2640 3rd Ave
1897, J.B. McElfatrick & Sons

Conceived as a live performance venue, the Metropolis was one of the first theaters built in The Bronx, and praised for its ornamented design by leading theater architects J.B. McElfatrick & Sons. The arch separating the stage from the auditorium was adorned with a scene from the opera Don Giovanni, which was Isaid to have been exhibited at the Paris Salon. It also included a roof garden, offices, and the basement was reported to have had a bar and restaurant. Despite the booming theatre scene in The Bronx and across New York at the turn of the century, the Metropolis was not a financial success. During the next decades it underwent a series of changes in management, and was adapted to host vaudeville, films, Italian stage shows, and finally burlesque. The theater was eventually shut down by the police in 1926, and was purchased by Loew's in 1929 for use as a warehouse. It was partially demolished in the 1940s, leaving only a portion of the building that includes the façade along Third Avenue. It was listed on the National Register in 1980 as part of the Mott Haven Historic District, which expanded the boundaries of the 1969 local designation.