URBAN ARCHAEOLOGY: MONTREAL’S EMPRESS THEATRE AND DISCOVERING ITS CONNECTION WITH THE TEMPLE OF HORUS AT EDFU
Catriona Schwarz
ontreal’s Empress Theatre, built in 1927, is the only Art Deco Egyptian-style theatre to be built anywhere in Canada. The Empress is emblematic of the influence of “Tutmania” on the Art Deco movement, sparked by Howard Carter’s discovery of King Tutankhamun’s tomb in 1922.1 However, Egyptian-style movie theatres could be found even before Carter’s monumental discovery, as for example in the case of the Louxor Theatre in Paris, which opened in 1921,2 and Grauman’s Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood, which was opened one year later in 1922.3 Nonetheless, both the Louxor and Grauman’s Egyptian Theatre approximated ancient Egyptian elements using artistic flights of fancy rather than authentically echoing the architecture of ancient Egypt. In contrast, the Empress Theatre in Montreal was clearly influenced and inspired by ancient Egyptian sources such as the Temple of Horus at Edfu and the Temple of Isis at Philae, to the point that some features were authentically copied so as to be, as James Stevens Curl would term them, “archaeologically correct”.4 This essay will examine those Egyptian-style design motifs in which it is possible to clearly establish a link between Montreal’s Empress Theatre and its ancient Egyptian sources. First, however, it is important to explore the background leading up to the Art Deco Egyptian style in order to place the Empress Theatre in its historical and societal context.
“Egyptomania” or the fascination with all things ancient Egyptian has been evident throughout history. The enduring appeal of ancient Egypt and its mysterious and mystical exoticism has always
48 49 had a hold on popular imagination and this continues to the “Tutmania” fit perfectly into the eclectic nature of the Art Deco present day. Unlike other art historical periods, ancient Egyptian movement, which began in 1910 and continued until the advent of art is so distinct and recognizable, that the untrained eye is able to the Second World War in 1939, although in North America and identify it as “Egyptian” immediately. It certainly resonated with particularly Montreal, Art Deco architecture in its variant of Art the Macedonian pharaohs of the Ptolemaic dynasties (304-30 Moderne or Streamline Deco continued until 1960.12 Art Deco was BCE), who retained past Egyptian architectural paradigms when “characterized by bright colors, geometric shapes and decorative constructing their temples. Although this captivation with all 13 things Egyptian continued throughout the intervening centuries, motifs deriving from a wide range of visual sources...”. These “Egyptomania” reached its zenith with Napoleon’s expedition to sources included ancient Greece, ancient Mexico, the Orient, and 14 Egypt in 1798. This would only be eclipsed by the discovery of King Africa. According to Charlotte Benton and Tim Benton, Art Tutankhamun’s tomb in 1922, which unleashed “Tutmania”.5 When Deco “left its mark on nearly every visual medium, from fine art, Napoleon’s military and scientific invasion of Egypt (1798 – 1801) architecture and interior design, to fashion and textiles, film and set sail from France in 1798, the French army was accompanied by photography.” 15 The discovery of the extraordinary artefacts from 167 distinguished scholars, as well as architects, artists, engravers, King Tutankhamun’s tomb in 1922 and the sensation it caused cartographers, and surveyors who set out “to record the land” of worldwide, meant that Egyptian motifs began to be incorporated 6 Egypt and its monuments. This extraordinary expedition led to into Art Deco designs and architecture. The powerful medium of the subsequent production of twenty-one volumes (nine of text and cinema also caught the Egyptian craze even before the discovery twelve of plates) of the “Description de l’Égypte, ou, Recueil des observations of the boy-king’s tomb. Hollywood films such as “Cleopatra” (1917) et des recherches qui ont été faites en Égypte pendant l’expédition de l’armée was a sensational success. 16 Another Hollywood silent movie française”, which was published between 1809 and 1828.7 According to Curl, this was to “herald the birth of modern Egyptology” and epic, Cecil B. DeMille’s, “The Ten Commandments” (1923), took as these volumes proved to be an invaluable sourcebook for architects, its subject matter, the biblical exodus of the Israelites from Egypt archeologists, and designers.8 To this day, “Description de l’Egypte” is at the hand of Pharaoh Ramses II.17 In addition, cinema theatres the only remaining record of some Egyptian monuments that have began to be erected in the Egyptian style worldwide, including the been lost or destroyed since the time of Napoleon’s expedition. The above-mentioned Louxor Theatre in Paris. In London alone, nine discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb in November, 1922 by Howard Egyptian-style cinema theatres were built between the years of 1926 Carter and the ‘wonderful things’ within that had lain undisturbed and 1930. 