The old Met.

Critics called The old Met "The Yellow Brick Brewery" for its industrial look sitting where it did at Broadway and the whole block between 39th and 40th Sts. in the middle of the Garment District. Opened in 1883 with a production of FAUST, it was gutted by fire just a few years later in 1892 and the interior rebuilt under the artful eye of architects Carrere and Hastings. This is The Met most people remember, with it's golden proscenium inscribed with the names of six composers, Gluck, Mozart, Beethoven, Wagner, Gounod, and Verdi. New Yorkers regularly saw enormous set pieces on the street at the back of the theatre. It was clearly not big enough to be a world-class modern opera house. After several proposals to move The Met to Rockefeller Center and Columbus Circle, The new Met opened at Lincoln Center in 1966 and The old Met was razed the following year.