Sometimes referred to as the "West Coast Apollo",[3] the Lincoln Theater was one of the most significant establishments along the Central Avenue Corridor; this became the cultural and business hub of the African-American community in Los Angeles from the 1920s to the 1950s.

The facade is marked by decorative ceramic tile above arches in the side bays and columns that are capped by onion-shaped capitals and lance-shaped spires.

The area in the central bay above the marquee is decorated with layers of arches and columns that were intended to create "the overall impression of a step-back tower in low relief".

These included Dreamland Rink, the Murray Pocket Billiard Emporium and Cigar Stand, the 28th Street YMCA, Second Baptist Church, Sidney P. Dones Company (offering real estate, insurance and legal services), the California Eagle newspaper, the Dunbar Hotel, and the Lincoln Theater.

[15] Notable performers who appeared at the Lincoln in the late 1920s include Nina Mae McKinney (known as "The Black Garbo"), Evelyn Preer (known in the African-American community as "The First Lady of the Screen"), Clarence Muse, Elsie Ferguson, Laura Bowman, Abbie Mitchell, Charles Sidney Gilpin, and the house band, Mosby's Blue Syncopators providing "'hot' music while a chorus of twenty-four dusky beauties ... strut to its tunes.

[8][26] Concerts at the Lincoln in the post-World War II era attracted diverse audiences that included the likes of choreographer Alvin Ailey, activist Eldridge Cleaver, and songwriter eden ahbez.

[24][27] It was outside the Lincoln in the late 1940s that a bearded ahbez wearing sandals handed the song "Nature Boy" to Nat King Cole's road manager.

[8] In 2009, the theater was deemed to satisfy the registration requirements set forth in a multiple property submission study, the African Americans in Los Angeles MPS.

It fulfills the criteria outlined in the Multiple Property Documentation (MPD) Form for Historic Resources Linked with African Americans in Los Angeles.

Since 1962, it has been owned and operated by a religious institution, meeting Criteria Consideration A by deriving its primary significance from its historical importance to the African American community.

It was built by West Coast Theaters, with a board of directors that included Mike Gore, Adolph Ramish, Sol Lesser, and Joseph Schenk.

The theater played a key role in jazz history, showcasing performers such as Lionel Hampton, Duke Ellington, Nat Cole, Fats Domino, Sammy Davis Jr., and BB King.

[8] A columnist from the Los Angeles Times observed that many white patrons attended the Lincoln Theater because it provided a rare opportunity to see Black actors perform authentically for their own community, rather than through the lens of stereotypes often presented in mainstream venues.

Founded in 1915 by Anita Busch, the Lafayette Players provided dramatic entertainment for the Harlem community, offering an alternative to minstrel shows that often demeaned black people.