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Sat, 20 Apr 2024 11:41:07 -0500

That evening, we made our way down to the academic neighborhood of Astor Square, near Cooper Union and NYU, to see a play at the Public Theater. The terrific old building was financed by John Jacob Astor and completed in 1854 as a free research library. Astor was born in Walldorf, Germany (hence, the name of the hotel) and made his fortune in the fur trade (hence, the beaver on the flag of New York City), by exporting opium into China, and by investing in New York real estate. Astor's collection was joined with other private libraries to form New York Public Library on 42d Street in 1895. NYPL vacated this building but Joseph Papp, of the New York Shakespeare Festival, persuaded the City to buy it in 1965, and it became a theater.