The Lena Horne Theatre opened in 1926 as The Mansfield Theatre. It was one of six venues built by the Chanin Brothers and designed by Herbert J. Krapp.
In 1960, previous owner Michael Myerberg renamed the theater after veteran The New York Times theater critic Brooks Atkinson. This was the first time that a legitimate Broadway theater had been named after a theater critic. It is now owned by the Nederlander Organization, which recently renovated the venue and renamed it in honor of Lena Horne in 2022.