It was the initiative of businessman Bernardino Jordão (1868-1940), concessionaire for electricity in Guimarães,[2] who entrusted the project and construction management to architect and civil engineer Júlio José de Brito (1896-1965), whose best-known work is the Rivoli Theatre in Porto.

[7] The legal dispute between the tenants and owners of the Gil Vicente Theatre on 25 July 1935 led to the temporary closure of the city's only proper cinema/theatre, a situation that lasted for the next 18 months.

and began on 22 February 1937,[10] on the then Cândido dos Reis Avenue, modern D. Afonso Henriques Avenue, and was "grandiose" for the time, as can be seen from the following data published in the programme distributed at the time of its inauguration: "To give a small idea of this work, the following data is presented: 979 lorries of sand and gravel were spent, among other materials; 684 lorries of brick and masonry; 62 wagons of cement, lime, plaster and marble; 13 wagons with 127,000 kilos of iron; 31,000 or nearly 30 wagons of "SIMCO" bricks spent for the pavements.

[14] In 2012, the project by architect Miguel Guedes was awarded first place in the public tender promoted by Guimarães City Council for the rehabilitation and functional conversion of the Jordão Theatre.

In May 2017, a public tender was launched for the restoration of the building, but it was cancelled due to the competing companies not having "complied with the rules of procedure".