The Senator Theatre is a significant example of the late Art Deco style in suburban movie theaters in Baltimore. Built in 1939 and designed by theater architect John J. Zink, it was one of several theaters constructed by Durkee Enterprises beginning in the mid-1930s which rivaled the earlier movie palaces of downtown Baltimore. Its design features extensive decorative use of glass block, pigmented structural glass, zig-zag aluminum moldings, and a vertically-oriented round lobby. Its interior details further exemplify the Art Deco design movement: decorative panels of foliated volutes, highly-stylized murals, veneered walls, geometric lighting fixtures, and a patterned floor. The National Trust for Historic Preservation designated the theater as "America’s quintessential independent historic movie house" in 2001.