"Barcelona has, therefore, since yesterday, a magnificent cinema venue, on par with the best abroad, and it is a real shame that something similar is not done for theatrical shows, since the city is so in need of theaters that are within reach. the height of his fame and wealth.
With this information including criticism and lament (the eternal debate about the health of culture in Barcelona), La Vanguardia informs, on page 10 of its edition of October 11, 1923, of its inauguration, the previous day, of " new venue for cinematographic shows Coliseum".
That information from 100 years ago was recreated in the description of the architecture of the majestic premises that throughout its first century of life, from its privileged location on Gran Via de les Corts Catalanes, between Balmes and Rambla Catalunya streets, has It has witnessed the contemporary history of Barcelona, it has survived or adapted to fashions and trends and even one of the deadliest bombings of the Spanish Civil War.
The catalog file of Barcelona's architectural heritage defines the property at Gran Via, 595, classified as a Cultural Asset of Local Interest, as a "building for public use completed in 1923 and intended to host a show that was then incipient, which follows as closely as possible the use of academic canons in the line of the Beaux Arts, sponsored by the bourgeoisie that supported the dictatorship of Primo de Rivera".
The Coliseum, the work of the Noucentista architect Francesc de Paula Nebot, is "a representative construction of the monumentalist, baroque and official movement, of which both the interior spaces and the façade, with complex volumetry, presided over by a large dome flanked by small towers and covered with abundant sculptures made by Pere Ricart, they are one of the most forceful and significant examples."
The information from La Vanguardia about the inauguration of the Coliseum indicated that the program for that opening day included "the magnificent Gaumont brand film" La Moderna Dalila, "which was very much liked by the public." In fact, the Coliseum was born as a large-capacity movie theater (more than 1,800 spectators) and it was not until 2006 that it was converted by its owners, the Balañá Group, into a theater.
The history of the Coliseum dates back four years to its inauguration, in 1919, when the Metropolitan company, promoted by various prominent men of the city, including the Marquis of Argentera, promoted its construction with an initial capital of 2 million pesetas. a real fortune for the time, foreseeing the furor that the cinema spectacle caused in the population.
The Coliseum was built on the same site where another performance hall had been located since February 1901, the Palace of Illusion, a multipurpose venue in which everything from moving photographs to magic acts, ballroom shooting, circus, dance and a rudimentary cinematograph.
The Coliseum was a witness and victim of one of the most tragic episodes of the Spanish Civil War in Barcelona. On March 17, 1938, a Francoist bomb fell on a truck loaded with explosives that was traveling along Gran Via. The impact and explosion caused real carnage and caused serious material damage to the Coliseum and adjacent buildings.
The most characteristic element of the centenary building is, without a doubt, its entrance atrium, with its Corinthian style columns on which a large triumphal arch houses a group of muses by the sculptor Pere Ricart. Also striking is its monumental central dome, designed by Valeri Corberó, with two neo-baroque style towers on the sides.
