The project was revisited in 1852, when Juan Matheu and Manuel Francisco Pavón Aycinena presented Carrera with a new plan. Once approved, Carrera commissioned Matheu himself and Miguel Ruiz de Santisteban to build the theater. Initially it was in charge of engineer Miguel Rivera Maestre, but he quit after a few months and was replaced by German expert José Beckers, who built the Greek façades and added a lobby. This was the first monumental building ever built in the Republican era of Guatemala, a sign that in the 1850s the country was finally enjoying some peace and prosperity.