Barrymore Theater, ca. 1976.

Designed by Herbert Krapp in 1928, the theatre, named after famed American actress Ethel Barrymore, was the final Broadway theatre created by Lee and J.J. Shubert. It is also the only surviving theatre created by the original owner/operators of the Shubert family for one of their performers.

The two-story terra-cotta grillwork screen is the defining feature of the facade and was modeled after the design of public baths in Rome. The premiere play was The Kingdom of God, with Barrymore in a leading role. She returned to the stage here a number of times through the 1920s, 30s, and 40s. The Barrymore was the debut location of Tennessee Williams's A Streetcar Named Desire, which premiered in 1947, directed by Elia Kazan and starring Jessica Tandy, Marlon Brando.