| The Empress Theatre | |
|---|---|
| Empress Theatre.jpg Empress Theatre on Sherbrooke Street West in N.D.G. |
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| Alternative names | Cinema V |
| General information | |
| Type | Movie theatre |
| Architectural style | Egyptian Revival architecture |
| Location | Montreal, Quebec |
| Address | 5560 Sherbrooke Street West |
| Current tenants | Geordie Productions, Black Theatre Workshop, and The McGill Conservatory of Music |
| Inaugurated | 1927 |
| Design and construction | |
| Owner | City of Montreal |
| Architect | Joseph-Alcide Chaussé |
| Other designers | Emmanuel Briffa |
The Empress Theatre (also known as Cinema V), is an abandoned Egyptian-style theatre located on Sherbrooke Street in N.D.G. Gutted by a fire, it has been closed since 1992.
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Built in 1927 and designed by Joseph-Alcide Chaussé, with interiors by Emmanuel Briffa,[1] it was the only theatre in Canada designed in the Egyptian style (inspired by the discovery of Tutankhamen's tomb).[2] The building was a Vaudeville theatre for burlesque and first-run films.[3] In 1962 it was a dinner theatre called the Royal Follies.[4] In 1968 it was divided to became the two-tiered Cinema V and Salle Hermes, an art-movie cinema. It was briefly named The Home of the Blue Movies in 1974, then back to Cinema V. It then became a repertory cinema in 1975, which was taken over by the Famous Players chain in 1988. In 1992 a fire caused damage to the theater resulting in its permanent closure.
Since its closure 20 years ago, the building has fallen into a state of disrepair and is slowly deteriorating. In 2005 community organizers re-opened a small one room office on the ground floor (left corner of building; location of the former Sesame health food store) mainly as a headquarters for coordinating the building's restoration. The office was vacated in late December 2011 due seizure by the city of Montreal, leaving the entire property abandoned. Most of building is fenced off due to falling debris.
For some time Geordie Productions [1], Black Theatre Workshop, McGill Music Conservatory and the City of Montreal were planning to restore the building. The estimated cost was $11.8 million dollars.[5][6]
The completed theatre was to be used for performance and visual arts.[3] The final plans included a café/art gallery and a 246-person concert hall.[7]
The restored theatre was be home to two theatre companies: Geordie Productions and Black Theatre Workshop. The McGill Conservatory had plans to use the theatre for its music education program.[3] In August 2010 provincial government funding was pulled and it was announced ownership would be returned to the city of Montreal by November.[8] Shortly after, that same year concerned residents of NDG formed an ad hoc group called Renaissance Empress for preserving the theatre and transforming it into a cultural centre. On August 15, 2011 the city of Montreal voted to seize ownership, citing the citizens’ group failure to make any progress in 12 years. In a recent Montreal Gazette newspaper editorial, former city councillor Jeremy Searle suggested the only viable course of action is for the building be demolished, saving only the front facade, if possible. [9] By January 1, 2012, organizers were evicted from the community office, leaving the space emptied and vacated. With restoration plans in limbo and the entire building now abandoned, doubt has been cast on its future.