Day 105: Edwin Booth

You’d be hard pressed to find someone who doesn’t know the name John Wilkes Booth.  He, of course, is infamous for the assassination of Abraham Lincoln back in 1865.  My dad suggested that I head down to Gramercy Park on the 145^th anniversary of Lincoln’s death (April 15) to check out the old stomping grounds of another member of the theatrical Booth family.

The Gramercy Park area was home to John Wilkes’ older brother Edwin.  Edwin Thomas Booth (1833-1893) was a famous 19^th century American actor – some theatre historians go as far as to call him the greatest American actor and Hamlet of the 19^th century.  Edwin was also heavily involved in the business side of 19^th century theatre, both owning and operating venues in the northeast.  Near the end of his life (in 1888), he founded the Players Club in the Gramercy Park neighborhood of Manhattan, a club for actors and others associated with the arts, and dedicated his home to it.

My initial target for a photo on Day 105 was the Players Club.  Unfortunately, the angle of the sun and some repairs being done to the exterior made for a less than stellar photo.  My second option was to capture a photo of the statue of Edwin Booth – the centerpiece of the park.  I took a lap around the fenced-in park to find an open entrance and came up empty.

As it turns out, Gramercy Park is one of only two remaining private parks in NYC and only people residing around the park who pay an annual fee have a key.  So, in my attempt to turn lemons into lemonade, I incorporated the fence into my photo.

Statue of Edwin Booth through the fence of Gramercy Park

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