The golden auditorium with its sunburst chandelier, and curved proscenium inscribed with the names of six composers (Gluck, Mozart, Beethoven, Wagner, Gounod and Verdi), dated from this time.

This enlarged the seating capacity and left only the first tier of boxes from the "golden horseshoe" of the opera house's origins as a showplace for New York society.

While the house was praised for its acoustics and interior, the backstage facilities of the theater were quickly deemed to be severely inadequate for a large opera company.

Various plans were put forward over the years to build a new home for the company and designs for new opera houses were created by various architects including Joseph Urban.

Only with the development of Lincoln Center on New York's Upper West Side did the Met finally have the opportunity to build an adequate, modern opera house.

[3] The Metropolitan Opera left its old house on April 16, 1966, with a sentimental gala farewell performance featuring nearly all of the company's current leading artists.