Built for actor James Hubert McVicker, the theater was the leading stage for comedic plays in Chicago's early years.

It often hosted performances by Edwin Booth, who married McVicker's daughter and was once targeted there in an attempted murder.

In October 1837, he was hired as an apprentice for the Republican in St. Louis, Missouri, and was named a journeyman three years later.

[2] Two years after the death of Dan Marble, McVicker purchased the right to use his plays from the family estate.

McVicker's Theater opened on November 5, 1857, featuring its own stock company performing the comedic plays Honeymoon and Rough Diamond.

Mark Gray fired two bullets in an unsuccessful attempt to murder Edwin Booth on April 23, 1879, while the actor was performing Richard II.

[2] Actors and actresses who performed in McVicker's company over the years included James O'Neill, Rossini Vrionides and Robert B. Mantell.

The rebuilt theater, designed by the same, opened on March 31, 1891, with a performance of The Rivals featuring Joseph Jefferson, William J. Florence, Louisa Lane Drew, and Viola Allen.

; plumbing and electric light fixtures by E. Baggot; painting and decorating by Healy & Millet; carpets and draperies by Marshall Field & Co.; seating by A. H. Andrews & Co.; electric lighting by Chicago Edison Co.; ornamental plasterwork by Schneider & Kline; ornamental iron work by W. H. Cheneworth Co.; tile work and fire-proofing by Illinois Terra Cotta, plain plasterwork by The Mackolite Plaster Co. and Michael Cyr; and bas-relief panels, by I^aSalles.