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Montreal officials say they finally have a solution for a historic theatre that has sat abandoned for three decades, and after years of proposals ranging from art and retail to social and luxury housing, the plan is to tear it down.
But not the whole thing.
The Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce borough says it will preserve the iconic neo-Egyptian façade of the Empress Theatre, while demolishing much of the interior structure as part of a phased redevelopment project.
“You’ll see, by next year, in 2027, we will be starting deconstruction of this theatre,” said CDN—NDG borough mayor Stéphanie Valenzuela.
Montreal has owned the property since 1999, but the Empress first opened in 1928. Known for its rare Egyptian Revival style, it operated as a burlesque theatre, a café-theatre and, most recently, Cinema V, which some NDGers still call it to this day.
A fire in 1992 left the building gutted. It’s been boarded up ever since, the interior largely untouched with dilapidated rows of old seating still waiting for movie lovers to stop by.
The Empress Theater’s façade will be propped up by supporting structures while the site will be transformed into an outdoor community space in Montreal’s west end. (Submitted by CDN-NDG)
“Cinema V was like the cultural spot where you would meet your friends, where you’d go to see a movie and then go out clubbing afterwards,” former member of the Empress Cultural Centre community group, Paul Scriver, told CBC in 2024.
That year, the City of Montreal announced it was going to sell the building for mixed-use development.
Many years before that, the Cinema NDG project was looking to raise millions for a resurrection project that failed by 2018. In 2020, the borough announced it would be converted into social housing, and a community hall.
The Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce borough says it will keep the neo-Egyptian façade of the Empress Theatre, on Sherbrooke Street, in place, and leave outdoor space for activities. (Submitted by CDN-NDG)
All that came long after the Empress Cultural Centre made its own grassroot effort to resuscitate the theatre with community support.
The goal was to create cultural spaces with businesses on the ground floor. However, roughly 16 years ago, the community group also made it clear that preservation work on the structure was desperately needed to prevent further water infiltration.
Now, the borough says technical studies found the structure was too deteriorated for full preservation.
The original Empress Theatre had an ornate interior and its Egyptian Revival style is rare in Canada and North America. (Wikicommons)
It says everything but the façade will have to come down. The building’s irreparable deterioration has been known since at least 2020, when the borough was still discussing social housing options.
This time around, the borough mayor says about $10 million has been budgeted, “but we need to go forward with call for tenders, so we don’t want to say what exactly our estimation is in order to not to influence the call for tenders.”
The city says the goal is to create a multi-purpose, open-air community space, with outdoor movie screenings and live performances. Those could come as early as fall 2027— the theatre’s 100th anniversary
The borough says it wants to create a unifying cultural space for residents that is accessible across all four seasons. A diverse program may include outdoor screenings, participatory arts, theatre and various performances, according to a news release.
In the long term, the borough hopes to see a permanent cultural project established on the site.
A public information session is planned for early summer. The city says this time will be different from past attempts — with funding in place and consultations coming up.
WATCH | Montreal borough makes new plan for old theatre:
Montreal unveils revival plans for historic Empress Theatre
The City of Montreal has revealed its plans to protect the iconic Empress Theatre’s historic front. The building was destroyed by a major fire in 1992. Now, Montreal wants to create a multi-purpose community space on the site despite some concerns.
“After 30 years of inaction, concrete steps had to be taken,” Valenzuela said in the news release.
“We are making the responsible choice to preserve the Empress Theatre’s iconic façade while quickly giving back to citizens a vibrant, accessible cultural space.”
In the statement, Loyola district councillor Alexandre Teodoresco describes the plan as a “realistic solution.” To that, Snowdon’s councillor adds, “our vacant spaces must serve the community.”
NDG councillor Peter McQueen, first elected in 2009 under the Projet Montréal banner, has long pushed for housing or an indoor cultural space — something the borough’s current proposal is lacking. He says that’s something NDG would have hoped for.
“We all would have hoped for [it] because we already have an outdoor cultural space,” he said.
