Astor Library Building

The Astor Library Building (also known as the Public Theater Building and Joseph Papp Public Theater) is a theater and former library building at 425 Lafayette Street in the NoHo neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City, New York, US. It was built in three stages between 1854 and 1881 for the Astor Library and, since 1967, has housed the Public Theater. The building was one of the first properties designated as a city landmark by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission in 1965. It is also listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The library was built by William B. Astor, son of the library's founder, John Jacob Astor. The original structure was constructed to designs by Alexander Saeltzer, while subsequent additions by Griffith Thomas (in 1856–1859) and Thomas Stent (in 1880–1881) followed Saeltzer's original design. The building is made of brick and stone and is mostly three stories high, except for the central section, which rises four stories. Inside were features such as a staircase leading to a double-height reading room. The modern-day building has six stages for the Public Theater, which reuse some of the original interiors, including the reading room and lobby. Work on the building commenced in 1850. The original portion of the building opened for limited use on January 9, 1854, and was opened to general use on February 1, 1854. Partly due to th

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