Professional baseball player Roy "Campy" Campanella and his team members competed in a quiz show at the Gem in front of hundreds of African-American children.

Meyer's Auto Parts later bought the building and added a storefront facing Broad Street, using the theater space as a warehouse.

[6] However, at that time, the zoning laws of New Orleans did not allow such a business outside industrial areas; the city made an exception for microbreweries making less than 12,500 barrels a year.

That facade includes yellow and maroon tiles along the base, raised vertical bands on the middle portion, and steps along the roofline.

The exterior is dominated by a large polygonal aluminum marquee projecting from the building with two "GEM" neon signs.

Part of what makes the Gem distinctive is the lack of features common in segregated theaters of the period: there is no separate ticket booth with stairs bypassing the main lobby leading to the upper balcony with fewer amenities.