According to the Istanbul development plan prepared by the French architect and city planner Henri Prost in the years 1936-1937, the Topçu Barracks and the surrounding cemeteries were to be transformed into a park, and an opera house was to be built at Taksim Square. Upon Prost's suggestion, the French architect Auguste Perret came to Istanbul for the opera house project; however, the project could not be realized due to the Second World War.

The opera house, whose project was designed by architect Feridun Kip and architect Rükneddin Güney and whose foundation was laid on 29 May 1946, could not be completed due to lack of funding and was transferred to the Ministry of Public Works and Settlement in 1953. Construction continued in 1956 with the project of Senior Architect and Engineer Hayati Tabanlıoğlu. The building was inaugurated on 12 April 1969 under the name 'Istanbul Culture Palace', with the aim of performing works of the State Opera and Ballet and the State Theatres.

On 27 November 1970, during the performance of Arthur Miller’s play The Crucible, a large fire occurred and after being repaired, the building was reopened on 6 October 1978 as the Atatürk Cultural Center. The work, finalized by Associate Professor and Senior Architect Engineer Hayati Tabanlıoğlu, was regarded as a typical example of the simple and functional architectural understanding of the 1950s. With the depth and width of the Grand Hall’s stage, and its advanced mechanical capacity consisting of various lifts, AKM became Turkey's most advanced performance arts venue.

As the building continued to serve into the 2000s and became unusable in many respects, various quests for solutions began. In November 2008, with a protocol signed by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the Atatürk Cultural Center's renovation project was undertaken by the Istanbul 2010 European Capital of Culture Agency, appointing Tabanlıoğlu Architecture to prepare it. In 2012, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism called a tender to carry out only strengthening, repair, and renovation works while preserving the existing state of the building. However, technical inspections following the dismantling indicated that the damage to the building was greater than expected.

On 29 October 2021, the Atatürk Cultural Center was opened to visitors with a magnificent opening ceremony. It houses units including an Opera Hall with a capacity of 2040 people, a Theatre Hall for 781 people, AKM Gallery, AKM Multi-Purpose Hall, AKM Children's Art Centre, AKM Music Platform, AKM Music Recording Studio, AKM Library conceived as an information centre focusing on specialist subjects such as music, art, architecture, design, AKM Yeşilçam Cinema, and AKM Design Shop.