This theater should be identified as the Roxy Theatre. It is owned and operated by the Owen Sound Little Theatre. They have a web site: roxytheatre.ca. There are photos of the Opera House (c. 1914) and the Roxy (c. 1985), and some information about the history of the building.
The Classic Theatre has been demolished (along with the Patterson House/see street view). There are three photos showing the Classic at greybruceimagearchives.com
(under various catagories). I have three postcards showing the main street in Owen Sound. Two of the cards identify 2nd Avenue as Main Street. One postcard shows the Classic Theatre. The marquee reads: JOAN FONTAINE IN FROM THIS DAY FORWARD. Another card show the Savoy Theatre. It is undated, but the Savoy appears to be closed and the marquee reads: WELCOME VISITORS VISIT THE CLASSIC.
The Tivoli marquee is shown in all its glory…lots of lights…chaser lights and flashing lights. The Tivoli name is covered to read: “The Mitchell Brothers' O'Farrell Theater”. The marquee and the theater entrance are shown a number of times, throughout the movie. The interior of the second floor was used as the brothers' office. The arched windows can be seen, as well as the TIVOLI sign letters (in reverse, from behind, outside of the windows). The shots of the audience in the theater, watching the films, were not filmed in the Tivoli auditorium. There is a scene later in the movie (at 1:38:00) that was shot on the steps that descend from the exit doors of the Tivoli auditorium. (They can be seen on the street view.)
There is no credit given for the Tivoli or Hamilton as a shooting location. There is no mention in the commentary or on-screen in the credits. The end credits state: Filmed on location in Toronto, Ontario. I don’t know how much of the movie was actually filmed in Toronto. It’s a fairly good movie and a very interesting story. I haven’t seen “Behind the Green Door”, but I’ve seen the Tivoli. I saw “Ilsa, She-Wolf of the SS” at the Tivoli. Does that count?
If you would like to see the former Tivoli marquee “in action”, see the Showtime movie “Rated X”. The theater was used to represent the O'Farrell Theater in San Francisco (in the 1970’s). “Rated X” is the true story of the Mitchell brothers (Jim & Artie) who created a porn empire. It was Jim’s idea to make their own films and show them in their own theater. It stars Charlie Sheen and Emilio Estevez, and was directed by Estevez.
So here we are, over six years later. There is nothing we can do about past and people are going to have their opinions about the failure of former owners or tenants. What we have left is pretty fantastic, even in its current state. This is the last theater we have in this city, that is as old or beautifully designed. Unfortunately, there are many stages in town, and this could be a stumbling block against support for this type of building. Also, we don’t have a complete building. And if you restore it, you have to use it. It’s a delicate building and a delicate situation. Here’s hoping!
This remaining “lounge” portion shares the same address as the demolished building (110 James Street on this site, and I’ve seen 108 in the ads). The auditorium added in 1924 has a separate Hughson Street address.
When the James Street building had to be demolished, city council had to vote on demolition permits. Originally, the owner wanted to demolish the entire theater, but many wanted the auditorium saved. The city council meeting on this issue was agonizing and frustrating (I attended). If they voted for permits for demolition of the James Street address, this would have included the collapsed/damaged building and the “lounge” addition. There were council members voting on this issue, and they didn’t know the particulars of the situation at the Tivoli. Some members were very impassive, disinterested or bored. I observed some dozing or sleeping, doodling…frustrating, to say the least. And on a matter this important!
The “foyer lounge” remains, along with the 1924 auditorium. Behind the wood (as seen on the street view) is the arched opening to the lounge as seen in the “Box Office” photos. There is a concession stand on the right, and the stairs lead to the theater auditorium.
The ceiling you see in the photos was added during the remodelling (and this is what it looks like at present). This area was originally the added silent movie auditorium. Above this ceiling is the original ceiling of the silent movie theater. It was discovered by a former tenant investigating a leak in the roof. This is a great piece of surviving history.
Take a look at the “Box Office” article about the remodelling of the Tivoli in 1954. It will show you what was contained in the demolished building. The entrance is referred to as the outer “vestibule” and the inside as the “second lobby”. The photos of the remodelling show what the interior of the demolished portion looked like, and what the remaining portions look like at present. What I termed the “lobby”, is called the “foyer lounge” in the article. Terminology trouble…
I have a vintage postcard (post-marked 1925) showing the Royal Theatre. The Royal was right next to the Worcester Market. The Market building still exists (looks closed but amazing) and can be seen in the Google street view, at the corner of Main Street and Chandler Street. The Royal has a large vertical sign, nearly three storeys in height.
I have removed and corrected my former incorrect and erronious comment.
