This lovely building was a gift to the city of Kingston from then Custos Colonel Charles Ward in 1912. When it was first built plays were performed by travelling British Troupes and local colonials. During the two world wars Jamaicans began to act and participate in the productions. Ward is the third theatre to remain on the same site on which it was built. The first was the Kingston Theatre, destroyed by a fire, and the second was the Theater Royal, destroyed by the 1907 earthquake. On January 7, 2000 the Ward Theatre was declared a national monument. Today, the theatre is in a derelict state and has been undergoing renovations.
