Astor Library Building

Astor Library Building
	New York Shakespeare Festival Public Theater
	U.S. National Register of Historic Places
	{{{designated_other1_name}}} #06101.000364
	New York City Landmark #0016
Location	425 Lafayette Street, New York, New York
Coordinates	40°43′41″N 73°59′33″W / 40.728056°N 73.992501°WCoordinates: 40°43′41″N 73°59′33″W / 40.728056°N 73.992501°W Fatal error: The format of the coordinate could not be determined. Parsing failed.; ;
Built	1853
Architect	Alexander Saeltzer, Griffith Thomas, Thomas Stent
Architectural style	Rundbogenstil
NRHP reference #	70000424
NYSRHP #	06101.000364
NYCL #	0016
Significant dates
Added to NRHP	1970-12-02
Designated NYSRHP	1980-06-23
Designated NYCL	1965-10-26

The Astor Library Building (also known as the Public Theater) is a theatrical building in the NoHo neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City, New York, US. It was built in stages between 1853 and 1881 as the Astor Library, which later merged with the Tilden and Lenox collections to become the New York Public Library. The library was built by William B. Astor, son of the library's founder, John Jacob Astor. German-born architect Alexander Saeltzer, who had been the architect of the Anshe Chesed Synagogue, ^[3]^[4] designed the building in Rundbogenstil style. Astor funded two expansions of the building toward Astor Place, designed by Griffith Thomas (1856–1869) and Thomas Stent (1879–1881).^[5] Both large expansions followed Saeltzer's original design.

The building is a New York City Landmark, designated in 1965.^[6] It was one of the first buildings to be recognized as such by the newly formed Landmarks Preservation Commission of New York City.^[7] It is also listed on the National Register of Historic Places.^[1]

Site

Architecture

History

Astor Library

In 1920, the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society purchased the building. By 1965, it was in disuse and faced demolition. The Public Theater, then the New York Shakespeare Festival, persuaded the city to purchase it for use as a theater. It was converted for theater use by Giorgio Cavaglieri between 1967 and 1976.^[5]^[8]^[9]

Public Theater

The Public Theater moved into the building in 1967.^[10]

In 2009, the Public began its "Going Public" campaign to raise funds for a major renovation of the historic building.^[11]^[12] Groundbreaking for the $35 million renovation occurred on March 9, 2010, with notables such as Liev Schreiber and Philip Seymour Hoffman in attendance.^[13] Plans included a renovation of Joe's Pub; the Pub went on a three-month hiatus during the summer of 2011 to allow for construction.^[14] The building re-opened on October 4, 2012, after a renovation designed by Ennead Architects costing $40 million.^[15] In 2026, after Barbaralee Diamonstein-Spielvogel's foundation donated funds for a renovation of the Anspacher Theater, that stage was renamed the Barbaralee Theater.^[16]

Notes

References

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 National Park Service (2013-11-02). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.
↑ ^2.0 ^2.1 "Cultural Resource Information System (CRIS)". New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. November 7, 2014. Archived from the original on April 4, 2019. Retrieved July 20, 2023. Unknown parameter |url-status= ignored (help)
↑ Israelowitz, Oscar (2004). Oscar Israelowitz's Guide to Jewish New York City. New York: Israelowitz Pub. p. 86. ISBN 9781878741622. Search this book on
↑ New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission. "Anshe Chesed Synagogue Designation Report" Archived 2012-05-12 at the Wayback Machine (February 10, 1987)
↑ ^5.0 ^5.1 White, Norval & Willensky, Elliot (2000). AIA Guide to New York City (4th ed.). New York: Three Rivers Press. ISBN 978-0-8129-3107-5. Search this book on
↑ New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission; Dolkart, Andrew S.; Postal, Matthew A. (2009). Postal, Matthew A., ed. Guide to New York City Landmarks (4th ed.). New York: John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 978-0-470-28963-1. Search this book on , p.64
↑ Epstein, Helen (1996). Joe Papp: An American Life. Boston: Da Capo Press. ISBN 9780306806766. Search this book on
↑ Dimonstein, Barbaralee. The Landmarks of New York, Harry Abrams, 1998 p. 107
↑ Joseph Papp (June 1970). National Register of Historic Places Registration: New York SP New York Shakespeare Festival Public Theater. National Archives and Records Administration. Retrieved November 9, 2025. (Template:NationalArchivesNote)
↑ Gray, Christopher (2002-02-10). "Streetscapes/The Old Astor Library, Now the Joseph Papp Public Theater; Once It Held Many Pages; Now It Has Many Stages". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2026-05-05.
↑ Pogrebin, Robin (2009-04-26). "Enter Theatergoers, Gently Welcomed". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2026-05-05.
↑ Morrone, Francis (2002). The Architectural Guidebook to New York City. Salt Lake City: Gibbs Smith. ISBN 1-58685-211-6. Search this book on
↑ Hetrick, Adam."McDonald, Hoffman, Schreiber, Benanti Attend Public's Groundbreaking; Renovation Details Announced", Archived 2013-11-01 at the Wayback Machine Playbill.com, April 2011.
↑ "Joe's Pub Will Take Summer Hiatus as Public Continues Renovations", Archived 2013-11-01 at the Wayback Machine Playbill.com, April 2011.
↑ Lipinski, Jed. "The Public Theater celebrates the end of a long refurbishments" Archived 2015-02-02 at the Wayback Machine Capital (October 8, 2012)
↑ Culwell-Block, Logan (January 13, 2026). "The Public Theater Is Renaming 1 of Its Venues". Playbill. Retrieved January 15, 2026.

