They hired architect Charles Cavenaugh to design the theatre and it was built in 1901.
[1] Moral opposition from the nearby St. Paul the Apostle Church, however, forced Evans and Mann to change the offerings of the theatre to one of more refined entertainment.
Accordingly, the theatre opened as the Circle Music Hall and served as a venue for orchestra concerts in its early years.
[2] It was later re-designed by architect Thomas W. Lamb in 1906 and converted into a legitimate theater for musicals.
[1] It operated as a theatre for Broadway musicals for the next several years with its last legitimate staging being a revival of The Chocolate Soldier in October 1910.