Loew's Theatre
952 Rue Sainte Catherine Ouest,
Montreal,
QC
H3B 1H1
952 Rue Sainte Catherine Ouest,
Montreal,
QC
H3B 1H1
4 people
favorited this theater
Showing 1 - 25 of 37 comments
Montreal CTV News aired a segment tonight, on February 14, 2022, showing the Loew’s theater in its final stages of demolition. All that remains are some exterior brick walls, soon disappear, with demolition cranes sitting in what used to be its auditorium. Here’s the article and video:
https://montreal.ctvnews.ca/historic-loews-theatre-demolished-as-part-of-condo-development-1.5779957
Quite a stomach turning sight, the beautiful century old interior architecture was fully intact and should have been preserved! I am not yet over the loss of the Snowdon and Empress theaters in Montreal, also demolished to make way for condos, and now this. I still remember seeing iconic films in the balcony area (after it was sub-divided) in the late 70’s and early 80’s. Seeing architecture treasures liked The Loew’s destroyed is beyond sad.
I think it’s such a great shame that such a historically significant movie palace has to be destroyed to put up some ugly condo project, I do hope that they can at least save something from the interior that has historical significance. Glad I got to see some films here in the late 90’s when it was still open as a fiveplex by Famous Players.
Demolition has started. Photo uploaded.
Television reports from April 2021, suggest that the demolition of the auditorium is planned, in order to build a 19 storey condo project.
Much of what has survived of Thomas Lamb’s decor, will certainly be destroyed. Some vague token promise to save part, and display it in an alley, seem like lip service to my ears.
I saw films at the Loew’s when I was a student in Montreal in 1987. It reminded me a great deal of the now demolished Uptown Theatre in Toronto.
I think it is a waste to tear down a mostly intact 104 year old theatre.
Annonce d'inauguration en français publiée.
Bought by Bravia, a condo developer.
Loews bought up by Brivia. Fri, Sep 6, 2019 – A7 · The Gazette (Montreal, Quebec, Canada) · Newspapers.com
Photo of this theater’s auditorium as gym http://www.montrealinfo.com/en/news/2019-08-13/closure-of-the-mansfield-athletic-club
scroll to last photo of this theater’s auditorium as Club Med https://montrealgazette.com/news/local-news/little-trace-remains-of-montreals-glamorous-theatre-era
PRESERVATION ALERT: To be torn down for condos ?
The gym in the auditorium section of the old Loew’s will close in September. https://www.narcity.com/nouvelles/ca/qc/montreal/le-club-athletique-mansfield-a-montreal-ferme-ses-portes-a-la-fin-du-mois-daout
La propriété du Mansfield à Montréal située au coin des rues Mansfield et Sainte-Catherine Ouest a été vendue le 31 juillet dernier à des promoteurs immobiliers.
Effectivement, il semblerait qu'après des années à refuser de vendre, le propriétaire a finalement cédé alors que le gym aurait perdu 1 000 membres depuis leurs meilleures années. Cette diminution de clientèle serait due à l'évolution rapide de l'industrie du fitness et le Mansfield n'aurait pas suivi la tendance.
https://www.gascon.ca/en/2019/08/06/sale-of-the-building-housing-the-mansfield-athletic-club/
Our firm is proud to announce that its real estate team, led by Me Nicolas Beaulieu and Me Émilie Therrien, had the privilege to assist and advise the owner of 1230 Mansfield Street, a landmark building housing the Mansfield Athletic Club in the heart of Downtown Montreal, in the negotiation of the offer to purchase and the sale of this property for more than $20 million to Brivia Group, which intends to redevelop the building.
1955 photo added via Michael Granger.
I am very interested reading a post by dkidger from June 5 , 2012. He states that his father was manager at this Loews in Montreal in the 1960’s. Interestingly , my uncle John Peter Reidy was also a manager at that Loews late 50’s until the night he died at his desk in the theatre on September 9 , 1962. My sister was the last person in the family to see him alive. He would always tell us to come on down to Loews and ask for him at the entrance. He was also a member of the Canadian Motion Pictures Pioneers Association , having spent several years in Los Angeles working as an actor for Universal during the Silent era. If anyone can add to this I would be grateful as I am trying to find out as much as I can about his days in Los Angeles.
Last movie I saw there was “Boogie Nights” on October 31st, 1997. Cinema 3. Loved going to the Loews as it was part of Montreal cinema history. When split into 5 screens, the designer did his best to keep the original look. Unlike the Palace, when gutted into 6 screens, all of it’s former glory was gone. I read that the Capitol, torn down in 1973, was Montreal’s grandest movie palace.
Thanks rivest266, currently in Street View the entrance looks it got turned into a LOLE Clothing store after Foot Locker moved out last year.
Theatre fan, try Street View.
17 décembre 1976 langue française ouverture publicité
Does anybody have any photo’s of this theatre in it’s current condition? I hope a lot of Lamb’s details survived in the transitions from the Famous Players Five-plex to Club Med World to it’s current use as retail & gym.
When you go into the health club you can see how this could easily be restoredas a performing arts centre. It is such a waste as a health club.
Come one Evenko step up to the plate and make it happen.
With the help of Jay Schmitt, I was recently able to identify this photograph taken by George Mann as Loew’s Theatre in Montreal as it appeared in 1931.
This theatre was originally built by a consortium of people for Loew’s but didn’t do very well — so Famous Players Canadian Corporation acquired this theatre in around 1927. The operating name was Mansfield Theatre Company.
Fire insurance plan of the theatre at http://services.banq.qc.ca/sdx/cep/document.xsp?app=ca.BAnQ.sdx.cep&db=notice&id=0000174385&n=89&col=pai&order=ascendant&f=region_nav&v=montreal%23%23%23Montr%C3%A9al&sortfield=date_publication&&p=5&chpp=20&dbrqp=query_notice&qid=sdx_q0&eview=CARTES_PLANS/174385/174385_59.tif
The theatre was heated from a building at the site of 4 PVM. The heat went underneath Mansfield to the Sun Life Bdg and than to the Loew’s.
my dad was manger of loews in 1960,s and i used to play in the theater as i grew up i explored .Ifound a basment with tunnels that ran under the theater as far the sun life building loews was a grand theater
I worked there in 1978 as an usher, I think we were at least 20 ushers at that time, we had so much fun there, used to go sit behind the big screen in Cinema1. On Saturday nights all ushers were working at the same time, each of us were making animal noises in the main lobby, it sounded like a real jungle. I remember lots of cool people from that time, unfortunately they are all only in memory.
Thanks for posting the photo and Ads rivest266.
I posted a postcard picture along with the grand opening ads from 1917 and 1976.
While in Montreal for Expo 67 I saw Two For the Road here. English with French subtitles. As with smart films playing in foreign markets (I remember the audience in Ghent at a Touch of Class sitting silently while I was laughing)it didn’t go over too well with the locals.
Thanks Mike for the information.
View link has the answer
Thanks Mike Rivest,what is bill 101?