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Template:NoHo, Manhattan

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[nris-1] 1.0 ^1.1 National Park Service (2013-11-02). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.

[Cultural_Resource_Information_System-2] 2.0 ^2.1 "Cultural Resource Information System (CRIS)". New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. November 7, 2014. Archived from the original on April 4, 2019. Retrieved July 20, 2023. Unknown parameter |url-status= ignored (help)

[3] Israelowitz, Oscar (2004). Oscar Israelowitz's Guide to Jewish New York City. New York: Israelowitz Pub. p. 86. ISBN 9781878741622. Search this book on

[4] New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission. "Anshe Chesed Synagogue Designation Report" Archived 2012-05-12 at the Wayback Machine (February 10, 1987)

[aia4-5] 5.0 ^5.1 White, Norval & Willensky, Elliot (2000). AIA Guide to New York City (4th ed.). New York: Three Rivers Press. ISBN 978-0-8129-3107-5. Search this book on

[6] New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission; Dolkart, Andrew S.; Postal, Matthew A. (2009). Postal, Matthew A., ed. Guide to New York City Landmarks (4th ed.). New York: John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 978-0-470-28963-1. Search this book on , p.64

[7] Epstein, Helen (1996). Joe Papp: An American Life. Boston: Da Capo Press. ISBN 9780306806766. Search this book on

[8] Dimonstein, Barbaralee. The Landmarks of New York, Harry Abrams, 1998 p. 107

[nrhpdoc-9] Joseph Papp (June 1970). National Register of Historic Places Registration: New York SP New York Shakespeare Festival Public Theater. National Archives and Records Administration. Retrieved November 9, 2025. (Template:NationalArchivesNote)

[Gray_m028-10] Gray, Christopher (2002-02-10). "Streetscapes/The Old Astor Library, Now the Joseph Papp Public Theater; Once It Held Many Pages; Now It Has Many Stages". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2026-05-05.

[Pogrebin_j035-11] Pogrebin, Robin (2009-04-26). "Enter Theatergoers, Gently Welcomed". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2026-05-05.

[12] Morrone, Francis (2002). The Architectural Guidebook to New York City. Salt Lake City: Gibbs Smith. ISBN 1-58685-211-6. Search this book on

[13] Hetrick, Adam."McDonald, Hoffman, Schreiber, Benanti Attend Public's Groundbreaking; Renovation Details Announced", Archived 2013-11-01 at the Wayback Machine Playbill.com, April 2011.

[14] "Joe's Pub Will Take Summer Hiatus as Public Continues Renovations", Archived 2013-11-01 at the Wayback Machine Playbill.com, April 2011.

[15] Lipinski, Jed. "The Public Theater celebrates the end of a long refurbishments" Archived 2015-02-02 at the Wayback Machine Capital (October 8, 2012)

[16] Culwell-Block, Logan (January 13, 2026). "The Public Theater Is Renaming 1 of Its Venues". Playbill. Retrieved January 15, 2026.

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