Initially, it was a five-story building with a theatre, ballroom, armoury, police office, bar, and galleries.

With a rich history to its credit, the theatre was the center for entertainment and socialisation, where Viceroy Lord Lytton wrote and staged a play called Walpole, and Rudyard Kipling acted in 'a scrap of paper'.

Sehgal, Prithvi Raj Kapoor, Balraj Sahni, Pran, Tom Alter, Manohar Singh, Jennifer Kendall, Anupam Kher, Naseeruddin Shah, Shahid Kapoor, Ayushmann Khurrana, Udit Narayan, Sonu Nigam, Mohit Chauhan and Shreya Ghoshal and others have also performed here.

The complex supports painting, photography, dance, drama, theatrics, elocution, sculpture, and classical and folk music.

At the same time Gaiety Complex also provides Shimla schools an opportunity to participate in the cultural activities organised here.