18 This pattern was repeated in the USA during the same 9 for 3000 years, created a worldwide sensation. As Christopher time period, where numerous Art Deco Egyptian-style theatres were Frayling describes it: “The presentation to a non-specialized public constructed, of which, sadly, few remain today. One such theatre was of the countless ‘wonderful things’ as they emerged into the sunlight built even earlier, Hollywood’s Grauman’s Egyptian Theatre, which of the valley was to lead to a major cultural phenomenon, or, to use a 1920’s word, a ‘craze’. Tutmania (which the Daily Express opened in October 1922 – one full month prior to the discovery preferred to call ‘Tutankhamen Ltd’) was probably the most of Tutankhamun’s tomb. These early theatres set a precedent that significant peacetime mass media event, up to then, of the twentieth ushered in the era of the “movie palace”, when movie theatres were century.”10 Through photographs and articles in newspapers so opulent and luxurious that they became a “show” unto themselves. and magazines, news of the discovery was able to reach a wide Before the movie was shown or the vaudeville act performed on audience and the craze for all things Egyptian quickly began to stage, the movie-going public would already have been transported manifest itself in fashion, interior decor, and Art Deco architecture. to a Spanish villa or in the case of Grauman’s Egyptian Theatre and As Frayling further states “Ancient Egypt became the vogue.”11 the Empress Theatre in Montreal, an Egyptian palace or temple. The 1550-seat Empress Theatre was constructed in 1927 and The discovery of King Tutankhamun’s treasures and the ensuing opened officially on May th19 , 1928.19 It was commissioned by a
50 51 local independent theatre chain, Confederation Amusements, run by the Lawands, a family of Lebanese-Syrian immigrants.20 Between 1927 and 1932, they expanded rapidly and commissioned four theatres in Montreal, of which the Empress was the first to be built.21 In the opinion of this author, none were as magnificent as the Egyptian-style movie “temple” on Sherbrooke Street West in Notre-Dame-de-Grâce. There were three principle creators responsible for the theatre’s design. The architect of the Empress Theatre was the prominent and well-respected Alcide Chaussé (1868-1944) who worked in private practice in Montreal from 1889 to 1900, and again after 1918. During that interim period between 1900 and 1918, he worked as the superintendent of buildings for the Figure 1: Alexander Badawy, “Illustration of the Temple of Horus at Edfu” in Ancient City of Montreal and was considered an expert on fire prevention Egyptian Architectural Design, A Study of the Harmonic System (Berkely and Los and authored several handbooks on building inspection and Angeles: University of California Press, 1965), 165.Photo courtesy of the University of building codes for the city. 22 According to Dane Lanken, Chaussé California at Berkeley. sat on an “astonishing number of boards and committees…” 23 He founded and was the secretary of the Royal Architectural Institute Syrian Lawands of Confederation Amusements? It is unlikely that of Canada from 1908 until 1942, and he was also a member of the commissioned architect Alcide Chaussé was the one to determine the theatre’s style, although he did travel extensively as part of his many architectural associations worldwide. When looking at the 28 expansive list of architectural projects that he worked on during involvement with different international architectural associations. his lifetime in the online “Biographical Dictionary of Architects in Canada Perhaps, as Philip Dombowsky suggested, it was Emmanuel Briffa, a close friend of one of the Lawand brothers, who proposed this 1800 – 1950”, it would appear that most of his commissions were 29 private residences, schools, churches, as well as some commercial style to the Lawands. At the time of this paper’s writing, no and industrial projects.24 Nothing in this list or in his background documentation in any archival sources has been found to answer this suggested that he would create such a remarkable Egyptian- question. But perhaps it is not important to determine who made style movie palace as the Empress. Understandably, the