The Players (New York City)
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The Players
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(2010)
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| Location | 16 Gramercy Park, Manhattan, New York City, New York |
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| Coordinates | 40°44′15.01″N 73°59′13.41″W / 40.7375028°N 73.9870583°WCoordinates: 40°44′15.01″N 73°59′13.41″W / 40.7375028°N 73.9870583°W |
| Built | 1844 |
| Architect | Stanford White (1888 renovations) |
| Architectural style | Renaissance |
| NRHP Reference # | 66000549 |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | October 15, 1966 |
| Designated NHL | December 29, 1962 |
| Designated NYCL | March 15, 1966 |
The Players, or the Players Club, is a social club founded in New York City by the noted 19th-century Shakespearean actor Edwin Booth, who purchased an 1847 mansion located at 16 Gramercy Park. During his lifetime, he reserved an upper floor for his home, turning the rest of the building over to the Clubhouse. Its interior and part of its exterior was designed by architect Stanford White. It is reported to be the oldest-lasting club in its original club house, and was named a National Historic Landmark in 1962.
In 1989, women were invited to become fully participating members.
The Players still maintains its entryway gaslights, which are among the few remaining examples in New York City.
On April 14, 1865, Edwin's younger brother John Wilkes, a popular actor, assassinated President Abraham Lincoln, after which the life of his family changed. In 1888 Edwin Booth purchased the former residence of Valentine G. Hall in Gramercy Square and, perhaps inspired by London's Garrick Club, established a social club which would bring actors into contact with men of different professions such as industrialists, writers and other creative artists.
The building Booth had purchased was completely redesigned, furnished, equipped and decorated with Booth's personal possessions. When ready, a series of meetings was held, and a small group of founding fathers turned the Clubhouse over to newly invited members in a grand ceremony on December 31, 1888.
In the title papers, it is stated that Edwin Booth should retain a furnished apartment for his own use where he could be left undisturbed as he wished. Booth made his home at The Players, where he died June 7, 1893, at the age of 59.
The Players obtained a $8.5 million loan from Terrapin Lending Company to help it straighten out its financial problems without having to sell its prized artwork, including a John Singer Sargent portrait of actor Joseph Jefferson, which they loaned for a time to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The club plans to focus on its members, including bringing in new ones, and hold fewer ticketed events aimed at the general public, according to Michael Barra, the chair of the club's managing committee and executive committee of the Board of Directors. The Players began a new Associate Member program, which allows access to the club until 5 p.m., at a cost considerably less than full membership.
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