In 1937, David N Martin, a theatrical publicity and advertising agent, formed a new theatre company named Minerva Centre Ltd to erect two live theatres on opposite sides of Macleay Street,
Potts Point. An early design for the Orwell Street site by
Bruce Dellit was rejected in favour of a more modest design by cinema specialists Crick & Furse, which opened on 18 May 1939 with a production of Robert Sherwood's ''
Idiot's Delight''. The site for the other proposed theatre site was acquired by the
City of Sydney and is now the Fitzroy Gardens. The site in front of the Minerva facing Macleay Street was developed as the Minerva Cafe and Nightclub, with a vaulted roof. In May 1941 it was leased by Whitehall Theatrical Productions, an independent production company. They remained in the venue for almost a decade, staging their last show there in April 1950.
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer purchased the building in 1950 and converted to a movie theatre, renaming it the Metro Cinema.
Harry M. Miller returned the venue to live theatre in 1969 with a production of the musical
Hair. In 1979 the building was converted to a market. In the early 1980s, it became offices for the
Kennedy Miller film production company. In 2019, Kennedy Miller sold the building to the Abacus Property Group, amidst hopes by members of the local community that it could become a community centre and theatre. Heritage listed by the City of Sydney including the interior, it was nominated by them to the NSW Heritage Register in 2019. The Metro-Minerva Theatre Action Group (MTAG) was formed in 2019 to lobby and campaign for the reinstatement of the Minerva to a fully functioning theatre. In 2021, property developer Central Element purchased the building from Abacus. The MTAG website was then updated with the below message: Central Element put the building on the market in January 2024 and it was sold to
Gretel Packer's company Sacred Firebird for $26 million in July 2024. ==Design==