Metropolis Theatre, 1903. Constructed in 1893 for theatrical productions, the elegant Metropolis Theatre could seat 1600 patrons and was the first theatre in the Bronx. The building included a "Rathskeller" (a German-style restaurant) in the basement and a rooftop garden. In the 1910s, the theatre was converted in a motion picture house—while likely continuing to present vaudeville and burlesque. During a small fire in 1920 the evacuation process for the 700 patrons present was jauntily described: "The theatre is a wealth of exits and moving to a lively jazz tune from the orchestra, the patrons were safe on the streets before the first engine came." Further excitement also came to theatre in 1926 when 10 performers, the theatre manager, and the stage manager were arrested for maintaining a public nuisance and indecent performance, presumably for a burlesque performance. The theatre ceased operations in 1926—perhaps because of the arrests that year— and was sold twice before the end of the decade. The buyer in 1929 was the Loew's circuit, who planned to use the space as a scenic studio for the construction and storage of stage sets, lighting and sound equipment, and props. The building served this function for more a decade. In the 1940s most of the building was demolished, though the facade fronting Third Avenue was retained and still stands as the unexpectedly elegant front of an office building.