Empress this decision. It could be conjectured that the choice to build the Theatre became his most well-known work and acknowledged theatre in the Egyptian style was simply a smart business decision, “masterpiece”.25 The equally renowned Maltese-born theatre given the excitement generated by ‘Tutmania’ and Hollywood’s epic designer, Emmanuel Briffa (1875-1955), was responsible for the Egyptian-themed movies. And of course, the precedent had already Empress’s breathtaking Egyptian interior. According to Philip been set with the 1922 opening of Grauman’s Egyptian Theatre in Dombowsky’s 1995 thesis, “Emmanuel Briffa Revisited”, he had been Hollywood. However unlike Grauman’s Egyptian Theatre, which involved in the design of at least eleven theatres in Montreal alone had highly fanciful and not very accurate Egyptian motifs, it is between the years of 1921 and 1927, prior to his work on the clear that there was a concerted effort on the part of the Empress Empress.26 In spite of his prolific commissions throughout Canada Theatre’s “three wise men”, Chaussé, Briffa and Galea, to ensure and the USA, the Empress Theatre was Briffa’s only known foray that the Empress Theatre was “authentic and archaeologically correct” through the use of design motifs that appear to be copied into the Egyptian style. The theatre’s third creator, the Maltese-born 30 sculptor, Edward Galea (1893 – 1971), sculpted the exceptionally from their ancient Egyptian sources. One of the many factors that made this theatre so aesthetically pleasing and harmonious, was that beautiful and authentic Egyptian sculptural reliefs on the façade. 27 the same Egyptian themes and design elements found on Chaussé’s and Galea’s facade were repeated by Briffa in the auditorium. By We can now begin to speculate about who decided to build Montreal’s performing a form of “urban archaeology”, it is possible to find Empress Theatre in the Egyptian style and why. Was it the Lebanese-
52 53 such as the winged solar disk, a cavetto cornice at the roofline, as well as lotus designs, hieroglyphics and columns which similarly to Edfu, are a mix of palmiform, lotiform and papyriform.35
Perhaps the most compelling evidence that there was a concerted effort to accurately and authentically reproduce ancient Egyptian design elements, is displayed by the male and female figures sculpted on the Empress’s twin pilasters (figure 4). This is a direct copy of the carved wall relief from the Temple of Horus at Edfu (figure 3). The original sculpted wall relief at Edfu contains three figures, portraying the Ptolemaic pharaoh, Ptolemy VIII Euergetes II, being crowned by the goddesses Nekhbet and Wadjet, who each represent Figure 3: “Image of Nekhbet (relief).” Upper and Lower Egypt. 36 Nekhbet was the vulture goddess, based Edfu-Projekt. 2014, Akademie der Wissen- schaften zu Göttingen . http://adw-goe. in southern Egypt and identified with the White crown of Upper 37 Figure 2: Olaf Tausch, “Edfu Wall de/en/research/research-projects-with- Egypt, which she is shown wearing. Wadjet, the cobra goddess was Relief,” photograph, 2009. Wikimedia in-the-academies-programme/the-inscrip- associated with the northern Nile Delta region of Lower Egypt, thus Commons. http://commons.wikimedia. tions-of-the-ptolemaic-temple-of-edfu/ she is wearing the Red crown of Lower Egypt.38 These two goddesses org/wiki/File:Edfu_Tempel_42.jpg. Pho- einblicke/. Photo courtesy of the Academy 39 to courtesy of Wikimedia Commons. of sciences and humanities Goettingen. were often depicted together, so as to represent a united Egypt. To emphasize this point, Ptolemy VIII is wearing the composite crown of the corresponding sources at Edfu and to a lesser degree at Philae, a united Egypt. The Empress bas-relief, sculpted by Edward Galea, even without archival proof on the part of Chaussé, Briffa or Galea. is a direct copy of the Edfu bas-relief. However on the Empress’s façade, only two of the figures are represented: those of the pharaoh The Empress Theatre’s impressive facade was built of cast stone in Ptolemy VIII and the goddess Nekhbet, most likely because there was only space for two figures on the pilasters. The same figures are the color of sandstone, imitating the actual sandstone of Egyptian 40 temples.31 The mass and volume of the exterior theatre structure is duplicated on the other pilaster. When comparing the two images reminiscent of a pylon temple of the Ptolemaic era, in particular the of the bas-relief at Edfu and the sculpted relief at the Empress, there Temple of Horus at Edfu, as can be seen when comparing the photo is no doubt that this is a direct and authentic copy of the original. of the Empress (figure 1) with the