The Booth Building stood on the southeast corner of Pine and Broadway Streets. It was built by Drs. William G. and John R. Booth around 1907. At the time this photo was taken, it housed the Cornish School of Music as well as an auto supply business.
The Cornish School of Music was founded in 1914 by Nellie Cornish, who directed the school from its foundation until 1939. The school started in one room of the Booth Building but it quickly expanded to the entire third floor, and in 1921 moved to its own building at 710 Roy Street. During the same period, Cornish’s curriculum also expanded beyond music to include dance, drawing and painting, and other liberal arts. Nellie Cornish and her successors recruited many artists to the school who would go on to be leaders in their fields. The school became fully accredited as a college in 1977, and its name changed to the Cornish College of the Arts in 1984.
Signs in image: Washington Auto [Supply] Automobile [Accessories?]. Art Studios for Rent - Large Hall 2nd Floor, Small Hall 4th Floor - For Recitals Concerts Lectures - Clubs & Private Social Entertainments - Office 4th Floor. Cornish School of Music - Expression, Language, Art, Dancing. The Triangle Electric Co. Booth Bldg. Carburetor Specialists. Lancaster Tire & Rubber Co. Groceries Fruit Vegetables Meats. Heinz. Cream [...] Paramount Ice Cream. Mrs. Andrews. Cigars - Ice Cream - Coca-Cola - Candies. Handwritten on sleeve: Booth Bldg.
Caption information source: “Cornish College of the Arts,” by Mildred Andrews and John Caldbrick, HistoryLink, retrieved from https://historylink.org/File/596.
