This article looks into various influences that determine the history of theatre architecture: the models from Antiquity, set design requirements, innovations in visual arts, cultural and social significance of theatres. It offers a selection of the examples of the renovated and modernized historic theatres in Europe from the mid 20th century up to the present characterized by a wide range of approaches. This phenomenon is linked with the growing historical awareness paralleled with the contemporary requirements for the historic heritage preservation. A proposal for the renovation of the Croatian National Theatre building in Zagreb is based on the idea of the rehabilitation of the original values, i.e. the removal of poor quality layers of building interventions and the placement of service facilities on the underground levels. This approach favours the preservation of this historic building as well as its presentation as a valuable cultural asset.