both presenting versions of Macbeth in nearby theatres. The protest in the streets against Macready became so violent that the police fired into the crowd. At least 18 died, and hundreds were injured. The theater itself never recovered from the association with the riot and was closed down shortly afterwards. The interior was demolished, and the building was turned over to the use of the New York Mercantile Library. From 1852 until 1936, Astor Place was the location of Bible House, headquarters of the American Bible Society. In the mid- to late-19th century, the area was home to many of the wealthiest New Yorkers, including members of the Astor, Vanderbilt, and Delano families. Editor and poet William Cullen Bryant, and inventor and entrepreneur Isaac Singer lived in the neighborhood in the 1880s. By the turn of the century, however, warehouses and manufacturing firms moved in, the elite moved to places such as Murray Hill, and the area fell into disrepair. The neighborhood was revitalized beginning in the late 1960s and 1970s. The New York City Department of Transportation's "Reconstruction of Astor Place and Cooper Square" plan called for some changes to be made to Astor Place beginning in 2013. The street would end at Lafayette Street rather than continuing east to Third Avenue. This allowed the expansion of the "Alamo Plaza", where the Alamo Cube is located, south to the southern sidewalk of Astor Place between Lafayette Street and Cooper Square, and the creation of an expanded sidewalk north of the Cooper Union Foundation Building. The Astor Place subway entrance plaza was also redesigned, and Fourth Avenue south of East 9th Street and the western part of Cooper Square was converted to be used by buses only, with a new pedestrian plaza created on Cooper Square between East 5th and 6th Streets. The traffic pattern of the area changed significantly, with Astor Place from Lafayette Street to Third Avenue becoming East Eighth Street eastbound, and the formerly bidirectional Cooper Square bus lane becoming northbound-only. The $16 million project was first proposed in 2008, then abandoned and re-proposed in 2011. Construction started in September 2013, and the work was completed in November 2016. Points of interest The current 299-seat Off-Broadway Astor Place Theatre, has been located in the landmark Colonnade Row on Lafayette Street, half a block south, since 1969. It was known for premiering works by downtown playwrights like Sam