At a time when the Imperial is threatened with closure, our journalist sets off in the footsteps of old cinemas. Today, the very living history of the Théâtre Denise-Pelletier, formerly the Granada.
“As much as my parents was going to the cinema, so we went there a lot! », says Rolande Provençal.
Mme Provençal was born in 1942 in what was called the Maisonneuve district. She has precious memories of going to the movies at the age of 15 with the man who would become her husband.
“There were five cinemas within walking distance of my house,” says the woman, now 81 years old. Maisonneuve, Orléans, Nelson, Mercier and Granada. »
Every Sunday, Mme Provençal and his lover Gilles frequented the Mercier cinema. For 99 cents, they could see several films and a vaudeville show with stars like La Poune, Manda Parent and Claude Blanchard. “Then my boyfriend would come and drive me home and sometimes my parents would invite him over for dinner. Beautiful memories! »
PHOTO ARCHIVES THE PRESS
The Denise-Pelletier Theater in the old Granada in 1976
The Cinéma Mercier theater no longer exists on Sainte-Catherine Street East for a long time, but the one at the Granada still attracts crowds a few blocks away. However, the actors now perform in the flesh in front of the public.
PHOTO HUGO-SÉBASTIEN AUBERT, THE PRESS
The sumptuous hall of the Théâtre Denise-Pelletier being set up for the play The awakening of spring
The Granada closed in the 1970s and then became the Théâtre Denise-Pelletier. Like the Rialto and the Outremont Theater, it is one of the old “palace” type cinemas which still have an artistic vocation.
PHOTO HUGO-SÉBASTIEN AUBERT, THE PRESS
Stéphanie Laurin (right) succeeded Rémi Brousseau as general manager of the Théâtre Denise-Pelletier.
“The Denise-Pelletier Theater celebrates its 60e anniversary this year,” recalls its director from 1995 to 2022, Rémi Brousseau. A room which had no less than 1,650 seats at the time of Granada, and for which the architect Emmanuel Doucet signed the plans.
Emmanuel Briffa: again!
Like other old cinemas (the Empress, the Castle, the Snowdon Theater), the Théâtre Denise-Pelletier owes its sumptuous interior decor to Emmanuel Briffa.
Like the Granada Theater in Sherbrooke (which still exists as a performance hall!), the old Granada on rue Sainte-Catherine recreated the atmosphere of a Spanish court with coats of arms, false balconies, golden leaves, etc.
PHOTO HUGO-SÉBASTIEN AUBERT, THE PRESS
The touch of Emmanuel Briffa
“Gilles Pelletier was Emmanuel Briffa’s defender. He knew him. He told the architects: whatever we can keep, we will do it,” says Rémi Brousseau.
When the New Theater Company, founded by Gilles Pelletier, Françoise Graton and Georges Groulx, acquired the old Granada in 1976, major work was undertaken. The balcony was removed, the control rooms added, and the stage enlarged, so that the room was reduced to 900 seats. We also had the annex built which could accommodate a rehearsal room, a space for clearing the stage, but above all the Fred-Barry room.
“It’s the first black box in Montreal, a modular room with variable geometry,” underlines Stéphanie Laurin, who succeeded Rémi Brousseau in 2022 as general manager of the Théâtre Denise-Pelletier.
PHOTO HUGO-SÉBASTIEN AUBERT, THE PRESS
The Fred-Barry room
In the days of the Granada, people entered the room on the ground floor through what was called the vomitorium – where the bar is today. Now, you can access your seat upstairs (courtyard or garden side), in what we nickname “the penitent”, since that’s where the spoilsport and latecomers went before finding their place . This is also where the old projection booth was located, which had an opening in the ceiling to evacuate the toxic smoke emanating from the projectors.
PHOTO HUGO-SÉBASTIEN AUBERT, THE PRESS
One of the three original stained glass windows of the “penitent” was found in the costume room and restored by a master glassmaker during work in 2008.
In 2008, other major renovation work modernized the Denise-Pelletier Theater facilities, in addition to raising the floor of the main hall and removing around a hundred seats. The architectural firm Saia Barbarese Topouzanov had the mandate to preserve the heritage heritage of the place, which earned it the Jury Prize at the Order of Architects gala in the Conservation and Restoration category.
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PHOTO HUGO-SÉBASTIEN AUBERT, THE PRESS
The foyer of the Théâtre Denise-Pelletier is original. At the time of Granada, we found a powder roomi.e. a makeup room intended for women, and a smoking room (smoking room), reserved for men.
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PHOTO HUGO-SÉBASTIEN AUBERT, THE PRESS
Fireplaces really allowed people to warm up.
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PHOTO HUGO-SÉBASTIEN AUBERT, THE PRESS
This window reproduces the angle that the old row of balcony seats had.
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PHOTO HUGO-SÉBASTIEN AUBERT, THE PRESS
Rémi Brousseau shows the original slope of the cinema room. From a theatrical perspective, it had to be accentuated.
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PHOTO HUGO-SÉBASTIEN AUBERT, THE PRESS
Behind the stage, black curtains mark the opening of the old cinema stage frame. During the expansion work, the frame was moved forward.
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PHOTO HUGO-SÉBASTIEN AUBERT, THE PRESS
In what we call the trapdoors, under the fully openable floor of the stage, we can see the very solid reinforced concrete structure of the building.
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Perpetuate the story
By highlighting the history of 4353, rue Sainte-Catherine Est, the Théâtre Denise-Pelletier plays the role of “guardian”, but also of “transmitter” to its young audience. We also invite you to watch the video which allows a virtual tour of each room, including the impressive costume designer.
Like the Granada, the Théâtre Denise-Pelletier is a place of beauty, dreams and freedom for people from eastern Montreal, emphasizes Stéphanie Laurin. “We are one of the most accessible theaters in terms of prices,” she adds, citing the initiative TDP, your neighborhood theater, which allows people to learn about theater for free and take part in a historic walk in the neighborhood.
Conclusion ? There are perhaps no longer five cinemas in the old Maisonneuve district, as M told usme Provençal, but the memory of Granada remains “alive and accessible”.