The Players | |
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| Location | 16 Gramercy Park, Manhattan, New York City |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 40°44′15.7″N 73°59′11.8″W / 40.737694°N 73.986611°W |
| Built | 1844 |
| Architect | Stanford White (1888 renovations)[2] |
| Architectural style | Renaissance |
| NRHP reference No. | 66000549[1] |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | October 15, 1966[1] |
| Designated NHL | December 29, 1962 [3] |
| Designated NYCL | March 15, 1966 |
The Players (often inaccurately called The Players Club) is a private social club founded in New York City by the 19th-century Shakespearean actor Edwin Booth. The club is located in a mansion at 16 Gramercy Park, built in 1847. Booth bought the house in 1888, reserved an upper floor for his residence, and turned the rest into a clubhouse. The building's interior and part of its exterior were designed by architect Stanford White; its entryway gaslights are among the few remaining examples in New York City. It is reportedly the oldest club in its original clubhouse[4] and was named a National Historic Landmark in 1962.[2][3][5]
In addition to functioning as a social club, the Players is a repository of American and British theater history, memorabilia, and theatrical artifacts. It reportedly has the largest private collection of stage memorabilia, including costumes and weaponry, and owns portraits of its members, most notably a portrait of actor Joseph Jefferson painted by John Singer Sargent. A portrait of John Wilkes Booth, the assassin of Abraham Lincoln, hangs in Edwin Booth's suite, along with the letter Edwin wrote to the public apologizing for the actions of his brother.[4]
Today, the club still holds "Pipe Nights" honoring theatrical notables, and maintains a kitchen and wine cellar and a billiard table in its usually busy Grill Room. In the Dining Room, filled with portraits of theater and film notables and rare playbills from the 19th and 20th centuries, a small stage has been built where members and people of the theater can be honored; staged readings can take place and new works tried out. The Players also gives the "Edwin Booth Life Achievement Award" to actors who have had a long, important body of theater and film work. Past recipients include Helen Hayes, José Ferrer, Garson Kanin, Christopher Plummer, Jason Robards, Jack Lemmon, and Marian Seldes. In June 2007, Angela Lansbury was the recipient, and Edward Albee received it on September 30, 2007.
- ^ a b "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
- ^ a b Greenwood, Richard (May 30, 1975). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination: The Players" (pdf). National Park Service.
- ^ a b "The Players". National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. September 11, 2007.
- ^ a b Casey, Nell (May 17, 2016). "Inside The Players, NYC's 128-Year-Old Private Theater Club". Gothamist. Archived from the original on May 20, 2016.
- ^ "National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination: The Players—Accompanying photos" (pdf). National Park Service. 1975.