Closure of La Tulipe | Our united voices for La Tulipe

The co-signatories of this letter hope that the recent judgment of the Court of Appeal on the subject of noise has not signed the death warrant of the performance hall which they describe as a cultural jewel.

The judgment of the Quebec Court of Appeal which requires La Tulipe to stop making noise and which results in its imminent closure¹ throws us into dismay.

This news outrages and worries us for several reasons.

Firstly because La Tulipe is a historic performance hall, a flagship of Montreal and Quebec culture since its opening in 1913 under the name of Théâtre Dominion. This room housed the famous Théâtre des Variétés from 1966 to 2000. Since 2000, La Tulipe has welcomed important local and international artists by offering a privileged experience to spectators with a room-stage relationship which encourages proximity with a gauge of ‘around 500 people seated.

Then, because La Tulipe is an easily accessible performance hall. We often wonder about the problem of access to culture for the general population. Here is a room in the heart of the city, accessible on foot, in front of which you can spontaneously stop and enter. We need these democratic and urban places of culture as much as those which are isolated and out of the way.

Then, by placing individuality above the collective, the Quebec Court of Appeal seems to demonstrate indifference to our reality as cultural workers.

We refuse to see cultural heritage places disappear over legal technicalities.

We hope that the City of Montreal will have the courage to correct its mistake.

We have hope that this giant of our cultural history will not disappear silently.

We hope that our voices, which join those that have resonated in La Tulipe for over 100 years, will be heard.

We hope to keep a strong urban culture.

We hope that the discontent of a handful of individuals will not decide the fate of a collective jewel.

* Consult the list of signatories of the letter

1. Read “Judgment regarding noise – La Tulipe closes, the City seeks a solution”

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