Old Metropolitan Hall

Guest capacity

Up to 100 seated guests

About this venue

Opened in early 2013, Old Metropolitan Hall is a beautifully restored historic event and wedding venue in downtown Charlottesville, Virginia. We’ve created an elegant, private event space designed to provide you with a polished setting for your special occasion or business event. We work with Charlottesville caterers and event vendors to bring your social and corporate events to life! Our ballroom, bar cellar, and seasonal outdoor patio are the perfect spaces for your cocktail party, wedding reception, rehearsal dinner or private party.

Seated guest capacity

  • 0-100

Venue type

  • Ballrooms, Banquet Halls
  • Urban Locations

Venue setting

  • Indoor
101 E Main St, Charlottesville, VA 22902

Our event spaces

The Ballroom

Elegant and versatile, Old Metropolitan Hall features an expansive upstairs ballroom displaying aged wood floors, 14 ft ceilings adorned with their original antique tin tiles, and white-washed walls, all exquisitely lit with era-inspired glass chandeliers. Whether dressed in white linen and cascading florals or with rustic details and our hand-crafted farm tables, OMH provides the perfect venue for your wedding, rehearsal dinner, gala, fundraiser, reception, or next unique event.

Guest capacity

0-100 Seated

0-150 Standing

Square footage

1,360

Ideal for

Wedding ceremony, Wedding reception, Rehearsal dinner, Wedding shower, Welcome party, Farewell brunch, Couples luncheon

Included in this room:

--Vintage chandeliers and wooden floors --Historical ceilings and bay windows --Floor to ceiling mirrored wall

The Cellar

Downstairs opens up into a more intimate space with black and white diamond flooring, a custom built-in copper bar, exposed wooden beams, and enough room for your DJ or band. Our downstairs bar is fully equipped with a functioning sink, ice machine, fridge, and wine cooler. The cellar is the perfect space for your cocktail hour, post-dinner desserts, or dancing the night away!

Guest capacity

0-40 Seated

0-100 Standing

Square footage

570

Ideal for

Wedding ceremony, Wedding reception, Rehearsal dinner, Wedding shower, Welcome party, Farewell brunch, Couples luncheon

Guests often feel this space is

“Surprised and delighted”

Included in this room:

--Antique black & white tiled flooring --Explosed brick --Built in benches for seating --Copper bars around the perimeter

The Ballroom

Elegant and versatile, Old Metropolitan Hall features an expansive upstairs ballroom displaying aged wood floors, 14 ft ceilings adorned with their original antique tin tiles, and white-washed walls, all exquisitely lit with era-inspired glass chandeliers. Whether dressed in white linen and cascading florals or with rustic details and our hand-crafted farm tables, OMH provides the perfect venue for your wedding, rehearsal dinner, gala, fundraiser, reception, or next unique event.

Guest capacity

0-100 Seated

0-150 Standing

Square footage

1,360

Ideal for

Wedding ceremony, Wedding reception, Rehearsal dinner, Wedding shower, Welcome party, Farewell brunch, Couples luncheon

Included in this room:

--Vintage chandeliers and wooden floors --Historical ceilings and bay windows --Floor to ceiling mirrored wall

The Cellar

Downstairs opens up into a more intimate space with black and white diamond flooring, a custom built-in copper bar, exposed wooden beams, and enough room for your DJ or band. Our downstairs bar is fully equipped with a functioning sink, ice machine, fridge, and wine cooler. The cellar is the perfect space for your cocktail hour, post-dinner desserts, or dancing the night away!

Guest capacity

0-40 Seated

0-100 Standing

Square footage

570

Ideal for

Wedding ceremony, Wedding reception, Rehearsal dinner, Wedding shower, Welcome party, Farewell brunch, Couples luncheon

Guests often feel this space is

“Surprised and delighted”

Included in this room:

--Antique black & white tiled flooring --Explosed brick --Built in benches for seating --Copper bars around the perimeter

Available services that can be provided by Old Metropolitan Hall

Services & amenities

  • Catering services
  • Dance floor
  • Event coordinator
  • Event rentals
  • Event staff
  • Lighting/Sound
  • On-site accommodations
  • Pet friendly
  • Transportation
  • Wifi

Rentals

  • Chiavari Chairs
  • Sound / AV

Reviews

Write a review
Rating: 5.0

5.0 out of 5

2 reviews

  • AM

    Amanda M.

