Vanished venues
Lost halls of the US Whether victims of changing fashions, neglect or progress, many US concert and opera venues have been lost over time.
1849’s Astor Place
Riot did for New York’s Astor Opera House which, among other productions, staged the US premiere of Donizetti’s Anna Bolena.
San Francisco’s Cort Theatre played host to the San Francisco Symphony in the years after World War One. After several names changes, Capitol Follies, as it was latterly called, was demolished in 1941. A car park stands in its place.
Before moving to Lincoln Center, the New York Met was located on Broadway in a splendid opera house that opened in 1883. While the gilded auditorium was spectacular, the backstage areas left a lot of be desired. It was eventually pulled down in 1967.
Finally to Detroit, and to the 1956 brutalist Ford Auditorium. Clad in marble and granite, the hall itself was sparse, with minimal distractions and good sightlines. But the acoustics weren’t great, and it was demolished in 2011. The organ is now in St Aloysius, Washington Boulevard.