Qui Suis-Je?
Montreal's Historical Landmarks
Immerse yourself into your city's past.
Condos. The sign of progress in almost any city, but rarely do we think about we destroy in the name of progress. For the Seville perhaps it was a good sign when it got knocked over to build a complex of condos. The former theatre had been sitting vacant for nearly 25 years as it slowly decayed becoming an embarrassment for the city of Montreal.
It was built in 1929 as 1150 seat, single screen sound theatre. It was one of only 15 atmospheric theaters built in Canada, meaning that it’s ceiling was painted to resemble a night sky with sparkling stars. It had mechanism that would move the painting to give the impression the clouds were moving. The interior had Spanish motif, but was damaged by fire in the 1950s. By 1940 the theatre had become a live concert venue. In the 60s it reverted to showing films and notably screened The Sound of Music for 2 years from 1965 to 1967. In 1985 the theatre ceased operations.
Since its closure a number of development plans were proposed but they all fell through. In 1994 the eastern wall collapsed causing the interior to deteriorate even faster. By the end the Seville was just a shell as the interior had been gutted. In 2010 a condo complex called Le Seville was put forth and is currently under development.