The theater shows first run movies of high artistic quality as well as classic and foreign language films, and Saturday kids' matinees.

The Garden live broadcasts performances from the Royal National Theatre and host talks and lectures from filmmakers including Terrence Malick and Peter Saraf.

As early as 1909, a proposal was made to build a new home for the Princeton Triangle Club which performed in a structure on campus called the Casino considered to have poor acoustics.

The company secured the site at the corner of Nassau Street and Vandeventer Avenue adjacent to and behind Bainbridge House, a historic structure that had served as the British headquarters during the Revolutionary War Battle of Princeton.

[16] As construction progressed it was decided to drop plans for a stage, while allowing for the possibility that one would be added in future, and restrict the Garden to cinema and the occasional lecture.