Metropolitan Theater

Manila

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This stunning piece of art deco opened as the city’s premier opera theatre under the Americans in 1931. Today it’s in a state of utter disrepair, but there could be better times ahead: in 2015 the National Commission for Culture & the Arts took over the building and is in the process of restoring it.

The Metropolitan has a long and storied history. It was damaged in 1945 in the Battle of Manila and was used for various ignominious purposes during the following decades – boxing gym, seedy motel and gay bar, basketball court, garage and warehouse. It was restored and reopened in 1978, but eventually funding for the theatre dried out and it was shuttered up in 1996. There were fears it would be torn down, until the NCCA came to the rescue.

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  • 500px Photo ID: 133312595 - Established in 1976, the Metropolitan Museum of Manila is the first Philippine art institution to offer a bilingual and pedagogical program. It is partially subsidized by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP or the Central Bank of the Philippines). In 1979 the 'Met' was incorporated into a foundation known as the Metropolitan Museum of Manila Foundation, Inc. officially changing the status of the Museum to an independent, private, nonsectarian, non-political and non-profit cultural foundation...The Museum is responsible for the conservation of some of the country's national treasures. The basement gallery showcases pre-Hispanic gold and pottery artifacts--proof of a flourishing pre-colonial Filipino society actively engaged in international trade and showcasing hallmarks of Filipino art and culture from the 8th to 13th centuries.

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