539 Sainte-Catherine ouest

[Mathkow]

19 février 2013

 

[denpanosekai]

April 25 2013

[Memphis 22]

[denpanosekai]

Oh, too bad they're getting rid of the curve.

[IluvMTL]

Oh, too bad they're getting rid of the curve.

 

And what's the added value ?

[franktko]

Il était un peu bizarre en partant ce toit, c'est quoi qui avait là dedans originalement? Un théâtre??

 

 

Ouf, ça fait du bien les rénovations sur l'édifice sur City Concillors, celui avec les bandes vertes sur l'image ci-haut...

[lazou]

Un cinema il me semble (porno).

[yarabundi]

Je vais retranscrire textuellement ce qui est écrit à propos de cet édifice dans le livre Montréal Movie Palaces, paru en 1993

 

"No Montreal theatre has rolled with changing times more successfully than the old System at the northeast corner of Sainte-Catherine and Aylmer.

 

It started out in the mid-nineteenth century as the greystone residence of John Reddy. Then, around 1890, it was converted into a hall for Montreal Auxiliary Bible Society. In 1909, with the Orpheum and the Princess newly opened down the street, it became the Gaiety movie house. Architects Crighton and Mitchell handled that renovation.

 

The Gaiety became the London around 1912, about the time the big new Gayety Theater opened further east on Sainte-Catherine street. The book Montreal Old and New published c. 1914, ran a photograph of the London showing its front plastered with posters in the best nickelodeon tradition, ans identifying it, quaintly, as "a family resort of the highest class".

 

In 1917 it was renamed the Holman, after its proprietor, Sam Holman,and again remodelled, this time by the Montreal architect Raoul Gariepy, who later designed the Rialto. He put a large, semi-circular window over the dooeway, a fairly common movie-house feature of the time. This let the sunlight during the day, and let out an alluring sparkle at night. The Scala (on Saint-Laurent) and the the Corona (on Notre-Dame) had similar window. The old Gayety still wears Gariépy's façade, although the big round window has long since been bricked in.

 

Then, in the 1920's, it became the System (popularly the "Stem"), and stayed with that name for fifty years, carrying a reputation as a cheap (if not always salubrious) movie house. It played triple-features for a dime during the depression, but patrons risked, it was said, coming home with fleas.

 

Finally, in the 1970's renamed after its street adress, Ciné 539, it turned to x-rated movies.

 

The Gaiety-London-Holman-System-Ciné 539 is unique among Montreal theatres in that it was built backwards : one enters the hall at the scren end, facing the audience.

 

On the outside, part of the wall along Aylmer St. looks like the original greystone construction of John Reddy's residence."

 

 

 

Le Gayety dont il est question dans le texte est le Théatre du Nouveau Monde. On peut supposer uqe lors des rénovations de Dan Hanganu qu'ils ont peut-être retrouvé la forme en demi-cercle de la façade d'origine.

 

Si le mur de pierre grise qui a disparu lors des plus récentes rénovation était comme le pensait l'auteur du livre Dane Lanken une partie de l'édifice d'origine, la Ville a perdu une belle occasion d'exiger sa conservation. Il aurait pu par exemple être reconstruit à l'intérieur ou tout simplement être préservé. Dommage.

[IluvMTL]

http://movie-theatre.org/canada/qc/montreal/history/cinehistory1884.html

 

1909

The Gaiety opens at 539 St. Catherine west,

Timeline:

* 1912 Renamed as London.

* 1917 Renamed as Holman.

* 1921 Renamed as System.

* 1974 Renamed as Cine 539 and started porno movies.

* 1992 The front facade of 1917 is restored and the theatre is made into a video store and movie store. The Cine 539 is a small mini-cinema in the back.

* Late April 2000, The Cine 539, the last downtown porno theatre closes down, it is now a store.

[franktko]

Wow, quelle histoire! Merci pour tous ces infos!