PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — The Trocadero in Chinatown, once named the Arch Street Opera House, closed its doors in 2019, creating shockwaves through Philadelphia’s music community. But after sitting vacant for almost three years, it may be on track for a full renovation.
According to documents from Pennsylvania's Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program, Northwest Arch LLC, a legal company managed by Trocadero owner Joanna Pang, applied for $5 million from the state grant program in 2022 and the released list of award recipients includes a $2.5 million grant has been awarded for a project to restore the venue.
Pang's father bought the venue in the late 1970s, where it served as a place for Chinese-themed art house cinema. It then became a popular venue for burlesque shows, as well as opera concerts and musical comedies.
Since the 1990s, the venue hosted concerts from some of music's most revered artists, such as Pearl Jam, Radiohead, Foo Fighters, and more recently before its closing, Kendrick Lamar.
The venue was listed on the Philadelphia Register of Historic Places in 1973, and later on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.
The application lays out a complete renovation of both the exterior and interior of the building. The end product was noted to be a fully updated first-class concert venue, entertainment space, and full-service restaurant, along with many more changes.
The list of awardees sites the project to consist of a fully updated first-class concert venue, entertainment space, and full-service restaurant and a complete renovation of both the exterior and interior of the Trocadero building, with special attention being given to preserving the historic features and architectural elements of the building.
Although the grant was awarded for the project there is no word yet on when or if renovations will begin in the near future.
We reached out to Northwest Arch LLC for comment but have not gotten a response.
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