A major article about this cinema (En Français) can be found in the November 1948 issue of the Architecture-bâtiment-construction.
http://collections.banq.qc.ca/ark:/52327/2673612
Great article at
http://coolopolis.blogspot.ca/2017/05/the-riviera-montreal-mobsters-phony.html
TEXT:
When the Riviera Theatre opened as an 800-seater
at 8820 St Lawrence, north of Cremazie in 1954 it tried to pass itself off as a drive-in theatre.
Drive in theatres provided novelty thrills across North America in the 1950s but watching a movie from your car remained impossible in Quebec, as religious authorities worried frisky hands would turn moviegoers into sinners.
When drive-ins were finally permitted in the 1970s, the fading gimmick was so popular that the province made an impressive sum in new taxes, surely making them reconsider their ban on potentially profitable things that the religious authorities disapproved of, as I recount in my book Montreal 375 Tales.
Owners put a big drive-in sign on the Riviera marquee, reasoning that it’s sort of like a drive-in, insofar as you can drive to the entrance, let your guests out and then park your car in the big adjacent parking lot.
It was a lie of course, as The Riviera was a conventional movie theatre with parking and the Drive In was removed from the signage.
The building belonged to the city’s most powerful mob family at the time, the Cotronis.
Vic Cotroni’s sister Palmina Puliafito initially rented the theatre out in 1956 to a group headed by Socrates Athanasiou.
But those tenants went to court to cancel the 10-year lease after city authorities deemed the bathrooms inadequate (or possibly non-existent). The dispute went to the Supreme Court, which sided against the owners, creating a precedent that remains relevant today.
So The Riviera became a hub of Italian activity, with some saying that its second-rate films were the only game in town for Italian culture for some time.
The Violi-friendly management team would brazenly intimidate any other Italians presenting competing cultural fare, so management’s reputation for kindness was minimal.
Paliafito, whose husband died in 1972, lived in a humble home at 8807 Clark and was considered an important impresario nonetheless.
The once-pleasant area where the Riviera sat suffered a blow when Highway 40 was built and left the theatre in the shadow of zooming cars and ramps.
The theatre made headlines on Valentine's Day 1976 when Pietro Sciarra, 59, was shot dead in the head in the adjacent Steinberg's parking lot after after watching Godfather II with his wife. Sciarra was a Sicilian who was loyal to the Paolo Violi's Calabrians.
Sciarra, who had played dumb at a crime commission hearing, was at the time appealing a sentence for entering Canada illegally for the third time.
The killer was believed to be Sebastiano Messina, a Rizzuto loyalist was then shot dead at his cafe on March 10, launching a bloody feud between the Violis and Rizzutos that lasts to this day.
The theatre endured as a legit enterprise until around 1988 or so and became The Riviera Palace Bar, then Studio Montreal, hosting such classy acts as Michelle Sweeney for some time in around 1992.
The Solid Gold Strip Club took over the premises in 1994 and became one of the first places in town offering the previously-banned lap dances. The building belongs to manager Rejean Pothel.
Grand opening ad in the photo section.
Grand opening ad in the photo section.
Stadium seating installed on November 24th, 2004. Grand opening ad in the photo section. Expanded to 3 screens in 1985 and six in 1990.
This opened on November 17th, 1995. An small grand opening ad in the photo section.
This was renamed Electric on November 22nd, 1991. Grand opening ad in the photo section.
This opened with two screens on November 15th, 1984. Grand opening ad in the photo section.
April 29th, 1977 grand opening ad in the photo section. 3 screens in 1978.
A major article about this cinema (En Français) can be found in the November 1948 issue of the Architecture-bâtiment-construction. http://collections.banq.qc.ca/ark:/52327/2673612
Great article at http://coolopolis.blogspot.ca/2017/05/the-riviera-montreal-mobsters-phony.html
TEXT:
When the Riviera Theatre opened as an 800-seater at 8820 St Lawrence, north of Cremazie in 1954 it tried to pass itself off as a drive-in theatre. Drive in theatres provided novelty thrills across North America in the 1950s but watching a movie from your car remained impossible in Quebec, as religious authorities worried frisky hands would turn moviegoers into sinners. When drive-ins were finally permitted in the 1970s, the fading gimmick was so popular that the province made an impressive sum in new taxes, surely making them reconsider their ban on potentially profitable things that the religious authorities disapproved of, as I recount in my book Montreal 375 Tales.
Owners put a big drive-in sign on the Riviera marquee, reasoning that it’s sort of like a drive-in, insofar as you can drive to the entrance, let your guests out and then park your car in the big adjacent parking lot. It was a lie of course, as The Riviera was a conventional movie theatre with parking and the Drive In was removed from the signage. The building belonged to the city’s most powerful mob family at the time, the Cotronis. Vic Cotroni’s sister Palmina Puliafito initially rented the theatre out in 1956 to a group headed by Socrates Athanasiou. But those tenants went to court to cancel the 10-year lease after city authorities deemed the bathrooms inadequate (or possibly non-existent). The dispute went to the Supreme Court, which sided against the owners, creating a precedent that remains relevant today.
The Violi-friendly management team would brazenly intimidate any other Italians presenting competing cultural fare, so management’s reputation for kindness was minimal. Paliafito, whose husband died in 1972, lived in a humble home at 8807 Clark and was considered an important impresario nonetheless. The once-pleasant area where the Riviera sat suffered a blow when Highway 40 was built and left the theatre in the shadow of zooming cars and ramps.
Sciarra, who had played dumb at a crime commission hearing, was at the time appealing a sentence for entering Canada illegally for the third time. The killer was believed to be Sebastiano Messina, a Rizzuto loyalist was then shot dead at his cafe on March 10, launching a bloody feud between the Violis and Rizzutos that lasts to this day. The theatre endured as a legit enterprise until around 1988 or so and became The Riviera Palace Bar, then Studio Montreal, hosting such classy acts as Michelle Sweeney for some time in around 1992. The Solid Gold Strip Club took over the premises in 1994 and became one of the first places in town offering the previously-banned lap dances. The building belongs to manager Rejean Pothel.
5 screens on December 15th, 1978. First ad in the photo section.
This reopened as State on November 22nd, 1952 and Cinema 1 on November 19th, 1968. Both ads already up.
This reopened on November 20th, 1949 as Imperial. Some history in the grand opening ad in the photo section.
The old Imperial opened on August 11th, 1914. Grand opening ad in the photo section.
This opened on March 30th, 1908 according to the ad in the newspaper. Ad in photo section.
This opened on April 27th, 1903.
article:
Found on Times Recorder powered by Newspapers.com
Hoyt’s opened the Center at Salisbury cinemas at 2300 N. Salisbury on July 27th, 1990 and closed in 2005.
Opened on December 5th, 2005
Found on Newspapers.com
This opened on July 10th, 1987. Grand opening ad not found.
Renamed Movies on May 25th, 1983
Found on Newspapers.com
Grand opening ad in the photo section.
This opened on April 8th, 1950. Grand opening ad in the photo section.
June 1949 grand opening ad in the photo section.
March 14th, 1946 grand opening ad as Delmar in the photo section.
This opened on June 30th, 1947 Ad below and in the photo section.
Found on Daily Times powered by Newspapers.com
This opened on November 4th, 1940. Ad below:
Found on Daily Times powered by Newspapers.com