The Public Theater – The Ghost of the Astor Library

New York · United States · Theatre

In 1860, librarian Cogswell saw a recently deceased physician leafing through occult volumes in the stacks – three times he addressed the ghost of the Astor Library, three times it dissolved.

Before Hamilton and Hair were born on the stages of The Public Theater, the brick palazzo on Lafayette Street was the city's first free library, the Astor Library. There unfolded one of New York's best-documented ghost stories: in 1860 the New York Evening Post reported that librarian Dr. Joseph Cogswell, working late, had seen a recently deceased physician browsing the shelves – in the section devoted to occult literature. Three times Cogswell addressed the figure; three times it dissolved before him. The story made national news and spawned theories that the dead man was seeking books he had donated. Today the theater's founder Joseph Papp and writer Washington Irving, once a library visitor, are also said to move through the stairwells after dark – footsteps sounding where no stacks remain.

FAQ

Where is The Public Theater – The Ghost of the Astor Library located?

The Public Theater – The Ghost of the Astor Library is in New York, United States.

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Accounts are drawn from local folklore and visitor reports.