The wooden building designed by architect Carl Ludvig Engel was located in the corner of Mikaelsgatan and Esplanaden.

The new building, which was designed by Georg Theodor von Chiewitz, was built on Skillnaden, on the same site as the current Svenska Teatern.

The first play performed in the new theatre was Princessan av Cypern by Zacharias Topelius and Fredrik Pacius.

The building of Svenska Teatern was renovated in 1935 by architects Eero Saarinen and Jarl Eklund [fi; sv; fr; arz].

[1] Many pieces of incidental music by Jean Sibelius had their premiere in the theatre, including the initial version of Finlandia in November 1899.