown-development agency.
CentreVenture sold the Met to Canad Inns for $100,000 in 2006 and later helped secure a combined $3 million worth of grants from the city and province. The provincial grant came with a caveat that non-profit organizations have access to the building 30 days a year, and the city required the work to be substantially complete before 2013.
CentreVenture is using new property taxes from Longboat Development Corp.'s Centrepoint project on the north side of Portage Avenue to make streetscaping improvements in the vicinity of the MTS Centre, including the block in front of the Met. The theatre will be a key component of CentreVenture's plan to convert 11 blocks of downtown into a new entertainment and hospitality district, McGowan said.
Canad Inns did not respond to interview requests Tuesday. In 2011, company president and chairman Leo Ledohowski said the theatre may host high school graduations and cabaret-style concerts and screen vintage movies and Winnipeg Jets games.
Ledohowski said the Met will not compete with the Centennial Concert Hall, Burton Cummings Theatre or Pantages Playhouse Theatre, all of which have stadium seating. The plan for the Met called for the original sloped floors to be replaced with tiered platforms for cabaret seating.
Fort Rouge Coun. Jenny Gerbasi, who chairs council's historical buildings committee and represents the south side of downtown, said she's thrilled to see the Met reopen after 25 years.
"It's a building that seemed so precarious and so close to being lost for so long. The fact it's been preserved and coming back to life again is pretty exciting," she said. "This is exactly what we need to be doing downtown."
Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition November 21, 2012 A3
More Local
- Back to Top
- Return to Local
More Local
(1 of 32 articles for today)
PST hike a 'difficult decision' but necessary, NDP official says
12:33 PM 0View Related
Poll
Most Popular Local
- Doctor charged with sexually assaulting teen at HSC
- MTS becomes takeover target
- Woman drove into river on purpose
- Teachers vote to donate $1.5M to human rights museum
- Overnight stabbings probed
- Police searching for suspect who woke sleeping teen
- City's first urban reserve born
- Keeping the e-party going without the party-crashers
- Premier defends PST hike at NDP convention
- Infamous, chronic pedophile declines to seek parole
- Man dies after being pulled from vehicle submerged in Winnipeg retention pond
- Flood money paid for CEO's romantic trip
- Crash claims two young women, RCMP say
- Developers to unveil plans for bold downtown tower
- Police identify slaying victims
- Apple trick on Ellen falls short for city woman
- Woman drove into river on purpose
- City's first urban reserve born
- The end of the credit card?
- 2 dead in crash near Portage la Prairie
- Hundreds pitch in to dig out houses damaged, destroyed by Ochre Beach ice floe
- A child-custody catastrophe
- Charleswood deaths being investigated as domestic incident
- Man charged, victims identified in double homicide
- Co-worker 'sick' today? Maybe it's the $17M flu
- Man dies after being pulled from vehicle submerged in Winnipeg retention pond
- '2 minutes after I read the winning numbers, I retired': Winnipeg lotto winner
- Flood money paid for CEO's romantic trip
- Parents, community relieved and elated as missing boy found safe
- No threat from bag found at Winnipeg Square
- Unjust justice: Still no aboriginal court in Manitoba
- Teachers vote to donate $1.5M to human rights museum
- MTS becomes takeover target
- SCU pulls Bill 18 petition
- City chiropractor guilty of beating, sexually assaulting ex-girlfriend
- You can bet the farm on housebarns
- City's first urban reserve born
- Keeping the e-party going without the party-crashers
- Former CEO 'disappointed' Allstream leaves Manitoba
- Overnight stabbings probed
- Developers to unveil plans for bold downtown tower
- Fishing for fashion
- Famous city grocer loved job, customers
- City's first urban reserve born
- Core grocer a challenge: expert
- Flood money paid for CEO's romantic trip
- Grocer Joe Cantor dies at 88
- City chiropractor guilty of beating, sexually assaulting ex-girlfriend
- First Nation celebrates groundbreaking on city's first urban reserve
- North End proud
- Hundreds pitch in to dig out houses damaged, destroyed by Ochre Beach ice floe
- Mental-health patients get own ER
- A child-custody catastrophe
- An uncommon phenomenon
- Steen invests $1M in family entertainment centre
- Developers to unveil plans for bold downtown tower
- Earls on Main going, but new one coming
- Province introduces changes to rules governing landlords, renters
- Crushing blow for amateur sport
- Boost same-sex curricula: union
Ads by Google
You can comment on most stories on winnipegfreepress.com. You can also agree or disagree with other comments. All you need to do is register and/or login and you can join the conversation and give your feedback.
Have Your Say
New to commenting? Check out our Frequently Asked Questions.
The Winnipeg Free Press does not necessarily endorse any of the views posted. By submitting your comment, you agree to our Terms and Conditions. These terms were revised effective April 16, 2010.