illustration of Edfu by Alexander Badawy (figure 2).32 Chaussé’s design shows the clean lines and At Edfu, the goddess Nekhbet in her vulture form was depicted on 41 elegant, symmetrical proportions of an Art Deco building. The a relief carving (figure 5), as well as on the ceiling reliefs as can 42 pylon shape is not immediately apparent, but in fact, is suggested be seen by the illustrations by Chassinat (figure 7). This vulture in a number of ways: by the indented and inwardly-curved shape form was copied exactly by Emmanuel Briffa in the theatre’s interior at the roofline and cavetto cornice; the sloping pylonesque framing on top of the proscenium. Unfortunately, only the wood of Briffa’s of the front entrance doors and in particular, the two tapered Nekhbet sculpture remains, as the paint has since disintegrated pilasters surrounding the front entrance, each of which are topped (figure 6). However it is abundantly clear that this was a copy of with a pharaoh head. According to Richard H. Wilkinson, the the Nekhbet version found at Edfu. Briffa’s version of Nekhbet pylon shape in ancient Egyptian temples represented the passage is shown in her vulture form, but instead of the more standard of the sun from east to west.33 This is implied by the east-west iconography of holding the “shen” or eternity ring in her talons, orientation of Sherbrooke Street where the Empress is located.34 she has a feather in each talon, exactly as those of the Edfu originals The Empress Theatre façade also contains other authentic elements on both the relief carving and the ceiling. Thus, there is little doubt that this is also a direct and authentic copy of the original source.
54 55 The winged solar disks on the Empress’s façade are authentic echoes of those found at both the Temple of Horus at Edfu and the Temple of Isis at Philae (see figures 5 and 7 for examples at Edfu). According to Wilkinson, they represented the sun’s daily passage and thus were often placed on the architraves of the temple’s east-west axis. 43 There are multiple winged solar disks carved on the façade of the Empress Theatre and these are authentically placed beneath the cavetto cornice (figure 8) and also on the lintels above the doorways. This winged solar disk element was copied in the interior of the theatre by Briffa, as illustrated by the painted plaster sculpture (figure 9), which was originally part of a fountain. It has a cavetto cornice and tongue groove design in the shape of palm leaves, as well as the winged solar disk, which appears to be a close copy of Chassinat’s Edfu illustration (figure 10). 44
Another example of a direct copy from the original Egyptian source is the interior secondary stage curtain painted by Emmanuel Briffa, which unfortunately no longer exists due to ongoing damage to the Empress’s interior. 45 Luckily a photograph dated 1944, depicts the theatre staff standing in front of this curtain, which clearly shows the Kiosk of Trajan at the Temple of Isis at Philae. By comparing Briffa’s design with that of an early photograph of Philae’s Kiosk of Trajan dated 1890, it is evident that the Kiosk of Trajan was used by Briffa as the source and inspiration for this stage curtain.
Special mention must be made of the two magnificent pharaoh heads sitting atop the cavetto-like capitals of the twin pilasters (figure 8). Edward Galea’s pharaoh heads are an authentic version of ancient Egyptian pharaonic sculptures, but there are some notable twists and perhaps an “inside joke” between the three principal creators of the Empress Theatre. The pharaoh heads have the authentic Nemes headdress, complete with the uraeus at the centre, as well as the typical pharaonic beard. However it appears that Galea created them as a composite pharaoh-sphinx sculpture, as there are feet beneath the Nemes headdress. But instead of the typical cat-like paws of most Egyptian sphinxes, these pharaoh Figure 4: Maxence de Rochemonteix and Émile Chassinat, “Illustration de heads have the talon-like feet of a bird of prey. Perhaps this was a Chapelle Annexe de l’Ouabit.” In Le Temple D’Edfou, Tome Dixième (l’Institut Français d’archéologie orientale, 1892), 713. Photo courtesy of IFAO (Institut salute to the falcon god, Horus, of the Temple at Edfu. The pharaoh Français d’Archaeologie Orientale). depicted at the Empress is commonly thought to be Ramses II, however when studying the arresting face of the pharaoh heads at close range and in particular, the deep-set and hooded eyes, they
56 57 seem to portray a real person rather than the usual generic pharaoh face. It has led some people to believe that perhaps the person depicted here is none other than the architect, Alcide Chaussé.
