On July 24, 1924 when the Met opened its doors, it was billed as “West Virginia’s most beautiful playhouse”. Opening night featured “Seven Acts of Vaudeville”, and for the next seven decades it remained the focus of Morgantown’s cultural life and enormously enriched the community. A long impressive playbill testifies to the vast number of artists and actors who have appeared on the stage such as Vaudeville; the traveling road shows of Bob Hope, Bing Crosby, Helen Hayes, and many others. Additionally, West Virginia University drama productions, dance recitals, graduation ceremonies and a host of other community activities testify to the importance this theatre played in everyday community life.
Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984, the Metropolitan Theatre is a contributing structure in the Downtown Morgantown Historic District, and is one of the better surviving examples of neoclassical revival architecture in the region.
Annually since the Met reopened in 2003 35,000 patrons pass through he doors enjoying, presentations, pageants, plays, and concerts. WVU, the Monongalia Board of Education, Morgantown’s dance companies and theater companies as well as local, regional and national acts grace the stage.
