The name finds its roots in another theater house that existed in what is nowadays the Sena Freitas Garden; it was built in the second half of the 19th century and destroyed by a massive fire in the 1930s.
It’s located where there was once the church and convent of São João. After the religious orders were extinct, the former convent underwent different purposes until it was demolished to give way for the current building.
It was inaugurated in 1951 and requalified in 2004.
Its impressive body, a creation of Architect Raul Rodrigues Lima, makes it a landmark of Ponta Delgada. It is owned and run by the Azorean Government and hots cultural and social events.