In conclusion, between 1926 and 1927, a decision was made to build the Empress Theatre, which was essentially a neighborhood theatre, in the Art Deco Egyptian style. This did not happen in a vacuum; rather it was a product of its era, given the intersecting social and cultural factors of the Art Deco style and the ‘Tutmania’ created with the discovery of King Tutankhamun’s tomb in 1922 Figure 5 and further elaborated by epic Hollywood movies. However what is truly remarkable about the Empress Theatre is its existence as the only theatre built in the Art Deco Egyptian style in Canada. Another remarkable feature of the Empress is the deliberate and careful effort on the part of the theatre creators (Chaussé, Briffa and Galea) to be true to their Egyptian source material. It is unfortunate that despite the best efforts of community groups in Notre-Dame- de-Grâce, like so many other of Montreal’s magnificent movie palaces, this extraordinary treasure of a theater is undergoing a slow and painful demolition by neglect. Thankfully, the gorgeous Egyptian “temple” façade conceived by Alcide Chaussé and executed by Edward Galea, is still largely intact. Sadly, however, Emmanuel Briffa’s phenomenal Egyptian palace interior is mostly Figure 5: Maxence de Rochemonteix and Émile Chassinat, “Illustration de Cour du lost, although some vestiges of its former glory remain. Ironically Nouvel An, Paroi Nord.” In Le Temple D’Edfou, Tome Dixième (l’Institut Français enough, the Empress’s primary source and inspiration, the d’archéologie orientale, 1892), 695. Photo courtesy of IFAO (Institut Français d’Archae- Temple of Horus at Edfu, appears to stand in a better preserved ologie Orientale). state, than the Empress itself, built some 2,200 years later.
58 59 ENDNOTES
1 Christopher Frayling, “Egyptomania”, in Art Deco 1910 – 1939, eds. Charlotte Benton, Tim Benton, Ghislaine Wood (Boston, New York, London: Bullfinch Press, AOL Time Warner Book Group, 2003) 41-48. 2 Les Amis du Louxor, Historique, http://www.lesamisdulouxor.fr/ historique/, 28 October 2013. 3 Grauman’s Egyptian Theatre, History, http://americancinema- theque.com/egyptian/egypt.htm, 5 November 2013. 4 James Stevens Curl, The Egyptian Revival, Ancient Egypt as the Inspiration for Design Motifs in the West, (London and New York: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group, 2005), 326-327. This is a term that he uses to describe an Egyptian-Revival building in the UK. 5 Frayling, “Egyptomania” in Art Deco 1910 – 1939, 42. 6 Curl, The Egyptian Revival, 200-201. 7 Ibid, 226-230. Note that the Description de l’Egypte was available in Montreal at the time of the construction of the Empress and perhaps was referenced by the architect, designer and sculptor. Please see the bibliography Appendix for more details. 8 Ibid, 200. 9 Frayling, “Egyptomania” in Art Deco 1910 – 1939, 42. He recounts the moment when Howard Carter opens the tomb of CATRIONA SCHWARTZ Tutankhamun in the presence of Lord Carnarvon and describes what he is seeing: the ‘wonderful things’ piled up inside. 10 Ibid. Catriona Schwartz is currently a part-time student at Concor- 11 Ibid, 46. dia University studying for a BFA with a Major in Art History. 12 François Rémillard, Brian Merret, Montreal Architecture, A She is a proud New Zealander by birth and a devoted Montreal- Guide to Styles and Buildings, (Meridian Press, 1990), 174 – 185. er by choice. She has travelled extensively and lived in many 13 “Art Deco”, A Dictionary of Modern Design, Jonathan M. different parts of the world, which has allowed her to indulge Woodham. Oxford University Press. Concordia University her life-long passion for the history of art and architecture. of Montreal, www.oxfordreference.com.mercury.concordia. ca/view/10.1093/acref/9780192800978.001.0001/acref- 9780192800978-e-66?rskey=uATMy8&result=12, 24 October 2013. 14 “Sources and Iconography”, Art Deco 1910 – 1939, 38 – 137. 15 Charlotte Benton, Tim Benton, “The Style and the Age”, in Art
