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New York, 1905. "Metropolitan Opera House, 39th Street and Broadway." And down the street, the new New York Times building. 8x10 inch glass negative. View full size.
As a kid, I enjoyed Clarence Day’s “Life with Father” stories. One sad chapter described the end of the family’s home at 420 Madison Avenue, torn down and replaced by an office building. There’s a 40-story tower at that address today, probably not the building that replaced the Day home. Anyway, this series of old New York has left me feeling nostalgic for things past.
You can read the history of this lovely house here:
http://www.nypap.org/preservation-history/old-metropolitan-opera-house/
The Opera wanted to make sure that no competing opera company moved in after the Met left for Lincoln Center.
My parents were not opera people but they were friends with folks who were. Through them they were able to attend the closing gala event held in the Old Met in 1966. It was their first (and obviously last) visit. I remember the night because I'd never seen them dressed that formally. I also remember my father later saying that it didn't smell any better than the old Madison Square Garden.
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