This is indeed the scene of the Laurier Palace fire that claimed 78 young lives January 9, 1927 on St. Catherine Street. There is an apocryphal tale that the fire too place during the playing of a film called Get 'Em Young. In fact, while there was a poster for such a movie, it was not playing on that day. Owner Ameen Lewand, 31, and three other Syrians were brought in for questioning.
Here's a partial list (links to with photos of the victims).
Alda Leduc (f) 16, rue Adam, injured
Gerard Robichaud 18, Alwin Street, saved a little girl.
Eleonore Godin, 12, rue Cuvillier injured
Gerard Poirier, 10, rue Cuvillier, injured.
Yvette Boisseau, 8, Joliette Street, dead.
Rene Roy, 14, Prefontaine Street, it was his birthday.
Raoul Pageau, 10, Adam Street, dead.
Antonio Menard, 12, Bourbonniere street, dead.
Rolland Germain, 11, Rouville Street, injured.
Marcel Rathe, 11, St. Germain street, dead.
Edouard Bezeau, 16, Cuvilliers Street injured.
Gaston Arpin, 6, Roubille Street, dead.
Sylvia Quintal, 8, Joliette Street, dead.
Lucienne Decelles, 11, Lanaudiere, injured.
Rita Maheu,7, Davidson Street, dead.
Marthe Paquin, 6, Cuvillier Street, dead.
Edouard Frechette, 12, Desery Street, Dead.
Benoit Simard, 12, Rouville street, injured.
Alexandre Bergeron, 9, Florian Street, saved by a hunch.
Roger Coulombe, 11, Alwyin Street, dead.
Jean-Paul Paquin, 10, Desery Street, dead.
Simone Marsan, 13, injured.
Simone Seguin, 13, Lafontaine Street, dead.
Francoise Pesant, 14, Aylwin Street, dead.
Gaston St. Jean, 11, Aylwin Street, injured.
Marcel Leveasseur, 9, Darling Street, dead.
Philippe Nantel 12, Prefontaine Street, dead.
Alphonse Gadoury, 14, St. Germain Street, saved a kid.
Ernest Robichaud, 16, Aylwin Street, dead.
Fernand Come, 10, Marlbourough Street, injured.
Rene Champagne, 16, Chambly Street, dead.
Georges Stoneff, 7, Chambly Street, dead.
Raoul Girard, 9, Adam Street, dead.
Marcel Girard, 8, Joliette Street, dead.
Bernard Houde, 18, Cuvillier Street, dead.
Violette McRea, 6, Lafontaine Street, injured.
Dolores Vien, 16, Desery Street, injured.
Madeleine Guevremont, Notre Dame East, injured.
Fernande Francoeur, 14, Desery Street, injured.
Louis Gagne, 12, Davidson Street, dead.
Jeanne D'Arc Vien, 4 1/2, Desery Street, dead.
Laurette Francoeur, 16, Desery Street, injured.
Germaine Rivard, 11, Adam Street, dead.
Yvette Martel, 7, Davidson Street, dead.
Eva Martel, 8, Davidson Street, dead.
Aurea Houde, 13, Cuvillier Street, injured.
Alfred Brisson (adult, carpenter) Desery Street, helped save people.
The Laurier Palace. :(
ReplyDeleteLaurier Theatre?
ReplyDeleteis it the laurier theatre?
ReplyDeletenever saw this picture.
ReplyDeleteWhat proof do you have that "Get Em Young" wasn't playing?
ReplyDeleteMost media outlets at the time claimed that the Mary Pickford film "Sparrows" was playing that day because a poster was on display. Perhaps you confused the two films?
Alan Hustak says that the Gazette ran an article with that Get 'Em Young thing and someone called up and said he was in attendance that day and that the movie showing was something else. The guy had sufficient detail to impress Hustak that he was right. All articles make note of the poster, but that doesn't mean that it was actually playing that day. I looked through the film listings in the La Patrie but the made no mention of the Laurier Palace, just the Palace, which was opposite Eatons.
ReplyDeleteInteresting claim! My research shows there were two films that day: THE DEVILS GULCH and GET EM YOUNG. The first film, a western, played without a hitch but the fire started halfways through the first reel of GEY.
ReplyDeleteI wrote an article on the tragedy which will soon be published in a historical magazine. If old movie theatres interest you, check out 32elvismovies.com.
I guess it's not that big a deal but if you have a reference, like a scanned newspaper listing for the film it'd be nice to settle this for once and for all.
ReplyDelete..just a correction...it was on Laurier close to St Urbain, not Ste Cathrine... the 3 kids from Adam street were good friends of my father...the families still live on the street.
ReplyDeleteignore the last comment about location...I misstook it for another theater
ReplyDeleteEmile Massicotte, the Laurier Palace's projectionist, saved about 30 kids by dragging them into his booth and passing them out a window onto the marquee. After about 15 round trips, the thickening smoke forced Massicotte onto the marquee himself; firemen helped him and the kids down ladders. His quick thinking, resourcefulness, and raw courage stopped the death toll from going well over 100.
ReplyDelete