Constructed between 1798 and 1800, the Victoria Theater is the oldest theatre in the north of Mexico. It was originally built as part of the Zambrano residence as the owner's personal theater with the name of the Coliseo Theater. It inaugurated in 1800 with a play by Euripides. Later it was renamed the Main Theater (Teatro Principal). In 1908, it was bought by Jesús Ávila, who reconstructed it in 1909 adding ironwork, boxes and the four levels it now has. It gained its current name with the centennial of Mexico's independence. The theater was used as a movie house from 1926 to 1978, when the Mary Street Foundation donated it to the state with the aim of returning it to theatrical use.