Designed by Herbert J. Krapp for Irwin Chanin, the Golden Theatre officially opened as the Theatre Masque on Feb. 24, 1927. The theatre opened with the play Puppets of Passion. The Golden Theatre was purchased by impresario John Golden in 1937 who renamed the theatre after himself.

The building was used as a cinema in the late 1940s and 1950s, before it was purchased by the Shubert Organization and restored to traditional theatre usage. The exterior of the theatre was also used as the setting of the film adaptation of A Chorus Line.