[3] The building was used during the 1890s for sporadic productions of live performances, vaudeville and as a skating rink, but did not emerge as a major theatrical venue in Brisbane.

[5] Brisbane draper Thomas Finney acquired the property in 1899 and used the theatre as a clothing factory, although the stage was still hired for occasional performances.

Dent leased space to Thomas Hall for a clothing workshop, which was in operation in a separate building behind the theatre from 1912 until 1938.

[2][7] In 1914, the theatre was purchased by Brisbane solicitor Herbert Brealy Hemming who retained ownership until his death in 1942.

In the years immediately following World War II, it was hired to a variety of community groups such as ballet schools, college revues, and scout troops.

[1] From 1949 to 1985 the building lost all association with the performing arts, and was rented to various small businesses, including a paper wholesaler, an engineering firm, a rag merchant, a second hand dealer and a used appliance retailer.

[10][11][12] The first concert in the refurbished auditorium was held in August 2021 ahead of the venue's official opening in October 2021.

[13][14] The Princess Theatre is a two-storey rectangular brick building fronting Annerley Road to the west, with narrow laneways to either side and rear.

The central entrance portico has two corner columns, on square bases, with an entablature with a laurel frieze in relief.

[1] The ground floor has a shopfront to either side of the entrance, with a glazed wide arched opening framed by pilasters and entablature.

The first floor has a verandah with rendered balustrade, columns, entablature and arched spandrel panels with decorative keystones.

This elevation has a rooftop balustrade, between column tops surmounted by spheres, with a central curved pediment with laurels in relief.

[1] The auditorium has face brick walls with rendered pilasters and cornice, and timber architraves, dado and panelling below.

The basement has a concrete floor and contains a central storage/performance space with dressing rooms to the north and an office area to the south, all with external access.

The Princess Theatre is important in exhibiting a range of aesthetic characteristics valued by the Brisbane community, local residents and those interested in theatre design, in particular: the ornately decorated street facade and more restrained interior; and the building's contribution to the Clarence Corner streetscape and Woolloongabba townscape.

[1] The place has a special association with the life or work of a particular person, group or organisation of importance in Queensland's history.