Monument-National

The Monument-National is a historic Canadian theatre located at 1182 Saint Laurent Boulevard in Montreal, Quebec. With a capacity of over 1,600 seats, the venue was erected between 1891 and 1894 and was originally the cultural centre of the Saint-Jean-Baptiste Society.

The Monument-National in 2008
A fundraising event in 1890 for the construction of the Monument-National

The building was designed by Maurice Perrault, Albert Mesnard and Joseph Venne in the Renaissance Revival style and utilizes a steel frame—a building technique that was innovative for its time.[1]

Yiddish theatre

The first performance of a Yiddish play was held there in what is now the theatre's Ludger-Duvernay room in the winter of 1896. The Monument-National was a key cultural landmark in Montreal's historic Jewish quarter, and it continued to host productions from touring and local Yiddish theatre companies until the 1940s.[2][3][4]

Renovations and current status

The theatre was declared a historic monument by the Ministère des Affaires culturelles du Québec in 1976,[1] and a National Historic Site in 1985.[5]

A major restoration project of the theatre was completed in June 1993, in time for the theatre's centennial celebration. The 1,620-seat theatre has been owned by the National Theatre School of Canada since 1971, and it is the venue used for its productions.[6]

References
  1. Le Monument-National. Canadian Register of Historic Places. Retrieved August 10, 2011.
  2. "Boulevard Saint-Laurent: Corridor for Immigration, Business and Development". Parks Canada Web site. 2009-04-15. Archived from the original on 2011-06-05. Retrieved 2009-05-31.
  3. "Looking Back : Monumental". National Theatre School of Canada Web site. Spring 2004. Archived from the original on 2009-09-25. Retrieved 2009-05-31.
  4. "Interactive Museum of Jewish Montreal". Retrieved January 7, 2013.
  5. Monument National National Historic Site of Canada. Canadian Register of Historic Places. Retrieved August 10, 2011.
  6. Gilles Potvin. "Monument national". The Canadian Encyclopedia.


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