The theater was designed in the 1860s by Juan Bertoli Calderoni (a Ponceño of Italian heritage resident of the city) and it bears a neoclassical structure with an impressive six-column entrance.

[10] Teatro La Perla was built under the initiative of Francisco Parra Duperón and Pedro Garriga in May 1864.

It served this function both at the end of the Spanish regime and in Puerto Rico's early years as a United States territory.

[18] It was listed on the US National Register of Historic Places on 27 September 2021 ("La Perla Auditorium and Public Library").

[19][20] The theater has a seating capacity of 1,047 and is now a regular venue for concerts, opera, plays, and various civic and educational activities such as school graduations.