For 165 years the National Theatre has been a part of United States history. Having operated longer than any other major touring house in the United States, this historic playhouse has seen Pennsylvania Avenue grow from the muddy main street of a fledgling capital, to the ceremonial avenue of a great world power. Subsequent to its opening on December 7, 1835, the building was destroyed by fire and rebuilt on the same site five times during the 1800's. Part of the original foundation can still be seen in the basement of the present structure, which was rebuilt in the 1920's.

For almost a century the National has been haunted by the friendly ghost of actor John McCullough, reputedly shot and killed by a fellow performer. A rusty pistol, perhaps the murder weapon, was unearthed under the stage in 1982, near where McCullough's remains are rumored to be buried.

The National Theatre’s initial show was Man of the
World (1835). That season also featured Junius Brutus
Booth, father to both Edwin Booth (namesake of the Shubert-owned
Booth Theatre) and John Wilkes Booth. In 1850, the theatre re-
opened following a fire with a production featuring Miss Jenny Lind,
"the Swedish Nightingale." For a short period in the early 1950s, the
National was a movie house. It returned to legitimate theatre in 1952 with the Ethel Merman headliner Call Me Madam.

Many leading actors of the 20th century have appeared at the
National including Pearl Bailey, John Barrymore, Sarah Bernhardt, Cab Calloway, Carol Channing, Helen Hayes, Katharine Hepburn, Vivien Leigh, Ethel Merman, Laurence Olivier, Joan Rivers, and Spencer Tracy. Other famed theatre luminaries have served at the National in backstage capacities: playwright John Guare was an assistant manager here; Shirley MacLaine was an usher and her brother, Warren Beatty, was the stage doorman.

The National Theatre employs the Federal style common in
Washington DC architecture. The auditorium dates to the 1920s,
when changes in building codes required significant theatre
renovations across the city.