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I was also given to understand that while boxes give optional privacy, a big part of their function in older theatres was to be seen, rather than specifically to see the play. Presiding, if you will.

At least that's the oral tradition I've been given in the UK. Makes sense for the old aristocracy, the US may have wanted to make a deliberate break with the tradition?

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> to make a deliberate break with the tradition

In the monarchical period of European theatre, it was well-understood that the centre was a _pit_ full of hard-scrabble riff-raff. Having a box apart from this was a sign of social class (i.e. _wealth_ and aristocratic connexions).

In either case the boxes are a level above the riff-raff. In one case they’re at the back (but still above) and in the other they’re nearer the front on the side.

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