MP-0000.2327.403.1 | Colonial Theatre, Ste. Catherine St. West, Montreal, QC, 1915 (?)

 

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MP-0000.2327.403.1 | Colonial Theatre, Ste. Catherine St. West, Montreal, QC, 1915 (?) | Print | Anonyme - Anonymous
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Colonial Theatre, Ste. Catherine St. West, Montreal, QC, 1915 (?)
Anonyme - Anonymous
1915, 20th century
Ink on paper - Halftone
7 x 10 cm
MP-0000.2327.403.1
© McCord Museum
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Keywords:  Architecture (8646) , commercial (1771) , Print (10661)
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Keys to History

The early years of the 20th century saw the emergence of a typically Montreal, French-speaking popular culture. Staunchly urban, it still drew on the French-Canadian tradition, but increasingly found inspiration in U.S. models. Mass-market newspapers, especially La Presse and La Patrie, played a key role in this process. They conveyed a modernist vision of society. They also gave more and more space to that major component of urban culture that is professional sport.

Another new arrival on the scene was the cinema, which was introduced in Montreal and elsewhere in the early 1900s. It was an immediate success with the masses, and more and more movie theatres were built to meet the huge demand for entertainment.

  • What

    The Colonial Theatre was one of Montreal's many movie theatres. By 1914 there were a hundred or so theatres, many of which alternated between showing films and offering vaudeville or other live performances.

  • Where

    The Colonial was on the south side of Ste. Catherine Street West, near Victoria. Ste. Catherine, already Montreal's main shopping street, also became the city's entertainment centre, with a large number of theatres and cinemas opening up.

  • When

    The first public screening of a film in Montreal (and in Canada) took place on June 27, 1896. In the first few years, travelling projectionists showed films in halls set up for the occasion. On January 1, 1906, Ernest Ouimet opened the Ouimetoscope, the first permanent theatre devoted exclusively to the cinema.

  • Who

    Ernest Ouimet (1877-1972) is regarded as the father of Montreal cinema. Projectionist, moviemaker, film importer and movie theatre operator, he helped popularize cinema in the city. In the very early years, a number of French-speaking Montrealers operated movie theatres, but after 1915 the big U.S. chains forced them out of the market.

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