Café Bloc

Downtown’s first climbing center set up in a former Red Light movie theater.

Filled with ambition, two young Montreal climbers started looking downtown for a building big enough to accommodate their bouldering passion. They eventually settled on an abandoned Red Light movie theater and transformed it into a climbing center. Beyond the sporting activity, they sought to create a place where the growing community of urban climbers could meet. 

Driven by this inclusive vision, the architects created a friendly place where the coffee lover can mingle with the expert climber. To take advantage of natural light, large windows were added on Saint-Laurent Boulevard and on the mezzanine. The long black façade features the café and the block wall on either side of the main entrance, which is overhung by a large false façade clad with perforated aluminum that overshadows the old Casino cinema. 

Inside, the bouldering walls on either side of the space converge on a large podium offering spectacular views of the climbers and leading to the mezzanine with its dressing rooms and rest area. A large part of the furniture is built from demolition scraps. With its large walls painted by muralist Danae Brissonnet, Café Bloc offers 4000 square feet of climbing walls and a vibrant atmosphere! Welcome to the Red Light district of the 2020s!