The first Washington Theatre opened on December 21, 1910, under manager Louis Landau, Jr., with seating for 750 people, and several years later a balcony increased capacity to 1,200. In 1911 the Air Dome was added next to the theatre. On January 1, 1923, Landau bought out the Lillian Amusement Company's interest in the Washington Theatre and Air Dome, and one month later he contracted with R. Levin and Company of Chicago to build a new theatre. Ground was broken on May 17, 1923, for a new Washington Theatre with seating capacity of 1,70 in a large auditorium and balcony, a long promenade, a large lobby, dressing rooms under the stage, a first aid room, a smoking room, a nursery, and a play room with a nurse in charge. A Barton Organ that could be lowered when not in use was installed, Walter Parker was the first organist, a heating system was placed beneath the seats, and the building cost approximately $500,000.00. The theatre opened on December 21, 1923, when Mayor Robertson switched on the new lighting system on 19th Street, called the "White Way," and led the way into the theater for the dedication. A fire on 19th Street in 1946 led to remodeling of the exterior. The theatre's longest-serving manager was Christ Pashoff, who managed it through its heyday for 33 years. It closed for a time in the mid-1970s, reopened in the 1980s as a multipurpose venue for banquets, auctions, dances, boxing exhibitions, and second-run movies, and in the early 1990s was demolished to make way for the Madison County Transit Bus Terminal.