The theatre was the original home of The Red Jacket Jamboree, an old-time radio variety show.

[2] The theatre opened on March 20, 1900,[2] with the operetta The Highwayman, by Reginald De Koven and Harry B. Smith, on tour from Broadway.

[2] It soon attracted attention from America's finest actors, actresses, and other theatre greats, such as Frank Morgan (later famous for his roles in The Wizard of Oz), Douglas Fairbanks, Sr., Lon Chaney, Sr., John Philip Sousa, Sarah Bernhardt, and Madame Helena Modjeska among others.

[4] Today, the Calumet Theatre is home to as many as 60 theatre-related events a year, with an estimated 18,000 people attending.

[3] The Calumet Theatre is a two-story Renaissance revival structure constructed from yellowish-brown brick.

[2] A porte-cochere covers one entrance, and a clock tower originally rising to include a bell) stands nearby.

[citation needed] The Calumet Theatre was featured as a haunted location on the paranormal TV series Most Terrifying Places which aired on the Travel Channel in 2019.