Prospectus for "The Aberdeen Theatre and Opera House Company Ltd" issued with a provisional committee consisting of eighteen influential gentlemen is formed.

The capital was stated at £8000, in shares of £1.00 each, and the site to be in Guild Street, Aberdeen. A number of shares were also taken by parties in London.

Mr James Matthews was appointed architect in consultation with Mr C.B. Phipps, FSA, London.

"The want of a Theatre and Opera House, where the public can obtain good accommodation and which can be utilised, if necessary, for other purposes, has been for some time universally felt. With the view of supplying this want, a site in Guild Street, extending back to Trinity Street, has been secured by the promoters".

The new house was built at a cost of £8400 to hold 1650 people and was opened on the evening of 19th December 1872.

"The three storey Venetian Gothic looking building with its coloured voussoir stones to the arches provided an imposing façade of bold design - Concrete was used for the first time on any significant scale in Scotland for the side and back walls" - J.Littlejohn

In January 1897, the pre-eminent theatre architect Frank Matcham carried out "structural alterations and improvements" - This consisted of "improvements to safety precautions and ventilation with more spacious exits provided throughout the house".

The above alterations were no doubt carried out in light of the tragic fire at the People's Palace of Varieties in Aberdeen in 1896.

Elsewhere in the city, the Robert Arthur Company was in the process of finding a new site for a major touring house. The "new" His Majesty's Theatre in Schoolhill opened on the 3rd December 1906 at a cost of £35,000. Consequently, "the Guild Street house which had provided theatrical fare and housed the patrons of drama in Aberdeen almost uninterruptedly for 34 years remained dark for three and a half years".