The current Agora Theatre and Ballroom opened in 1913 as a vaudeville venue known as the Metropolitan Theatre, and is located on Euclid Avenue in Cleveland's Central neighborhood. The building remained in operation until 1932, when it became a vaudeville/burlesque venue, known as The Gayety. It then became a vaudeville house once again in the 1940s, before becoming a movie theater later in the decade. In 1951, the local Radio Station WHK moved into the building, which became known as the WHK Auditorium, and remained as such until 1978, with a brief exception of 1968–69, where it was known as the Cleveland Grande. It then became the New Hippodrome Theatre in the early 1980s, a movie theater. Meanwhile, the Agora Ballroom had opened originally as the Agora Alpha in 1966 in Little Italy near Case Western Reserve University. It moved the following year to East 24th Street, where it remained until a fire in 1984, which prompted the move to the building on Euclid Avenue, where the Agora Theatre and Ballroom opened in 1986. Today, the Agora is a vibrant center of activity on Euclid Avenue in the "Midtown" corridor, which is commonly used as a venue for traveling musical acts, concerts, and shows.