Astor Opera House

Designed by Isaiah Rogers (1800–1869), in the Classical Revival style of architecture, inspired by the temples of Ancient Greece and Rome of two thousand years earlier.

The opera house opened on November 22, 1847 with a performance of Giuseppe Verdi's Ernani with Adelino Vietti in the title role.

The theatre was built with the intention of attracting only the "best" patrons, the "uppertens" of New York high society, who were increasingly turning out to see European singers and productions who appeared at local venues such as Niblo's Garden.

It was expected that an opera house would be: a substitute for a general drawing room – a refined attraction which the ill-mannered would not be likely to frequent, and around which the higher classes might gather, for the easier interchange of courtesies, and for that closer view which aides the candidacy of acquaintance.

"[11] Limiting the attendance of the lower classes was partly intended to avoid the problems of rowdyism and hooliganism and common street crime which plagued other theaters in the entertainment district at the time, especially in the theatres further south on the Bowery.