Manila Metropolitan Theater 3.77

The Manila Metropolitan Theater is a Philippine Art Deco building found near the Mehan Garden located on Padre Burgos Avenue corner Arroceros Street, near the Manila Central Post Office. It was designed by architect Juan M. Arellano and inaugurated on December 10, 1931.Conception of theaterIn 1862, the Teatro del Príncipe Alfonso XII was built within Plaza Arroceros, near the present-day Metropolitan Theater. This theater stood until 1876, when the old theater was burnt down.It was in 1924, during the American Colonial period that the idea of constructing a theater in Manila came about. The Philippine Legislature then approved Senator Alegre’s proposal to build a theater within the Mehan Garden (now Sining Kayumanggi). The construction began in 1930 under the supervision of the engineering firm Pedro Siochi and Company in a 8,239.58 square meter area of the park. It was inaugurated on December 10, 1931. This new theater housed different performances from zarzuelas, dramas to translations of foreign classics.History of theaterJuan Arellano, one of the first pensionados in architecture, also known for his other major projects such as the Legislative Building and Manila Central Post Office Building, designed the Manila Metropolitan Theater in January 1930. He was sent to the United States to be guided by one of the experts in designing theaters, Thomas W. Lamb of Shreve and Lamb.