Dear LREI Community, 
It is with great excitement and anticipation that we share the news that our campus is growing! Yesterday LREI closed on the purchase of 15 Vandam Street, the building that houses The SoHo Playhouse. The school’s Board of Trustees and administration have been involved in discussions and negotiations for this purchase for over a year. This building represents what may be the last site on the contiguous Charlton/Vandam block that will be available and accessible to the school and, we feel, is a terrific investment in our future. The SoHo Playhouse is a neighborhood institution with a long and storied history. From the theater’s website:
The SoHo Playhouse stands on land that was once Richmond Hill, a colonial mansion that served as headquarters for General George Washington and later home to Aaron Burr. Purchased from Burr in 1817, the land was then developed into federalist-style row houses by fur magnate John Jacob Astor.
15 Van Dam Street was designated as the Huron Club, a popular meeting house and night club for the Democratic Party. The turn of the century brought the Tammany Hall machine to the Huron Blub. Prominent regulars included “Battery” Dan Finn and the infamous Jimmy “Beau James” Walker, known as the “Night Mayor” due to his predilection for jazz clubs and chorus girls.
The main floor was transformed into a theater in the 1920’s, and in the 60’s operated as the Village South, home to Playwrights Unit Workshop under the direction of Edward Albee. It was on this stage that Mr. Albee produced many first works of Terrance McNally, John Guare, Lanford Wilson, Sam Shephard, AR Gurney, and Leroi Jones.
In the near term, we will continue to rent the theater floors of the building to the Soho Playhouse, supporting the neighborhood’s vibrant arts scene. The top two floors, previously the owner’s apartment, will be renovated and rented, offsetting our carrying costs.
In the coming years, as we move towards and celebrate our centennial, LREI will consider how best to use the spaces in this historic building to support and expand our program. Until then, in addition to supporting the work of the playhouse as a neighborhood institution, we will make use of the space as the playhouse schedule allows and as our program demands. We are eager to see what the future of our newest investment will bring to the LREI community.
Don’t hesitate to be in touch.