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The initial Fountain of Aurora in Barcelona was made up of a set of classic sculptures of mythological inspiration that have disappeared over the years.
The Fountain was designed as an ornamental complement to decorate the old Jardinets de Gràcia, currently Jardins de Salvador Espriu.
It was designed by Nicolau Maria Rubió i Tudurí, director of Barcelona Parks and Gardens, in the context of the 1929 International Exhibition, as a link between Passeig de Gràcia and the neighborhood of Gràcia, previously a villa that was annexed by Barcelona in 1897
The fountain was built by Joan Borrell i Nicolau, architect who in 1912 had created the monument to Mossén Jacint Verdaguer at the intersection of Avenida Diagonal with Passeig de Sant Joan.
The fountain, which had received great publicity, was not liked by the residents of Gràcia, not because it was not beautiful or spectacular, but because it was located facing Diagonal, so it turned its back on the neighborhood.
The Fountain of Dawn had various figures emerging from the waters of the small pond. The central figure stood out with Minerva, standing on a boat, holding two chariots each pulled by two horses, one chariot was directed by Helios (representing the sun) and the other by Selene (representing the moon). The whole was sculpted in marble.
In the adjacent parterre, Maria Rubió i Tudurí had designed two groups dedicated to Diana the huntress, one with a figure of the goddess with some nymphs and another with a deer wounded by the goddess’s arrows surrounded by hunting dogs. For unknown reasons, this element was not made, only the first group with the figures of Diana the huntress. The Nymph waking up and the Nymph combing her hair.
The set was completed by four Corinthian columns on which there were two eagles with their wings spread and two others ready to take flight.
In 1933, the City Council made the decision to remodel the promenade from Diagonal to the beginning of Salmerón Street (current Gran de Gràcia).
With the remodeling of the promenade, the fountain was dismantled, the eliminated figures initially began to swell the municipal warehouses waiting to find new destinations for their transfer to other parts of the city, leaving only the pond with a fountain in the center in the fountain. .
As the days went by, these figures began to decorate different spaces in the city:
The gardens that accompanied the fountain have been kept within the small boulevard at the end of Passeig de Gràcia, maintaining circulation on the sides.
The fountain located in front of the old Casa Fuster building, after its restoration, has remained at the entrance to Gran de Gràcia street without any objection from the neighborhood residents.
