The theater, which has a capacity of 1,506, opened in 1914 as Hurtig &amp; Seamon's New Burlesque Theater, and was designed by George Keister in the neo-Classical style, a whites-only venue. The song "I May Be Wrong (But I Think You're Wonderful)" by Harry Sullivan and Harry Ruskin, written in 1929, became the theme song of the theater.

It was purchased by Sidney Cohen. Renovated and renamed to the Apollo Theater in 1934, when it was opened to black patrons of Harlem. It is estimated that 1.3 million people visit the Apollo every year.

The Apollo Theater is a historical concert venue. It is a noted venue for African-American performers, and is the home of Showtime at the Apollo, a nationally syndicated television variety show which showcased new talent, from 1987 to 2008, encompassing 1,093 episodes; the show was rebooted in 2018.

Apollo Theater

 The first major star to appear at the Apollo was jazz singer and Broadway star Adelaide Hall in Clarence Robinson's production Chocolate Soldiers, which featured Sam Wooding's Orchestra. The show ran for a limited engagement and was highly praised by the press, which helped establish the Apollo's reputation. 

Garrison McNeil, architect working in Harlem, discusses the history of and his work on the Apollo Theater.

On the next block on the North side of the street is the famous Apollo Theater. First opened in 1914, it was originally known as The Hertig and Seaman New Burlesque Theater. It took nearly twenty years for it to open its doors to African-American patrons for the first time on Friday, January 26, 1934. Amateur Night began that year, and one of its first performers was a young Billie Holiday.