Cinema L'Amour

Cinema L'Amour is a family-owned adult movie theatre on Boulevard Saint-Laurent in Montreal's Plateau-Mont-Royal neighbourhood — and one of North America's last continuously operating adult cinemas. The building opened in 1914 as Le Globe, a Beaux-Arts neighbourhood house that screened Yiddish films and hosted vaudeville for Montreal's then-thriving Jewish community along The Main. After operating as The Hollywood from 1932, it turned erotic in 1969 as The Pussycat, and took its current name on July 31, 1981, when distributor Ivan Koltai purchased it and applied the Cinema L'Amour brand from his Hull, Quebec operation. Now in its third generation under Devyn Koltai, the cinema has preserved the original horseshoe balcony, ornate plasterwork, Ionic columns, and classical ornamentation largely intact from its first century — making it not only one of the oldest continuously operating adult venues in Canada but one of the most architecturally notable. The main hall runs a rotating programme of adult films continuously from open to close, projected on a single large screen across an orchestra-level seating area of approximately 375 active seats. The lobby is lined with vintage pornographic poster art from a personal archive spanning the venue's entire run, many available for purchase. On the upper balcony, a couples-only VIP lounge — installed to mark the cinema's 20th anniversary under its current name — spans three viewing levels with two private booths, comfortable sofas, and ambient lighting looking out over the main screen below. Beyond adult programming, the cinema has hosted POP Montreal performances, fashion shows, film festivals, and music video shoots, including Charlotte Cardin's Daddy, cementing its dual role as both an adult venue and a genuine Montreal cultural institution. The venue is open every day from 11am to 11pm, with no advance booking required. General admission is CAD $17.00 for visitors 18 and over, or CAD $16.00 for seniors 65 and over; the VIP couples balcony is an additional CAD $55 per couple. Weekly promotions give couples free entry on Mondays and Tuesdays all day and Thursdays after 6pm. Wednesdays bring two new film presentations alongside a standing Trans Night welcoming the transgender and LGBTQ+ community every week. Fridays are dedicated to voyeurs, exhibitionists, and swingers; Saturdays carry a general party-night billing. An in-venue and online shop sells branded merchandise, vintage posters, and DVDs.