Montreal's Robillard Building: From film landmark to neglect and flames

TheRobillardBuildingin Montreal's Chinatown was an impressive work of architecture and a throwback to Montreal's party-town era on lower St-Laurent Boulevard.

The Romanesque Revivalbuilding at 974 St-Laurent Blvd was designedby the Montreal architect firmDaoustandGendron, which produced a number of other buildingsin the area in the late19th century.

The neighbourhood was a hot-spot for new development at the time and a popular draw forthe French bourgeoisie, according to the City of Montreal's historical site, Montreal memories.

"One hundred years ago, this was a place of global resonance and now it's fallen apart in a fire," Heritage Montreal policy directorDinuBumbarutold CBC News Thursday.

"It's terrible."

• Fire destroys heritage building famed for Canada's 1st film screening in 1896

Cabinet of Curiosities and other uses

TheRobillardBuilding served as a theatre, cabinet of curiosities and venue for travelling performance artists from the U.S.

But, like many of Montreal's historic buildings, over the years it fell into disrepair.

The building wasin use up until 2008, but itwas vacant and boarded upwhenfire tore through it late Thursday morning.

• Extreme neglect: Montreal powerless to act as heritage greystonescrumble

Famous film house

The RobillardBuilding was showing film projections at a time when the genre consisted of short films played back-to-back as artists experimented with emerging moving picturetechnology.

On June 27, 1896,the first indoor motion pictureprojection in Canada was hosted within its walls a screening ofshort films by France'sfamousLumire Brothers.

The screeningeven beat Manhattan by just a few days, according to author Dane Lanken'sbook, Montreal Movie Palaces: Great Theatres of the Golden Era.

The problem with heritage status

Heritage buildings being destroyed by fire and neglect aren't uncommon in Montreal.

In March,the Art Deco-eraSnowdon Theatre was heavily damaged by a fire.

For Taylor Noakes, who is working to restore the historic Empress Theatre on Sherbrooke Street, the Snowdon Theatrefire hitclose to home.

"Fire is our number one concern with the Empress," Noakes said. "We know people are crawling in there all the time."

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He said heritage statuscan be a "double-edged sword" on the one hand it protects historic buildings, but it can also end up shackling owners without the funding needed for theirupkeep.

Noakes said heritage status limits how these buildings can be used, how they can be repaired, and what materials can be employed in theirreconstruction.

So rather than upkeep the buildings, sometimes owners go a different route.

"Urban planners call it 'demolition via neglect,'" Noakes said.

"Once it falls to the ground people can do what they want with it."

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