Tivoli Theatre
5021 Highland Avenue,
Downers Grove,
IL
60515
5021 Highland Avenue,
Downers Grove,
IL
60515
35 people
favorited this theater
Showing 51 - 66 of 66 comments
The Tivoli is one of my most favorite places! I grew up in Downers Grove, and it was a privilage to be able to see movies here. Not to mention the best popcorn EVER!
Every time I go home, I try to catch a movie at the Tivoli, cuz there is nothing else like it. I live out in Sacramento now, and there are no theatres like the Tivoli out here.
I hope that it is alive and thriving 100 years from now!
What a joy it is to attend a movie here! I attended a special showing of “On the Waterfront” here during the Christmas 2005 season (apparantly CC does a classic film series during the Christmas Holidays). There was an organ recital before the show. I only regret that I was not able to linger after the movie to check out the theatre. I had to leave during the closing credits in order to catch a METRA train back to the city.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. Classic Cinemas is a class act. I’ll gladly invest the time and train/bus fare from the City of Chicago to attend one of their cinemas.
The Tivoli is a special theater, giant one screen with amazing art and architecture. I saw only one film there, but it truly is a treasure. In the Chicago suburbs there are many theaters which look like the Tivoli from the outsite, but have long since been sliced and diced into shoebox sized auditoriums, the Tivoli has retained is spectacular interior in tact.
Do yourself a favor, if you are interested in classic theaters, go see something at the Tivoli.
Nice history & photos:
http://www.organman.com/tivoli.sht
Not to worry! I know the owner well; and, when I told him of these postings he wanted to reply immediately. There are no plans to tear down the Tivoli or convert it to condos. The Tivoli was the first theater aquired by the Johnson’s and holds a special place in their hearts (as it does for many of us). In 2003 they invested a lot of money getting the Tivoli ready for its 75th anniversary celebration. Fresh paint, new carpet, new seats, and new restroom facilities. I dare say, the Tivoli is nicer than any time in its history. While there are now only 1012 seats (plus wheel chair locations) they are much nicer then the 1044 from the 50’s.
Wow!! That is a beauty!! What a shame it would be to tear something so beautiful down for more condos!!Please say it isn’t so!!
I dont know how true it is ,but someone mentioned to me today that they are thinking of tearing down the tivoli and the bowling alley next to it ,so they can put up condos like those across the street!If any one has info on this ,please post ,thanks!
The updated link to Bryan’s Apr 23, 2004 postcard is View link
I have been attending movies presented by The After Hours Film Society at the Tivoli lately and have really enjoyed taking in some films that other theatres do not show.
This theater is a movie treasure on many levels. According to the Chicago Tribune a few years back, the Tivoli has the second largest screen in the Chicago metro area (a historic movie palace in Chicago being first) so for that over-whelming huge visual experience this is the place in suburban Chicago. Plus, 70mm projection for high quality, Dolby Digital sound, and restored art-deco architecture – they have it all. It’s so wide they have five aisles with plush seats including cupholders on a modestly sloped floor.
FYI – see this theater for yourself, at least once. I regularly drive the 30 minutes from Batavia to enjoy it, especially for big budget special effects flicks. Ticket prices half or less of the mall theaters, fair snackbar prices with cheap popcorn & soda refills, a wonderful old theater.
I saw the inside of the Tivoli about 20 years ago and was very impressed. It certainly exudes spaciousness and palatialness well beyond a 1000+ seat theatre. If you live in Chicago, it’s definitely worth the short drive to Downers Grove to see this gem.
The Tivoli was the only second-run theater (in the Chicago area) to be equipped with 70mm projection.
What ever happend to the tivoli south?? also in downers grove.
I became interested in the name TIVOLI when I worked at a Milwaukee area hotel which had a restaurant with this name; they had no idea where the name came from, so I did some research, especially since it had also become the name of a number of theatres. It was popularized in the 19th century by the famous Tivoli amusement park and gardens in Copenhagen, Denmark founded in 1843 in imitation of the famous gardens and palaces of the Italian ruling princes of the 16th century, the Estes, who built the famed Villa d'Este palace in the region of Tivoli, a popular tourist attraction to this day. Thus, the pleasure-assuring name was thought auspicious by the developers of theatres, theatres being the pleasure palaces of the masses of their day.
This is akin to the common theatre name: RIALTO, for the famous enclosed Rialto bridge of 1591 in Venice, Italy over the Grand Canal, which to this day contains many amusing boutiques and is at the heart of an entertainment district. The distinctive architecture of the Rialto bridge also inspired many latter day architects, and perhaps found its forms reproduced in some movie palaces. A monograph on the origin of theatre names was presented at the 1981 Conclave of the Theatre Historical Society of America then meeting at the PABST theater in Milwaukee, but the origins of the above names and others were not known by the author of that paper. Perhaps this will add a little bit to that quest.
I’m an intern at the Weinberg Center for the Arts in Frederick MD, and I found this interesting because we opened as the Tivoli Movie Palace in 1926, closed in 1976 then reopened as the Weinberg Center in 1978. Interesting coincidence.
The Tivoli theatre in Downers Grove has 1,044 seats.