On 13 November of 1880, the "Sociedad del Teatro y Casino of Reus" invited several architects to make the project of the new theater that had to be constructed in the city. The secretary of the Society, Eduard Escriu i Folch, addressed five architects: Mr. Blasco, of Reus; one of unknown of Tortosa; Mr. Aimamí, of Barcelona; Mr. Gaudí, natural of Reus resident in Barcelona; and Mr. Montserrat, who was in Florence. The deal was that if his project was not chosen, they would pay him five hundred pesetas; and if it was accepted, two thousand pesetas for all works. Gaudí was then 28 years old and answered in writing: " Favored of Vds. as son of this population to contribute to the embellishment of my unforgettable natal city, only I am sorry that my abilities are not major at par that the quantity of which it is going to prepare, to do something of what feels the chest of each one of the sons of the strong Reus ". With the mention of "the strong Reus " Gaudí made reference to the title of city granted to Reus by Isabel II in the year 1843, which entailed adding a classical allegory of the effort to the shield: the figure of the hero Hercules. It seems that the young Gaudí, due to the honorary basses, did not make any project. Finally, on the 8th April of 1881 it was presented the project of the new theater, the theater Fortuny, that were opened on the 16th November of 1882. The architect who constructed it was Francesc Blanch i Pons, then resident in Reus, where he married to Àngela Cornet; and that afterwards he would be the provincial and diocesan architect of León.