On August 14, 1890, a large theater, the new Coliseu dos Recreios, was inaugurated. Four bold entrepreneurs (lawyer José Frederico Ciríaco, philosophy professor Pedro António Monteiro, warehouse owner António Caetano Macieira, and meat merchant João Baptista G. de Ahneida) conceived the idea of building the largest covered entertainment venue in the world, with a capacity of over 4,000 seats.