    Rating: 5
    •Jan 14, 2023

    Perfect for an Art Nouveau themed wedding

    Old Metropolitan Hall is a wonderful space with a lot of history, and the downstairs area especially was great for dancing after the wedding. There was a ton of light and the space was well cared for. They had worked with our caterer, Harvest Moon, to provide specs and help with setup, and that was seamless and easy. We played our own music, and the sound system was simple to use and worked well both upstairs and downstairs. The staff were great to work with and were very responsive. The price was extremely reasonable for the excellent Downtown location and beauty of the space.

  • KG

    Kelly G.

    Rating: 5
    •Jun 27, 2019

    Great, personal venue

    My husband and I got married at Old Met Hall a couple years ago, and we're so happy that we picked this venue. The staff is amazing and patient. The venue itself is gorgeous and feels super unique. The cost is also reasonable. The memories I have from that day are super positive, and I'm glad that we picked Old Met for our special day!

Preferred vendors of Old Metropolitan Hall

Transportation
Monticello Wine Tour & Coach
Charlottesville, VA

Real couples who got married at Old Metropolitan Hall

Show all photos
For a seated dinner in our ballroom, the maximum capacity is 100. For a cocktail-style reception, maximum suggested capacity is 175. We encourage you to schedule a tour in order to understand how our space might best be used for your number of guests and desired flow. You can schedule an appointment by calling 434-260-7144.
Old Met clients receive 10 hours in the space (3 hours for setup and 7 hours for your event). Evening events typically begin at 5PM (or later) with the building curfew for guests being midnight. If you would like your event to extend past midnight (up to 2am), there is a charge of $250 per hour or partial hour.
Our rental fee includes our entire venue – the ballroom, lower floor bar area/ dancefloor, four restrooms, a catering kitchen, and our outdoor patio. We also include black chairs(140), 5ft round tables (15), outdoor cocktail tables (4), a mobile bar, and A/V equipment (projector, screen, wireless mic, and speakers).
There are no other fees outside of the venue fee, security deposit, taxes, and extra rentals you may select. We also require event insurance which you should procure through your insurance agency or a company like WedSafe.
Yes! We encourage each client to make the space their own. In the ballroom, we have our bay windows, and we’ve also installed a picture rail exactly for this purpose. You may hang floral garland, photos, etc. from the picture rail (no tape or nails). We allow any and all decor that does not damage our building. Candles are permitted in glass votives/hurricanes. We do not allow glitter or confetti.
Because our venue is part of an historic building, we were not able to install an elevator. There is a wide, open staircase with a handrail to the lower floor.
Typically events are allowed 3 hours prior to guest arrival for set-up. If additional time is needed, OMH must charge a fee of $100 per hour. Clean-up must occur according to the time detailed on your contract and all items (gifts, decor, etc) must leave with the client that evening.
We encourage you to utilize the two downtown parking garages (Water Street and Market Street Garage) for guest parking. There is also a pay-per-hour lot located directly behind OMH. If you are using a motor-coach or bus to transport your guests, they are welcome to be dropped off on the corner of Market St. and 1st, just a few feet from our front door.
We encourage OMH clients to make use of our parent company, Stay Charlottesville. Stay Charlottesville is a vacation rental property company with a portfolio of over 55 fully-furnished historic homes, apartments, and estates throughout the Charlottesville area. Specifically, Old Met 201, 202, and 306 are all located in the same block as OMH and are popular for OMH couples! Ask us about discounts!
Yes, it is possible to have your ceremony and reception at OMH; however, this only works well for weddings of 100 guests or less. For larger weddings, we recommend using The Haven, a beautiful restored historic sanctuary just yards from our doors.
No, the venue coordinator is your point-of-contact during your contracted event time. This person is responsible for the venue and OMH amenities. If you are looking for wedding or event planning, we recommend speaking with a member of the our team and we’ll help you with finding the appropriate person!
We do not provide in-house catering. We have a list of approved caterers under Approved Caterers & Preferred Vendors. For any non-approved caterer, there is a $850 fee in order to get them approved. OMH does not hold an ABC license. Your caterer should be able to discuss your beverage options with you.
OMH must have a signed contract and deposit (50% of the venue fee and the security deposit) in order to reserve your date. Dates are not officially reserved until we have both. You have until 6 months out from your event to cancel without penalty.
Unfortunately, sparklers are illegal within the city of Charlottesville. You are welcome to have guests hold candles or blow bubbles!

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