Theater to be renamed for Crosby
The former Met Theater in downtown Spokane, Wash., where Bing Crosby performed as a young man, will be renamed the Bing Crosby Theater at a public ceremony today.
Crosby was born in Tacoma in 1903, but his family soon moved to Spokane and he remained a figure in the city’s history for the rest of his life. The golden-throated crooner returned often to visit family and friends, and was a generous donor to Gonzaga University and other causes.
The Met was built in 1915 as the 800-seat Clemmer Theater. The movie house eventually fell into disrepair, but a local financial conglomerate bought it in 1988 and reopened it as the Metropolitan Performing Arts Center, a home for concerts, lectures and movies.
Crosby and his group, billed as the Musicaladers, performed in the theater as the house band from May to October 1925, playing between movies.
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