Built in 1912-13, shortly before World War I, to the designs of Henry B. Herts, the Shubert was one of a pair with the Booth, and was among the numerous theaters constructed by the Shuberts, one of the most active and influential families in American theater history. Its significant architectural features include heavy rusticated terra-cotta pilasters and arches, a curving corner entrance pavilion facing Broadway, an elaborate portal, and unusual panels of “sgraffito” ornament.
Henry Herts designed a Renaissance-inspired auditorium matching the theater’s “Venetian Renaissance” exterior. Among the most significant architectural features of the interior are its ornamental plasterwork, and the unusual series of painted panels of classical figures that adorn the boxes and the ceiling.