The remaining portions of the Tivoli Theatre can be seen on the Google street view. From James Street, the lobby building can be seen with the larger auditorium beyond that. The auditorium extends to Hughson Street. Take the view to Wilson Street, and you can see side of the Tivoli behind the strip mall. Continue on to Hughson Street and see rear of the auditorium.
The last time there was any mention of the Tivoli in the local newspaper was in October 2011. You can see this article at thespec.ca. Enter “Tivoli” in “search this site” and on page 2, and select the article titled “Lister revived as Tivoli withers”. It’s a “softball article” but hopefully it brought some attention to the project. They should have done a follow-up article, asking: “Why IS the Tivoli withering?” to find out what is going on there. Have you seen the YouTube video? Yikes!
Even 2006 seems like a long time ago. I know restoration projects can take a number of years, but there have been no reports of the progress of the project. The latest aspect of the campaign was to let local artists paint murals/pictures on the lower portion of the exterior walls. I guess this was to induce interest or support from the arts community. If you look at the Google street view, you can see the grey- painted, lower portions of the exterior walls. This paint was applied to cover grafitti that appeared periodically here, and on the upper portions of the walls. A “parkette” was created on the vacant portion, so the property has been open to the public (and grafitti “artists”/vandals). And as seen in the street view, the property has been overgrown with weeds a number of times. Sweet.
Chuck. I must have been really tired yesterday morning. I meant 2006 as the start of the restoration campaign. Sorry about that. The demolished building was the entrance (on James Street) to the theater, with a hall or walkway that led to the lobby area. This building also contained washrooms, a box office and the managers' office. The lobby can be seen in the 1947 archive photo. There was a refreshment stand and there were stairs that led to the auditorium.
The Tivoli lobby and auditorium are in good condition. The building that was demolished was built in the 1870’s. A small auditorium was added, and the demolished building served as an entrance to this silent movie theater. The large auditorium was built east- of/behind in 1924 and the theater was named the Tivoli. The former silent theater auditorium was converted to be the lobby. These two structures still exist.
The Tivoli is still beautiful, even in its present condition. The roof has leaked, causing some damage to the interior. The interior also suffered the usual “Famous Players” paint job (high-contrast and garish color scheme).
A restoration project has been on-going since 1996. This is a public building, using public/government money for the restoration. But there have been no announcements or updates about the progress of the project and no accounting of how much money has been raised through fund-raising.
At the time of the demolition, the facade and marquee of the Tivoli Theatre looked much like they do in the above photograph. The only differences being the removal of the “FAMOUS PLAYERS” name & leaf logo, the building being painted dark brown and the removal of the neon in the TIVOLI letters. The outside box office had also been removed years before. OH! (and another thing) the Tivoli lobby and auditorium are STILL THERE!
No-No-No-No-NO!! The Tivoli Theatre auditorium and lobby are still standing. The building that partially collapsed and was later demolished only housed the theater entrance. The comments of Chad Irish and ScreenClassic are incorrect. Status should read: RESTORING…
I have a postcard (late 1920’s/1930’s) showing the State Theatre. The building still exists, as well as the columned building next door. The three structures directly opposite it (on Main Street at East Exchange Street) are still standing.
I’ve read through the commments about the photos, etc. Do you realize you can take the Google Street View into the interior of the theatre? It is amazing! I have a postcard (c. 1940’s) of an aerial view of downtown Akron which shows the auditorium building, with LOEW’S painted on it.
I have a photo postcard showing the Bijou Dream. It is a night shot captioned: INDUSTRIAL EXPOSITION ROCHESTER ‘09 R.P.S.Co. The postmark is OCT 15 1909. It looks as though there is a “light show” celebration, with the neighboring buildings and streets trimmed with electric lights. The Bijou “ADMISSION 5c” sign is illuminated. The McFarlin business/building is next door and there is one more building at the corner of Main Street and Saint Paul Street.
The location of the Massena Theatre is wrong on the Google map. On the satellite map, it looks like the theater still exists. It is located on Main Street, between W/E Orvis Street and Andrews/Phillips Street.
More research/updates/corrections:
The Capitol Theatre building still exists. It has not been demolished, but has been converted. Who knows if any of the original interior still exists?
The Showplace Performance Centre is still active (in the former Odeon Theatre). The Vibe Nightclub is now called The Venue, and is currently operating (the former Paramount Theatre). There are web sites for both the Showplace and Venue.
As mentioned before, the Centre Theatre (on George Street) has been demolished.
A photograph of the Cinema Theatre can be seen on American Classic Images on page 56 (do a search for “Cinema”). The Cinema is shown after it closed and was for sale. The date given is September 1984. This is what the theater looked like from its l951 renovation to its closing.
