The Ward Theatre on North Parade Square is one of Kingston's most significant historic buildings — a grand colonial-era theatre built in 1912, funded by Colonel Charles James Ward, and designed in a neo-Renaissance style that looks startlingly formal in its downtown surroundings. It has been the centre of Jamaican theatrical life for over a century.
The building has had a difficult history of closures, restorations, and partial restorations, and its condition varies. When active, it hosts the Jamaica Pantomime season (December through spring), concerts, and cultural events. Even when dark, the exterior and the square it faces — North Parade, the old colonial centre of the city — are worth seeing. The square and its surroundings carry layers of Jamaican history that the newer commercial districts have lost.