Set of two buildings with a simple line and structure, which follows the Catalan Art Nouveau principles in its historicist aspect. The theatre presents a two-storey façade with a gable roof and with some finishes simulating a non-existent turret, like Danés i Torras’ type 2-IV country houses. But this is reduced to a vertical extension of the façade wall without any subsequent structure. On the ground floor there is a central door with two large rectangular windows now boarded up that retain their initial forgings and dated from 1903. The first floor has a small central opening and a simple border of sgraffito simulating a pediment that frames the name of the theatre and date of construction.

The annex building, the café, also follows the historicist line but more like a manor. It has two floors, with large rectangular openings on the sides of the door on the ground floor and three balconies on the first floor, the central one a little bigger than the lateral but without other extensions. Both the doors and the windows are highlighted by a wide strip of smooth stucco just like in the theatre. This feature and the wide common plinth is the nexus of physical and aesthetic union between the two buildings, probably connected by the interior, as was usual.

In the construction of the colony, the recreational aspect could not be neglected in order to achieve an authentic social atmosphere. The creation of the café and the theatre, if we stick to the dates, started earlier. At the beginning of the century, gathering for coffee, playing cards and having small talk were, together with professional or amateur theatre, the most common distraction (someone said that "if Catalans don't go to the theatre much it's because they are all on the 'stage...'). The café still stands to this day and is still the largest and liveliest in the colony.

Ateneu Unió

Building with simple lines following the Catalan Art Nouveau style which is built next to the Fontova Theatre. It has two floors with three large rectangular openings in each. On the ground floor there is the access door and two windows, and on the first floor there are three balconies, the central one a little larger. Both the doors and the windows are highlighted by a wide strip of smooth stucco, which highlights the opening and are the same as those of the theatre, located next door. This feature and the wide plinth in the lower part of the façade, is common to both buildings and is the physical and aesthetic link between them. Surely, as was usual, both would be connected by the ground floor. The café located on the first floor still retains many of the original modernist details, such as the carpentry, forge, benches, tables and chairs, some doors and the same layout.

The Ateneu Unió was one of the first institutions in the Colònia Güell, founded possibly before 1899. In 1891, Eusebi Güell appoints Josep Elias Basca, who built the café for his own operation. The Fontova Theatre was inaugurated in 1892, before the Ateneu Unió existed. In 1900, Güell bought Elias the built café and transferred the use to the Ateneu Unió, which had been founded a few years earlier as part of the Fontova Theatre. Theatre and café were united as buildings of the Ateneu Unió permanently. It was a recreational society with a coffee lounge, billiards and a library. As such, its objective was to promote culture and activities of a playful and recreational nature. La Maquinista choir (part of Cors Clavé) rehearsed here, whilst meetings, dances, parties and plays took place in the Fontova theatre, right next door. The colony, beyond its industrial activity, also had a recreational side to create a social fabric, and the creation of the café and the theatre were key to achieving this. It seems that, at the beginning of the century, gatherings in cafés, as well as games of cards, dominoes or chess and theatre were the most common distractions in the colony. During the Spanish Civil War, the Ateneu was the setting for many political and union meetings. It had to change its name to Cultural Union. In the statutes of the 1930s it was forbidden to speak ill of the owner of the colony. In 2017, the 125th anniversary will be celebrated (taking 1892 as the date, when the theatre was inaugurated), which is the first venue inaugurated of those that make up the current building. Even so, the first mention of the Ateneu is from 1899 in the act books, but surely before this document was written there was already a previous provisional organisation - the Sociedad de Bailes Fontova.

Theatre

Building located next to the Ateneu Unió. It is a simple structure, following a Catalan Art Nouveau style. It has a two-storey façade with a double-sloped roof finish and a crown simulating a non-existent attic. This results in a vertical extension of the façade, but without structures on the back side. On the ground floor there is a central arched doorway, flanked by two arched windows on either side. These windows, now boarded up, retain the original mouldings from 1903, as can be read. Coats of arms of Catalonia appear on the forged bars, showing the Ateneu’s Catalan character. The body that protrudes from the façade is a later addition, made to house the cinematographic projection machine. The first floor has a small central opening and a simple border of sgraffito simulating a pediment that frames the name of the theater and the date of construction, 1892. Both the doors and the windows are highlighted by a wide strip of smooth stucco, from which the opening stands out and they are the same as those of the Ateneu. This feature and the wide plinth in the lower part of the façade is the physical and aesthetic link between both buildings. At the beginning of the 1960s, the body of lockers and entrance to the room was built, built on the patio. The theatre had peripheral boxes on the ground floor and a floor with benches running above. This arrangement was lost when it was wanted to give more capacity to the audience. A slightly larger amphitheatre was then built. It is the same refurbishment that was done with the new entrance gate. The theatre has the gridiron at a suffient height to take off entire sets.

Both the theatre and the Ateneu were the first recreational institutions in the colony. According to a news item from La Vanguardia on August 10, 1892, it is known that, on the occasion of the Festa Major de Santa Coloma de Cervelló, a theatre would be inaugurated in Colònia Güell "and a play, Almodis, would be performed, which had won the Writing Contest of 1880". The colony, beyond its industrial activity, also had a recreational side to create a social fabric, and the creation of coffee and theatre were key to achieving this. He currently has his own amateur theatre group - Fontova Teatre.