{"nrhp_refnum":"66000549","name":"The Players","other_names":["The Players Club"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"16 Gramercy Park","address_restricted":false,"city":"New York","county":"Manhattan","state":"NY","lat":40.73758161400005,"lon":-73.98668124578319,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1966-10-15","is_nhl":true,"nhl_designated_date":"1962-12-29","areas_of_significance":["Performing Arts"],"significance_levels":["national"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"The Players Club is a four-story townhouse clubhouse at 16 Gramercy Park in Manhattan, built circa 1845 as a private residence and remodeled in 1888 as a theatrical club by architect Stanford White.","why_significant":"Edwin Booth, the celebrated tragedian, founded the Players in 1888 and donated his house as its clubhouse, intending to raise the social standing of actors. The building keeps Booth's preserved third-floor apartment and one of the finest collections of theatrical literature and memorabilia. Its character is described as largely unchanged since White's redesign.","narrative":"Number 16 Gramercy Park began around 1845 as a private townhouse. In 1888 it became the clubhouse of the Players, a club founded by the actor Edwin Booth so that performers could meet writers, artists and other professionals on equal footing. Booth gave the house to the club and hired Stanford White, of McKim, Mead and White, to remodel it. White recast the Gothic exterior in an Italian Renaissance manner, adding a two-story loggia with wrought iron lamps and balcony grillwork. Inside, the Great Hall, dining room and library hold paintings, costumes, playbills and rare books on the American stage. Booth lived in his third-floor apartment until his death there in 1893, and the rooms remain furnished as he left them. The club's incorporators included Mark Twain, Joseph Jefferson, John Drew and General William Tecumseh Sherman. The property is recognized for its link to Booth and its role as a theatrical institution and archive.","period_of_significance":"1800-1899","architect_builder":"Stanford White","architectural_style":"Italian Renaissance remodeling of an earlier Gothic exterior","criteria":[],"status_note":"Occupied, private club in excellent condition with minor alterations; it serves as a meeting place, library, and dining and overnight facility for members.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:50:39.853841-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/66000549_NHL.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/66000549/844e048279-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/66000549/844e048279-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"Beyond My Ken","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Players_Club.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Beyond My Ken</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 4.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Players_Club.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75315982","wikipedia":null,"wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q96280364"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/new-york/manhattan/the-players-66000549/"}