Booth's Theatre was a theatre in New York built by actor Edwin Booth. Located on the southeast corner of 23rd Street and Sixth Avenue, Booth's Theatre opened on February 3, 1869.
The theatre featured a grand vestibule with Italian marble floors and a large statue of Edwin Booth's father, the Shakespearean actor Junius Brutus Booth, by the sculptor Thomas Ridgeway Gould. The auditorium was similarly elaborate in its decor, and featured a large chandelier, as well as a stage that incorporated the most modern machinery in use at the time, such as hydraulic rams to raise and lower scenery, and stage lights that could be completely extinguished during the performance, a first in the United States.
Despite the appearances by important talent of the times, Booth could not make the theatre a financially viable enterprise. It was sold in December 1881, and was converted into McCreery & Co. department store until 1965, when it was demolished to make room for a parking lot.
History
In 1869, Edwin Booth, then one of the world's most distinguished stage tragedians and arguably America's greatest Prince Hamlet, opened his theatre, Booth's Theatre, in Manhattan on the southeast corner of 23rd Street and Sixth Avenue.
Central to the identity of Booth's theatre was the stage background of Edwin Booth, who belonged to the Booth family dynasty, which ruled the American stage in the 19th century. It was actually touring with his father, Junius Brutus Booth, that gave Edwin his first break, first appearing as Tressel in Richard II in Boston in 1849. After his father's death in 1852 Booth toured internationally, visiting Australia and Hawaii and briefly settling in California before returning to the east coast. Edwin is perhaps best known for his "hundred nights of Hamlet" in which he played Hamlet for 101 consecutive performances, a record held until 1922. Booth is also known for his relationship with his infamous brother, John Wilkes, who assassinated President Abraham Lincoln. After the tragedy, Edwin publicly disowned his brother.
Booth had been drawn to the idea of erecting his own theatre, particularly after he purchased the Walnut Street Theatre in Philadelphia. Plans overtook Booth when a tragic fire of 1867 consumed The Winter Garden Theatre—Booth's usual performing home in New York—-and with it much of Booth's personal wardrobe. The new theatre was to be one of the finest of its time, called in the press "A fitting temple for the presentation of Shakespearean drama."
Booth's Theatre remained Booth's new performing home for several years, during which time Booth and his elder brother Junius Brutus Booth Jr., presented productions of the classics and hosted guest artists, such as Joseph Jefferson in his popular Rip Van Winkle. Finally, due in part to bad management, Booth lost the theatre to bankruptcy in 1874, and "never again participated in theatrical management." In 1883 the theatre was converted into a department store, which was demolished in 1965. Presently, the land is occupied by a Best Buy electronics store.
Construction
On April 8, 1868, after the removal of several old structures and blasting out an unexpected "stone ledge" at the corner of Twenty Third and Sixth Avenue, Edwin Booth, after "Masonic observances", laid the cornerstone for his new theatre. Designed by the architectural firm of Renwick and Sands the theatre was made of granite in the Second Empire style, with an impressive front, iron-trimmed facing north on Twenty Third Street of one hundred and fifty feet in length. An additional wing extending to Sixth Avenue to the west, housed construction shops, studios and additional rooms—one of which was reserved for Edwin Booth. North to south, the theatre was one hundred feet, and stood at a height of one hundred and twenty feet, topped with a mansard roof, including three towers. Under the side walk along Twenty Third Street was the carpenter's shop, as well as a boiler-room with a steam engine used to heat the theatre through extensive hot-air pipes. The entire theatre was heated and cooled with forced air.
Several arched doors led to a grand vestibule, where a large statue of Edwin Booth's father, the great Shakespearean actor, Junius Brutus Booth, by the sculptor Thomas Ridgeway Gould, greeted the audience. The floor was Italian marble, the ceiling was covered with frescoes.