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1/29 Then: A print from about 1910 of His Majesty's Theatre, which was located on Guy St., just north of Ste-Catherine. Guy St., just north of Ste-Catherine St. 2/29 Now: His Majesty's Theatre was demolished in 1963, where today stands Concordia University's engineering, computer science and visual arts complex. 3/29 Then: The York Theatre opened in 1938 on the northwest corner of Ste-Catherine and Mackay Sts. 4/29 Now: The York Theatre was demolished in 2001 to make way for Concordia University's engineering, computer science and visual arts building. 5/29 Then: A 1972 photo of the Loews Theatre, on Ste-Catherine just west of Mansfield St. Built in 1917 by architect Thomas W. Lamb. With more than 3,000 seats, it was the largest in Montreal when it opened, and for years was the principal vaudeville stand in the city. 6/29 Now: The Loew's Theatre was subdivided into five cinemas in 1976. Boarded up today, the building most recently housed a Foot Locker store. 7/29 Then: The Strand built in 1912 on the southeast corner of Ste-Catherine and Mansfield Sts., and the first major movie theatre in Montreal's downtown. 8/29 Now: The Strand Theatre ended its days as the Pigalle before being torn down in 1973, with the neighbouring Capitol Theatre, to make way for an office tower. 9/29 Then: The Capitol Theatre, about 1925. The Capitol opened in 1921 on the south side of Ste-Catherine, just west of McGill College Ave. 10/29 Now: The Capitol Theatre, along with the neighbouring Strand Theatre, was torn down on this block in 1973, to the chagrin of many Montrealers. 11/29 Then: A print of the Colonial Theatre from about 1915. The theatre was renamed the Regal in 1920. 12/29 Then: The Palace Theatre on Ste-Catherine St. between McGill College Ave. and University St. The Palace Theatre was built as the Allen Theatre for movies in 1921. 13/29 Now: The site of the old Regal (and Colonial) theatres is now the SuperSexe strip club, and the former Palace Theatre, next door, is a restaurant. 14/29 Then: The Gaiety Theatre, on the northeast corner of Ste-Catherine and Aylmer Sts., became a movie house in 1909. Renamed the London Theatre around 1912, later renamed The System, renamed Le Cinéma 539 in the 1970s and showed X-rated films. 15/29 Now: The exterior of the former Gaiety Theatre remains recognizable. Building most recently housed a store. 16/29 Then: Bennett's Theatre opened in Montreal in 1907, on the north side of Ste-Catherine at City Councillors St. 17/29 Now: The former Bennett's Theatre, renamed the Orpheum in 1910, is now the site of an office tower. 18/29 Then: A large crowd gathers outside Montreal's Princess Theatre in 1936 during the opening of Charlie Chaplin's "Modern Times". Original Princess was built in 1908, on Ste-Catherine at City Councillors, across the street from Bennett's Theatre. Original theatre burned down in 1915. 19/29 The former Princess Theatre was later renamed Le Parisien, and is now a newly renovated retail outlet up for rent. 20/29 Imperial Theatre in 1913, the year it opened ion Bleury St., just north of Ste-Catherine. 21/29 Now: The Cinéma Impérial. 22/29 Then: An undated photo of Montreal's Nickel Theatre at the southeast corner of Ste-Catherine St. W. and Bleury St. After 1912, it became known as The Tivoli Theatre. It was destroyed in a 1923 fire. 23/29 Now: There's no trace now of the old Tivoli Theatre on Ste-Catherine St. at Bleury St. 24/29 Then: The Gayety Theatre, in 1957, at the corner Ste-Catherine and St-Urbain Sts. It was the leading burlesque theatre in Montreal in its day, later transformed into the home of the Comédie Canadienne theatre company. 25/29 The site of the former Gayety Theatre today is the Théâtre du nouveau monde. 26/29 Then: The Ouimetoscope at the corner Ste. Catherine St. E. and Montcalm St., was inaugurated in 1906. 27/29 Now: Condos and a commercial space now occupy the site of the former Ouimetoscope, but a privately erected plaque draws attention to the site's historical significance. 28/29 Then: The Théâtre National, was built in 1900 on the south side of Ste-Catherine at Beaudry St. Considered the oldest French professional theatre in North America. 29/29 Now: The Théâtre National, built in 1900, is now Le National, a music and live entertainment venue. Previous Image Next Image

By the end of its reign in the 1990s, the once glorious Loew’s was a five-screen cinema that had been eclipsed by even larger multi-screen movie theatres.

The Loew’s was just one of more than a dozen lost movie and live entertainment palaces that once lined Ste-Catherine, long before Gap and Second Cup made their debuts.

And you wouldn’t know that, either, because the story of Ste-Catherine’s role as a theatre row cannot be found on the street. Unlike Sherbrooke St. W. to the north, downtown Ste-Catherine boasts no historic plaques to point out its landmarks and recount the street’s history.

“It was the Quartier des spectacles before there was Quartier des spectacles,” Heritage Montreal policy director Dinu Bumbaru said of the downtown stretch of Ste-Catherine. He was referring to the name of the entertainment block the city and the provincial government are building around Place des Arts between Ste-Catherine and De Maisonneuve Blvd. east of Bleury St.