Originally opened on April 12, 1969, it was closed for renovation works in 2008, but was ultimately demolished in 2018 and rebuilt in 2021 as a state-of-the-art cultural complex.

Two Turkish architects, Feridun Kip and Rüknettin Güney, proposed the building of the center on May 29, 1946, and work started on it before funding was halted in 1953.

[4] Reports suggested that the AKM was to be demolished as part of redevelopment plans for Taksim Square and Gezi Park and was to be replaced with a new opera house and a mosque.

[8] The complex consisted of the Grand Stage, a hall with a 1,317 seat capacity hosting the Turkish State Theatres and performances of the Turkish State Opera and Ballet; and the Concert Hall, which had a seating capacity for 502 spectators and was used for concerts, meetings and conferences.

After it had been empty for ten years since 2008, demolition works of the original AKM building began on 13 February 2018, for the purpose of rebuilding it.

[9] On 10 February 2019, construction of the new complex began with a groundbreaking ceremony attended by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.