“I remember coming to see a film at the Empress when I was 4 years old. At the time, it was called Cinema V,” says Camille Bédard, who grew up nearby, in the Notre-Dame-de-Grâce district.
“The Empress building has always been part of my landscape,” says the thirty-year-old, met in front of the old cinema built in 1927 and whose decrepitude contrasts with the neo-Egyptian figures on the facade.
Camille Bédard has a great interest in the room at 5560, Sherbrooke West. She conducted research there for her bachelor’s degree, then for her master’s degree in architecture at McGill University. She has had the chance to visit what remains of the Empress twice, the first time in 2009. “The deterioration was already staggering. Today must be terrible. »
Since a minor fire in 1992, the building has been abandoned. The saga to save him has had several chapters. A group of citizens led the project to make it the Empress Cultural Center. Another, made up of Élaine Éthier and Mario Fortin (former president and CEO of the Beaubien and du Parc cinemas) worked hard to ensure that the Empress was reborn under the name Cinéma NDG. More recently, in 2021, consultations have taken place to at least restore its facade.
Former mayor of Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce Sue Montgomery was keen to commemorate the Empress, but for the moment, any reconversion project seems on ice. Étienne Brunet, press officer for the district, confirmed to La Presse that the building still belongs to the City. “The building is not for sale. Unfortunately, I have no further details to give at this time,” he replied in writing.
“It pains me a lot,” says Camille Bédard. This is a good indicator of the value placed on heritage in Quebec. There is little knowledge and interest. »
In her master’s degree, Camille Bédard made a comparative study of three so-called “atmospheric” cinemas: the Empress, the Capitol, in neo-medieval style in Port Hope, Ontario, and the Orpheum, in baroque style, in Vancouver. “The particularity of these cinemas is that they reproduce the illusion of an exterior space in the auditorium. And the ceiling reproduces a starry night sky. »
Atmospheric cinemas were rather rare among those of the “palace” type.
And why the Egyptian theme (which could be considered cultural appropriation today)? At the time, explains Camille Bédard, we were witnessing a sort of “Egyptomania” after the discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb.
Emmanuel Briffa, renowned decorator for many Montreal cinemas and some 200 in total (including the Snowdon Theater and the Le Château cinema), will make the interior of the Empress very sumptuous.
Briffa was better known than the architect of the Empress, Alcide Chaussé, who specialized in fire prevention. The Empress opened in 1928 when Montrealers were still haunted by the Laurier Palace tragedy, which occurred a year earlier in Hochelaga-Maisonneuve. A fire caused the death of 78 children, most of whom were trampled due to a lack of emergency exits.
Despite its sumptuous façade, the Empress was intended to become a second-run neighborhood cinema, where films were shown later after their release date, underlines Camille Bédard.
At the time, when the first talking films were made, people did not have televisions. Going to the cinema was the ultimate outing. Several programs were presented there, even television bulletins. In 1937, there were no fewer than 59 movie theaters in Montreal.
Later, during the roaring post-war years, the Empress would become a burlesque cabaret, the Royal Follies. It was closed for five years, then in 1968, it was redeveloped into two cinemas.
After very good years, Cinema V was bought by Famous Players in 1987, then flames put an end to its screenings. “The fire was a pretext to close it,” says Camille Bédard, who also devoted a chapter to the Empress in the book Oriental Interiors: Design, Identity, Space.
When Camille Bédard visited the Empress almost 15 years ago, there were always seats and pieces of fresco by Emmanuel Briffa on the ceiling. She finds it hard to imagine the state of things today.
The Héritage Montréal organization still remains hopeful of being able to preserve the facade. “Héritage Montréal is very attached to the Empress Theater,” underlines its deputy director of policies, Taïka Baillargeon. His condition only got worse from year to year. »
Many people pass by the Empress every day without knowing its history and its heritage importance, while long-time residents of the neighborhood attached to the building are annoyed to see that nothing is moving behind the barricades. “Too bad,” breathes Camille Bédard, in an understatement.
But what was the film she saw within the walls of the Empress when she was very little? “All dogs go to heaven,” she replies.
We must not underestimate something important, she emphasizes in conclusion. “When people talk about cinemas, their memories are very emotional. »