6060 61 Deco 1910 – 1939, 13. Centre régional d’archives de Lanaudière, Notice biographique, 16 “Cleopatra” on Imdb.com, http://www.imdb.com/title/ http://www.archiveslanaudiere.com/archilogw/index.php?awdo- tt0007801/ , 5 November 2013, starred the silent film sex symbol, cument=17408&awnavpos=103, Theda Bara. The original film was lost in a fire in the 1930’s, but 10 September 2013. the stills and posters of the movie give an idea of how extraordi- 29 Dombowsky email correspondence with the author dated Octo- nary and compelling it must have been. It was the most popular ber 11, 2013. film of Bara’s career which is not surprising given the risqué nature 30 Curl, 326 – 327. of her costumes and the exotic nature of the subject matter. 31 Lanken, 127. 17 Frayling, “Egyptomania” in Art Deco 1910 – 1939, 48. He 32 Alexander Badawy, Ancient Architectural Design, A Study of describes how it took much persuading of DeMille to convince him the Harmonic System, (Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of not to have Tutankhamun (instead of Ramses II) as the pharaoh California Press, 1965), 165. who chased the Jews from Egypt – such was the impact of Carter’s 33 Richard H. Wilkinson, Symbol and Magic in Egyptian Art, (New discovery. York: Thames and Hudson, 1994), 158. 18 Ibid, 46. 34 The orientation of the Empress Theatre is that of the Temple of 19 Dane Lanken, Montreal Movie Palaces: Great Theatres of the Horus at Edfu. According to Wilkinson, in ancient Egypt, the tem- Golden Era 1884 – 1938, (Waterloo, Ontario: Penumbra Press, ple axis was mostly east to west. However, the Temple of Horus has 1993), 126. a north-south axis. Coincidentally, Sherbrooke Street, where the 20 “The Lawand Family. Silent Cinema in Quebec,1896–1930”, Empress Theatre is located, is roughly east-west. But the actual axis http://www.cinemamuetquebec.ca/content/bio/44?lang=en , 14 of the theatre is north-south just like the Temple at Edfu. This was October 2013. not planned on the part of the architect when he was designing the 21 Dane Lanken, Montreal Movie Palaces, 126. Empress, but it is certainly an interesting coincidence. 22 Ibid. 35 While the direct link to the Egyptian originals is not as clear-cut, 23 Ibid. the columns and capitals on the Empress’s façade are reminiscent 24“Alcide Joseph Chaussé”, Biographical Dictionary Architects in of the palmiform, papyriform and lotiform columns and capitals Canada, http://dictionaryofarchitectsincanada.org/architects/ found at both Edfu and Philae. Those of the Empress are not view/1613 , 10 September 2013. direct copies but a more stylized version. For this reason, these have 25 Lanken, Montreal Movie Palaces, 126. Lanken considers this not been included as part of my argument. theatre to be a masterpiece. I concur. 36 Griffith Institute, “Egyptian Mirage”,http://www.griffith.ox.ac. 26 Philip Dombowsky, “Emmanuel Briffa Revisited”, (Master’s uk/perl/gi-em-lmakedeta.pl?&sid=1382228621-24.114.94.152&1 Thesis, Concordia University, 1995), 98 – 99. =Edfu&3=x&en=gi00762, 10 October 2013. Note that the Griffith 27 According to Philip Dombowsky (in email correspondence with refers to Wadjet as “Buto”. the author dated October 17, 2013), Edward Galea was in Lovell’s 37 Richard H. Wilkinson, The Complete Gods and Goddesses of Montreal Directory until the mid-1940’s and is known to have died Ancient Egypt, (London: Thames & Hudson, 2003), 213 – 214. in Houston in 1971. Not much else is known about his other work 38 Ibid, 226 – 228. in Montreal. However, he had many sculpture commissions in 39 Ibid, 214. Houston, most of which are extant to this day. 40 Note that the sculptor has engraved his name “E. Galea” be- 28 “Alcide Chaussé”, Fonds Alcide et Marcel Chaussé 1881 – 1977, neath the left heel of the pharaoh’s foot.
