 |
| photo courtesy Yanni K. |
Who is reponsible for this disaster? Look no further than the borough of Cote des Neiges/Notre Dame de Grace.
Whatever surveillance or barricades they hired to prevent such a fire was clearly insufficient.
The city councillor for the area is Marvin Rotrand. The borough mayor for the area is named Russell Copeman.
Neither has been proactive in preventing the ongoing decline of this historic heritage landmark, which is the flagship spot for a part of the city which has long been known as Snowdon.
The city has not just been indifferent to its plight, it might even be considered actively hostile.
A few years ago my brother happened to speak to a city bureaucrat about some issue who spontaneously said "it's not like Snowdon, which isn't even a legitimate place in Montreal."
He remarked that it seemed unusual that a city official would have been so motivated to denigrate Snowdon so recklessly.
Amazingly enough I happened to speak to another city bureaucrat sometime later who said something very similar.
I remain convinced that there is a conscious or subconscious will to eradicate this beautiful art deco building and what is symbolically represents.
Montreal even went to the trouble of changing the sign from Snowdon Theatre to Theatre Snowdon several years ago.
Why the councillor and borough mayor were not more proactive to stop its decline remains a mystery.
One can now expect authorities to announce that it is now too difficult to save this structure, which is a convenient solution for them, but ultimately represents their failure, as its repair and rehabilitation would have cost considerably less than many other questionable projects championed by the city and borough.
The Facebook Snowdon Theatre must be saved page has 258 members, all new members welcome.
See also:
- City seeks to sell Snowdon Theatre
- Gymnasts out in the cold as borough closes Snowdon Theatre building
- Vacant old buildings starting to pile up in Montreal
- Snowdon Theatre latest outrage - CDN/NDG borough denies access-to-information request
- CDN/NDG borough puts Snowdon Theatre up for sale
We all saw this coming, of course. Anyone who really believes that the fire was "accidental" is deluding themselves.
ReplyDeleteSome "developer" has had his greedy eyes on the property for decades and it was only a matter of time before an arsonist was hired to do the dirty deed. Rest assured he will never be caught, never mind that any serious investigation will take place.
It's amazing that the still empty Cinema V is still standing, along with other neglected structures.
Why didn't the Charbonneau Commission include property speculation and corruption in their mandate?
Where is the outrage from Heritage Montreal? Their silence is deafening.
-- I was asked to republish this by someone who does not have an account to comment ---
ReplyDeleteAbout the Snowdon Theatre. the York theatre, the Seville theatre, the Theatre on Sherbrooke st near Girouard, the Alcan project, and so many other heritage buildings on the city that were allowed and are allowed to deteriorate accidently on purpose.
The city lacks a citizens' group that will fight for the heritage. There are any number of people and groups that talk about the heritage, that document its decline and its disappearance, that show it to people, that sit on committees: academic, advisory, and official. But actually fight for the heritage,? and protect it ? and shame those who have responsibility for it ? Not so much. In fact, all these people who claim to be concerned for the heritage also speak highly of their politeness and lack of teeth. They compliment themselves on their quiet efficacy. IMHO they are worse than nothing. If they withdrew, someone tough would come along and seriously embarrass the real estates speculators and the politicians who make sure that the political field is kept clear for their depredations. One is sometimes ashamed to be a Montrealer. And we look at ISIS, as they destroy museums in Iraq and Syria, and think that we are better than them. Well, when it comes to allowing buildings to deteriorate and catch fire, there is no difference. Signed - a concerned citizen
Sad but true: these old cinemas have outlived their usefulness. Dereliction demonstrates that a property cannot be profitable under existing conditions of the market, lending, zoning, regulation, taxation, etc. And a city can use only so many "cultural centres". Did it really make sense to leave the Snowdon empty and decaying just because it had a cool sign or a funky past?
DeleteI don't know that this fire was arson; if it was, that's criminal and should be punished. But the net result is no different from the result of slow decay due to lack of public and official interest.
I don't think many people grasp what, exactly, makes the Snowdon theater so unique and worthwhile saving. What architectural art treasures are hidden inside. This is no ordinary neighborhood movie house, the interior on the walls and ceiling are absolutely breathtaking. Have a look at these photographs from Sandra Cohen-Rose...
Deletehttps://www.flickr.com/search/?w=73416633%40N00&q=snowdon&m=text
Huh? It's notable attributes a "cool sign" and "funky past"? You make it sound like we're talking about the Dollar Cinema or some washed up old theater from the late 70's. Like it's no big deal!
The Snowdon theater was kept alive by the gym, and likely the incredible view they practiced and performed under appreciated too. Now the city has single handily killed both. The girls have lost their gym and the Montreal may have lost one of its few remaining art deco treasures.
