6. Shakespeare Rondel, The Caroline Apartments

The Caroline is a modern, twenty-first century, building located on 23rd Street and Sixth Avenue. It is located on the site of the Booth’s Theatre, a Second Empire style building built by Edwin Booth and opened in 1869. It was never financially successful and was converted into a department store in 1881. The building was demolished in 1965 (or 1975) to make room for a parking lot. The theater had some of the latest technology including hydraulic lifts and lights that could be completely extinguished. It possessed a statue of Booth’s father and a statue of Shakespeare above the proscenium arch. When the building was demolished, Gerard Wolfe, a former NYU professor saved the bust of Shakespeare. It was displayed at NYU until The Caroline was erected and the bust returned to its 23rd Street home.