62 63 41 “The Edfu Project”, http://adw-goe.de/en/research/re- SPECIAL THANKS search-projects-within-the-academies-programme/the-inscrip- tions-of-the-ptolemaic-temple-of-edfu/einblicke/, 10 November I owe a huge debt of gratitude to the following people for their 2013. Copyright by the Edfu-Projekt/Academy of Sciences and generous help: Humanities Goettingen. •My professor, Dr. George Harrison who put me in contact with 42 Maxence de Rochemonteix, Émile Chassinat, Le Temple Dr. Clarence Epstein and Anja Borck, both of whom were so d’Edfou, l’Institut Français d’archéologie orientale, 1892, original generous of their time, in giving me guidance and suggestions of from Lyon Public Library, digitized 8 March 2013. 43 Wilkinson, Symbol and Magic in Egyptian Art, 66. where to look for information. 44 Maxence de Rochemonteix, Émile Chassinat •Dr. Epstein was also instrumental in putting me in contact 45 Sadly, the Empress, like so many of Montreal’s magnificent with Dr. Philip Dombowsky of the National Gallery of Canada theatres, is undergoing demolition by neglect. Luckily the façade is who shares my passion for theatres such as the Empress and still mostly intact but much of Briffa’s remarkable interior has been their creators. His generosity and sharing of information was lost through water damage, lack of heating etc. What little does extraordinary and very much appreciated and helped me remain gives an indication of how breathtaking this theatre must enormously with this paper. have been in its heyday.
6464 65 BIBLIOGRAPHY http://americancinematheque.com/egyptian/egypt.htm.
“Alcide Joseph Chaussé”, Biographical Dictionary Architects in Canada. Griffith Institute. “Egyptian Mirage.” Accessed 10 October 2013. Accessed 10 September 2013.
“Alcide Chaussé”, Fonds Alcide et Marcel Chaussé 1881 – 1977, Centre Lanken, Dane. Montreal Movie Palaces: Great Theatres of the Golden Era régional d’archives de Lanaudière, Notice biographique. Accessed 1884 – 1938. Waterloo, Ontario: Penumbra Press, 1993. 10 September 2013.
Benton, Charlotte and Ghislaine Wood (eds.). Art Deco 1910 – 1939. “The Lawand Family.” Silent Cinema in Quebec, 1896 – 1930. Boston; New York; London: Bullfinch Press, AOL Time Warner Accessed 14 October 2013.
Curl, James Stevens. The Egyptian Revival, Ancient Egypt as the Inspira- “The New Empress Theatre, Montreal.” The Journal. Royal Archi- tion for Design Motifs in the West. London and New York: Routledge, tectural Institute of Canada (November 1928): 392-396.Wilkinson, Taylor & Francis Group, 2005. Richard H. The Complete Gods and Goddesses of Ancient Egypt. London: Thames & Hudson, 2003. De Rochemonteix, Maxence and Émile Chassinat. Le Temple d’Edfou, Mémoires publiés par la Mission archéologique française au Caire. Wilkinson, Richard H. Symbol and Magic in Egyptian Art. New York: l’Institut Français d’archéologie orientale, 1892, original from Lyon Thames and Hudson, 1994. Public Library. Digitized 8 March 2013.
Dombowsky, Philip. “Emmanuel Briffa Revisited.” Master of Arts Thesis, Concordia University, April 1995.
Grauman’s Egyptian Theatre. “History.” Accessed 5 November 2013.
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