The theater currently presents a variety of live entertainment, hosting traveling productions and locally produced events.

It was built in 1921 to a Renaissance Revival design by Thomas W. Lamb, and is an architecturally prominent element of the city's downtown.

It occupies about 125 feet (38 m) of street frontage, with a series of small storefronts on the ground floor to the right of the theater entrance.

When it opened, it was judged to be the city's finest performance venue, hosting traveling vaudeville shows and the latest movies.

It was part of the business empire of Sylvester Z. Poli, who controlled as many as thirty theaters, most in the northeastern United States.