Bing Crosby Theater is a

performing arts The performing arts are arts such as music, dance, and drama which are performed for an audience. They are different from the visual arts, which are the use of paint, canvas or various materials to create physical or static art objects. Perform ...

theater located in

Spokane, Washington Spokane ( ) is the largest city and county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It is in eastern Washington, along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south of the Canada ...

which was designed by theater architect Edwin W. Houghton. The theater was originally built in 1914 as an 800-seat

movie theater A movie theater (American English), cinema (British English), or cinema hall ( Indian English), also known as a movie house, picture house, the movies, the pictures, picture theater, the silver screen, the big screen, or simply theater is a ...

called Clemmer Theater. Between May and October 1925, local singer

Bing Crosby Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer, musician and actor. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwide. He was a ...

was a regular performer at the theater. Over the years the theater fell into disrepair until it was purchased by a local company in 1988 and refurbished. The theater was placed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in December 1988. It was re-opened as the Metropolitan Performing Arts Center and was used for concerts, lectures, and movies. The Met was purchased by local businessman Mitch Silver in 2004 and in 2006 renamed after Bing Crosby when a local historian noticed that the city did not have any landmarks named after the multimedia star, who grew up in Spokane.

External links

References

{{National Register of Historic Places Bing Crosby National Register of Historic Places in Spokane, Washington Cinemas and movie theaters in Washington (state) Theatres in Washington (state) Buildings and structures in Spokane, Washington Theatres on the National Register of Historic Places in Washington (state)