Such utter contempt and disregard by the city of Montreal, it just makes me sick to see this unfolding. Can't say I'm surprised though, this is Montreal that seems to pride itself on destroying heritage!
Hi Kristian; I have been lampooning the city of Montreal and their fascist "shoot their heads off first, ask questions later" cops for a loooong time already. I count myself as one of those who stops at the tirade, but would gladly involve myself in blowing the lid off the pervasive corruption inherent in our political/judicial system here. I truly believe that mainstream media is part of the whole systematic "wow, the Canadians need a better coach"! put the public to sleep phenomenon we see here. Think of it, Brazil had over 3 million people complaining of corruption in their streets just a few weeks ago; where are we? It's truly disheartening. There's rampant corruption in the top heavy uni's, one of which I work in, and it deserves just a cursory mention of how mad we are that someone got a quarter of a million dollar payoff to keep undoubtedly keep her mouth shut about something or other. No follow up or digging for deeper clues; laziness or paid off media? I hate to quote a reactionary dialogue from De Palma's The Untouchables but I truly believe this; "you have to be pure" to eradicate this filth which has allowed countless people getting rich on the back of the Montreal taxpayers.
ReplyDeleteWell it's obvious it wasn't accidental; there's no electricity or gas running to the building. The city is probably salivating at the insurance money they'll collect, use that to bulldoze it and then award a permit to a condo developer. More property tax revenue (aka. money methadone).
ReplyDeleteIt is understandable that the renovation or restoration of old theatres can be expensive and perhaps even uneconomical when you consider that most people stay home more than ever before to watch films via their computers.
ReplyDeleteStandalone movie theatres began their decline in the early 1980s and the list is painfully long, not only in Montreal but elsewhere.
A few, like the Rialto and the Outremont, still manage to survive presumably because in better economic times presumably because there was a concerted effort by young entrepreneurs to make a go of it.
Fast-forward to today, however, and we have a slew of vultures--many non-resident foreigners--who evidently spend their time seeking out cheap properties upon which to erect their monstrous, over-priced condos. I would like to know exactly who can even afford to buy a condo and what their backgrounds are.
I may be overly cynical, but I have a theory that a lot of shady deals and dirty money is at play and that governments, despite their "glad talk", are more focussed on increasing sources of tax money than on heritage buildings.
Therefore, be on the lookout soon for the demolition ball and bulldozers to be smashing down the Snowdon Theatre and watch "Martian Marvin's" goon-like face as he stands in front of the TV cameras blabbering his usual nonsense about how "unfortunate" it all is--as if he really cares!
Well if you take Vancouver as an example (and I know it's not the same situation), but ⅔ of the new condo stock in owned by absentee Chinese nationals. To a lesser degree that's also happening in Toronto and for sure it's also happening here. It ain't locals buying.
DeleteYeah, the city has not handled the Snowdon Theater any better than they handle anything else. However, if we want to blame someone for the fire, why not start with the graffiti assholes that broke in and actually started the fire? It's the fault of the city because the barricades were not strong enough? Bullshit. Find those people and toss them in jail.
ReplyDeleteEveryone wants the city to do something but I haven't heard any good ideas. The place simply cannot function as a theater because it has no parking. Spend millions restoring it and you have an unused museum piece. How many people can you possibly imagine going to Snowdon to see a movie or a comedy show? If the location somehow worked great as a gymnastics center, let's tear it down and build a real gymnastics center.
By the way, The Empress has all the same problems. A fire, collapse or "toxic mold" is way overdue at that property.
Much of what was the Snowdon theater was lost years ago, through major reconstruction and other careless renovations. The only original part left is/was the finely detailed (hand painted) moldings on the ceiling and some walls. If that's been destroyed, then there is NOTHING left to save.
DeleteYeah, there's still the building's exterior facade and marquee (which was pettily changed to French after the theater closed!) but that's not what made the building.
I suspect both the Snowdon and Empress will be demolished in the coming months (or left to rot until they collapse upon themselves, like the Seville).
Evidently, the vandals have been identified, although no names have been announced as yet--unless they are minors.
ReplyDeleteThen again, what percentage of graffiti vandals have the compulsion to start a fire, anyway? Don't they only want to scrawl their mess and leave the scene as quickly as possible? Why would the ones who broke into the shuttered theatre make their mess and then attempt to burn it all up afterwards?
I still say that arson was the original plan with graffiti being the "cover story" tossed at the media.
What say we petition Marvin to personally clean it up. ;-)
Really sad. It's just like the NDG Theatre that is also left to rot.
ReplyDeleteIndeed. The Empress/Cinema V theater in NDG has been left to rot nearly 25 years now.
DeleteAs it happens its final fate will be decided in a little over two months from now. My guess is it will be sold to developers who'll tear it down for condos. I'd love to be wrong but after nearly a quarter of a century of promises and empty talk, it's hard to be anything but pessimistic.