Cinema L'Amour

Cinéma L'Amour is one of North America's last surviving adult movie theatres — a Beaux-Arts gem on Boulevard Saint-Laurent that has been running continuously since 1914, first as Le Globe (a Yiddish cinema for Montreal's Jewish community), then as The Hollywood, The PussyCat in 1969, and finally Cinéma L'Amour when Ivan Koltai bought the building on July 31, 1981. The interior is virtually unchanged from 1914: a horseshoe balcony, ornate carved garlands, bas-relief panels, pilasters, and original benches across a 600-seat auditorium with a single giant screen. Vintage porn posters line the lobby — some originals are for sale — and there's a clothing boutique at the front. General admission is $17 and lets you stay all day (up to 12 hours); seniors get in for $16. The VIP couples section on the mezzanine costs $55 per couple and offers two private booths, comfortable couches, ambient lighting, and an unobstructed balcony view of the screen below — it's semi-private, intimate, and a world apart from the main floor. Couples get in free on Misty Mondays, Teaser Tuesdays, and Happy Hour Thursdays after 6 pm. Wild Wednesdays bring two new film presentations plus a trans night. No membership is required — just walk in, pay at the door, and sit anywhere. The crowd runs from 18 to 90 and includes curious couples, solo visitors, and regulars who've been coming for decades. Staff are described as friendly and helpful, the atmosphere is anonymous and pressure-free, and the building itself draws architecture buffs and documentary filmmakers (a feature-length doc called "Cinéma L'Amour" is on YouTube). The venue has also hosted film festivals, concerts, and fashion shows over its century-plus history. It's open seven days a week, 11 am to 11 pm, on the Plateau stretch of The Main — no reservations, no dress code, no fuss.