by age 41, after papp had established a permanent base for his free summer shakespeare performances in central park's delacorte theater, an open-air amphitheatre, papp looked for an all-year theater he could make his own. after looking at other locations, he fell in love with the location and the character of lafayette street's astor library. papp rented it, in 1967, reportedly for one dollar per year, from the city. it was the first building saved from demolition under the new york city landmarks preservation law. after massive renovations, papp moved his staff to the newly named public theater, hoping to attract a newer, less conventional audience for new and innovative playwrights.