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Booth's Theatre
(6th Ave. & 23rd St.,
New York)
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| Built |
1869 |
| Location |
6th Ave. & 23rd St. |
| Architect(s) |
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| Developer/Manager |
Edwin Booth.
However, when Booth lost control because of poor financial management, the
theatre was leased and managed by various individuals including: Junius Brutus Booth Jr., Henry C. Jarrett and Henry David Palmer,
Augustin
Daly, George Rignold and Dion
Boucicault. |
| 1st
Production |
| February 3, 1869,
Romeo & Juliet |
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| Major
Productions |
Under Booth's management from 1869-1873, some of the finest Shakespeare productions of the era were mounted at this theatre. |
| Joseph
Haworth's Appearances |
Joseph Haworth
never appeared at Booth's
Theatre |
| Demolished |
In 1883 it was rebuilt as a department store which in turn was razed in 1960s. |
| Interesting
Facts |
Constructed in granite, in an ornated Second Empire style, Booth's Theatre measured 150ft by 100ft and rose to a height of 125ft. Attached to the west end of the building was a five-story wing, the ground floor of which was for shops, with three floors above for artists' studios and apartments, the top floor was reserved for Mr. Booth's private apartment. The auditorium was lavishly decorated and followed the standard 19th-century horseshoe-shaped configuration. There were a number of mechanical innovations included in the design
were: a forced-air heating and cooling system, a set of hydraulic ramps that raised vertically moving bridges and platforms for changing scenery, a sprinkler system for fire protection, and an electric spark ignition device that for the first time in the US permitted both the auditorium and stage lights to be extinguished during a performance.
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