The theater, located on "Washington's Black Broadway", served the city's African American community when segregation kept them out of other venues.

The Lincoln Theatre included a movie house and ballroom, and hosted jazz and big band performers such as Duke Ellington.

[5] Performers at the Lincoln Theatre have included Duke Ellington, Pearl Bailey, Louis Armstrong, Lionel Hampton, Ella Fitzgerald, Cab Calloway, Billie Holiday, and Sarah Vaughan.

[3] The movie house televised boxing fights on many occasions, such as the Sugar Ray Robinson-Joey Maxim bout on June 25, 1952.

[11] The restoration started in 1989 by developer Jeffrey N. Cohen, who was working on a controversial $250 million redevelopment plan, "Jackson Plaza", for the Shaw/U-Street area.

[14] A "sneak preview" of the renovated theater was held on September 16, 1993, for D.C. Councilmember Frank Smith, Mayor Sharon Pratt Kelly, and 1,000 attendees.

[18] The 1,250-seat[19] theater has hosted theatrical and musical shows including a 2002 multi-week run of The Jackie Wilson Story from Chicago's Black Ensemble Theatre, and leased space to community groups and for events,[20] and hosted political events such as the mayor's State of the District address.

[21] Jazz performances in recent years have included Cassandra Wilson, Quincy Jones, Chuck Brown, and Wynton Marsalis.

[23] Others that have performed at the Lincoln Theatre include Damien Rice,[24] singer Brian Stokes Mitchell,[25] and comedians Dave Chappelle and Dick Gregory.

From 2008 to 2010, Arena Stage mounted several productions at the theater, including Carrie Fisher's Wishful Drinking, while its Southwest Waterfront complex was being renovated.

[30] In January 2012, the D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities began searching for a new entertainment booking group to operate Lincoln Theatre.