Mechanic died in 1966 from a heart attack while the building was under construction and his widow, Clarisse, joined Mayor Theodore McKeldin and Eugene M. Feinblatt, chairman of the Baltimore Urban Renewal and Housing Agency, in presiding over the opening gala January 16, 1967.

For many years, the theater was Baltimore's primary venue to host touring Broadway plays and helped the city shed its reputation as a "lousy theatre town".

After hearings in August 2007,[7] the Baltimore Commission for Historical and Architecture Preservation declined to grant the building landmark status.

[8] On February 25, 2009, David S. Brown Enterprises unveiled a plan to add a 30-story tower that would house a 161-room hotel and 250 rental units.

In September 2014, the parking garage closed and crews erected fences to begin demolition work, to be followed by construction of new high-rise residential and commercial space.

[16] The Mechanic Theater consisted of a square podium that housed retail space and an underground parking garage as part of the Charles Center.

The fan-shaped auditorium that seated 1,614 sat atop the podium and had a street-level entrance on Hopkins Plaza as well as a pedestrian bridge that connected to an elevated walkway leading to other buildings in Charles Center.

Balconies were behind the orchestra seats and protruded beyond the exterior walls to give the building the appearance of a ratchet gear when viewed from above.