The York Theatre was an

Art deco Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unite ...

cinema Cinema may refer to: Film * Cinematography, the art of motion-picture photography * Film or movie, a series of still images that create the illusion of a moving image ** Film industry, the technological and commercial institutions of filmmaking * ...

and

mixed-use Mixed-use is a kind of urban development, urban design, urban planning and/or a zoning type that blends multiple uses, such as residential, commercial, cultural, institutional, or entertainment, into one space, where those functions are to some ...

complex in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

, opened in 1938 and demolished in 2001 for the construction of the Engineering, Computer Science and Visual Arts Integrated Complex of

Concordia University Concordia University ( French: ''Université Concordia'') is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1974 following the merger of Loyola College and Sir George Williams University, Concordia is one of the t ...

The York was designed by architects Perry, Luke and Little, with an interior design by

Emmanuel Briffa Emmanuel Briffa (September 4, 1875 – 1955) was a Maltese Canadian theatre decorator whose career in North America spanned thirty years, starting in 1912. Devoted almost entirely to theatre decoration since immigrating to North America from ...

. Briffa, who had overseen interior designs of over 100 cinemas in Canada, commissioned

mural A mural is any piece of graphic artwork that is painted or applied directly to a wall, ceiling or other permanent substrate. Mural techniques include fresco, mosaic, graffiti and marouflage. Word mural in art The word ''mural'' is a Spani ...

s by artist Kenneth Hensley Holmden for the project. These murals were badly damaged by a fire in 1989. Three of eight murals were removed and restored by the university, and are now incorporated into its new building. Concordia purchased the complex in 1998, deciding that it was too badly deteriorated to save. It was demolished in 2001. The building had included residential and commercial space, in addition to the cinema. It was built with a capacity of 1,200 theatre goers for the United Amusement Corporation.

References

Former cinemas in Montreal Art Deco architecture in Canada Theatres completed in 1938 Demolished buildings and structures in Montreal Downtown Montreal Buildings and structures demolished in 2001 Concordia University buildings and structures {{Quebec-struct-stub