222 West 45th Street
New York, NY 10036

The Booth Theatre was built by Lee Shubert and Winthrop Ames for actor Edwin Booth.  The site was the second New York theatre to take on this name.  Ames’s father wanted to continue the actor’s legacy, so the construction of the theatre not only honored Booth, but connected Ames’s family’s interest with the actor.  Ames’s goal was to present the most difficult and respectable productions possible here.  Arnold Bennet’s The Great Adventure opened the Booth on October 16, 1913.  Ames modeled his theatre and productions after contemporary European theatres.   The theatre was designed by Henry Herts to be one part of a pair of playhouses.  The Booth and the Shubert Theatres are adjacent to each other along Shubert Alley.  The Booth is smaller and less ornate than the Shubert.  The graffito on the exterior of both of these theatres is the last known existing example of this once trendy decorating technique.