Wang Theatre

Wang Theatre

Former names	Metropolitan Theatre (1925-1962) Music Hall (1962-1980)
Address	270 Tremont St.
Location	Boston, Massachusetts
Public transit	Tufts Medical Center (Orange Line) Boylston (Green Line)
Metropolitan Theatre
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Coordinates
Built	1923
Architect	Blackall,Clapp & Whittemore; Multiple
Architectural style	Renaissance
MPS	Boston Theatre MRA
NRHP Reference #	80000445
Added to NRHP	December 9, 1980
Owner	Citi Performing Arts Center
Operator	Citi Performing Arts Center
Type	Theatre
Capacity	3,500
Opened	1925
Website
www.citicenter.org

The Wang Theatre (est. 1983) of Boston, Massachusetts is located in an historic 1925 building that was originally the Metropolitan Theatre, and later the Music Hall. It was designed by Clarence Blackall and is located at 252-272 Tremont Street in the Theatre District. The business is operated as part of the Citi Performing Arts Center. The building was also known as the Metropolitan Center.

Metropolitan Theatre

The structure was originally known as the Metropolitan Theatre when it opened in 1925. The Metropolitan Theatre was developed by Max Shoolman and designed by architect Clarence Blackall, with the assistance of Detroit theatre architect C. Howard Crane. It opened for use in 1925. It seats more than 3,600 people.

Music Hall

In 1962 it became the home of the Boston Ballet and was renamed the Music Hall. During the 1960s and 1970s, audiences could see the Stuttgart Opera, the Metropolitan Opera, Bolshoi Ballet and Kirov Ballet as well as popular movies and performing artists. With time though, they could no longer attract the large touring companies because of the size of their stage as well as their outdated production facilities. Converted to a non-profit center in 1980 and renamed the Metropolitan Center, they were able to attract theatrical performances again.

Wang Center

Plaque adorning the front of the Wang Theatre in Boston (formerly the Metropolitan Theatre) describing the building's historical significance.

In 1983, Dr. An Wang made a very large donation and the Wang Center was born. From 1989 - 1992, $9.8 million was raised to restore the Theatre to "its glory days of the 1920s". Boston based architecture firm Finegold Alexander + Associates Inc restored the theatre with Conrad Schmitt Studios performing the elegant decoration, gilded moldings, murals, scagliola and marbleized surfaces.

In 2008, the Citi Performing Arts Center announced a co-booking arrangement with The Madison Square Garden Company for the Wang Theatre.

The lobby was used in the movies American Hustle, for the live band performance and casino scenes, and The Witches of Eastwick, as part of the house in which Jack Nicholson's character lived. It was an also used for numerous scenes in the ABC TV pilot Gilded Lilys.

See also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in northern Boston, Massachusetts