Arch Street Opera House
About this property
The Trocadero Theatre (opened as the Arch Street Opera House) is a historic theater located in Chinatown in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It offered musical comedies, vaudeville, opera, and burlesque. The Trocadero Theatre was refurbished for use as an art house cinema and fine arts theatre in 1970s, and by the 1990s had become an iconic venue for rock and punk concerts. Designed by architect Edwin Forrest Durang, it opened as the Arch Street Opera House on August 29, 1870. Despite its name, it operated as a venue not for opera but vaudeville, minstrel shows, and musical comedies. It was renamed the Trocadero Theatre in 1896. At that time it underwent a renovation using a plan by George Plowman. It was modified several times, was added to the Philadelphia Register of Historic Places in 1973, and to the National Register of Historic Places five years later. The building was known at various time as the Arch Street Opera House (1870–1879); Park Theatre (1879); New Arch Street Opera House (1884); Continental Theatre (1889); Gaiety Theatre (1890); Casino/Palace Theatre (1892), Troc Theatre (1940); Slocum's and Sweatman's Theatre; Sweatman's Arch Street Opera House; Simmon's & Slocum's Theatre; and Simmon's Theatre. It was already referred to as the Trocadero Theater in 1908. The Trocadero was a burlesque theater from the early 1900s until the 1970s. Burlesque performer Mara Gaye performed here in the 1950s. The Pennsylvania Opera Theater, in 1982, was presenting three productions a year at the Trocadero. In 1986, the Trocadero was again remodeled for its current use as a concert hall and dance club. The Trocadero retains a promoting team and books bands directly. It has a capacity of 1,200 patrons (standing room) or 600 patrons (fully seated). The theater hosted a wide range of events including movie screenings, comedy shows, burlesque, and concerts from alternative, indie rock, heavy metal, punk rock, jam, industrial, gothic bands, and hip hop and electronica artists. Bob Dylan performed at the Troc on December 11, 1997. Galactic Empire performed at the venue on June 3, 2017 as part of the Wizard World Comic Con. After several days of rumors and a last-minute attempt by local promoters to save it, Philadelphia's Trocadero Theatre, part of the city's entertainment skyline since 1870, closed in May 2019. In October 2022, it was announced that Northwest Arch LLC, the group shown to legally own the Trocadero, had applied for and subsequently received a $2.5 million state-issued grant through Pennsylvania's Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program. Plans were announced soon thereafter that the theater would be undergoing a "complete renovation of the exterior and interior of the Trocadero building. The end product will be a fully updated first-class concert venue, entertainment space and full-service restaurant." No immediate timeframe was given for commencement or completion of the renovations. As of August 2025, that money has still not been spent.
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Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).
Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
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Questions about this property
When was Arch Street Opera House listed on the National Register?
Arch Street Opera House was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on June 12, 1978.
What type of historic resource is Arch Street Opera House?
Arch Street Opera House is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.
What is the period of significance for Arch Street Opera House?
The period of significance for Arch Street Opera House is recorded as the industrial era.
Can I research the history near Arch Street Opera House?
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