The Cinema page needs to be combined with the Main page. This theater was not twinned and should be noted as 1 screen. The “Nearby Theaters” list is incorrect. The Hyland is downtown, nowhere close to the Cinema. The Main is the same theater. Closer theaters are Kenilworth, Windsor/Rex, Avalon/Avon, Center Mall, Queens, Delta.
The Cinema Theatre was not twinned. It was a single screen house until it closed. The book states l981 as the closing year, while the Main listing states l984.
My comment on the Main listing could be wrong. I stated that the theater was once named the Gregory. This was related in the “Glamorous Ghosts” article. There are a number of errors in this article, and the theater was either owned or operated by somebody named “Gregory”.
If you check out the above Google street view, you can see that the upper facade design of the building is the original, dating back to the 1925 Main opening. You can also compare this with the upper design of the Playhouse Theatre, now showing on this site!
This theater should be identified as the Roxy Theatre. It is owned and operated by the Owen Sound Little Theatre. They have a web site: roxytheatre.ca. There are photos of the Opera House (c. 1914) and the Roxy (c. 1985), and some information about the history of the building.
The Classic Theatre has been demolished (along with the Patterson House/see street view). There are three photos showing the Classic at greybruceimagearchives.com (under various catagories). I have three postcards showing the main street in Owen Sound. Two of the cards identify 2nd Avenue as Main Street. One postcard shows the Classic Theatre. The marquee reads: JOAN FONTAINE IN FROM THIS DAY FORWARD. Another card show the Savoy Theatre. It is undated, but the Savoy appears to be closed and the marquee reads: WELCOME VISITORS VISIT THE CLASSIC.
The Tivoli marquee is shown in all its glory…lots of lights…chaser lights and flashing lights. The Tivoli name is covered to read: “The Mitchell Brothers' O'Farrell Theater”. The marquee and the theater entrance are shown a number of times, throughout the movie. The interior of the second floor was used as the brothers' office. The arched windows can be seen, as well as the TIVOLI sign letters (in reverse, from behind, outside of the windows). The shots of the audience in the theater, watching the films, were not filmed in the Tivoli auditorium. There is a scene later in the movie (at 1:38:00) that was shot on the steps that descend from the exit doors of the Tivoli auditorium. (They can be seen on the street view.)
There is no credit given for the Tivoli or Hamilton as a shooting location. There is no mention in the commentary or on-screen in the credits. The end credits state: Filmed on location in Toronto, Ontario. I don’t know how much of the movie was actually filmed in Toronto. It’s a fairly good movie and a very interesting story. I haven’t seen “Behind the Green Door”, but I’ve seen the Tivoli. I saw “Ilsa, She-Wolf of the SS” at the Tivoli. Does that count?
If you would like to see the former Tivoli marquee “in action”, see the Showtime movie “Rated X”. The theater was used to represent the O'Farrell Theater in San Francisco (in the 1970’s). “Rated X” is the true story of the Mitchell brothers (Jim & Artie) who created a porn empire. It was Jim’s idea to make their own films and show them in their own theater. It stars Charlie Sheen and Emilio Estevez, and was directed by Estevez.
Just to clarify my Dec. 3/9:04 comment: The ceiling in the “lounge” was added during the 1924 remodelling, when the Tivoli auditorium was built.
So here we are, over six years later. There is nothing we can do about past and people are going to have their opinions about the failure of former owners or tenants. What we have left is pretty fantastic, even in its current state. This is the last theater we have in this city, that is as old or beautifully designed. Unfortunately, there are many stages in town, and this could be a stumbling block against support for this type of building. Also, we don’t have a complete building. And if you restore it, you have to use it. It’s a delicate building and a delicate situation. Here’s hoping!
This remaining “lounge” portion shares the same address as the demolished building (110 James Street on this site, and I’ve seen 108 in the ads). The auditorium added in 1924 has a separate Hughson Street address.
When the James Street building had to be demolished, city council had to vote on demolition permits. Originally, the owner wanted to demolish the entire theater, but many wanted the auditorium saved. The city council meeting on this issue was agonizing and frustrating (I attended). If they voted for permits for demolition of the James Street address, this would have included the collapsed/damaged building and the “lounge” addition. There were council members voting on this issue, and they didn’t know the particulars of the situation at the Tivoli. Some members were very impassive, disinterested or bored. I observed some dozing or sleeping, doodling…frustrating, to say the least. And on a matter this important!
The “foyer lounge” remains, along with the 1924 auditorium. Behind the wood (as seen on the street view) is the arched opening to the lounge as seen in the “Box Office” photos. There is a concession stand on the right, and the stairs lead to the theater auditorium. The ceiling you see in the photos was added during the remodelling (and this is what it looks like at present). This area was originally the added silent movie auditorium. Above this ceiling is the original ceiling of the silent movie theater. It was discovered by a former tenant investigating a leak in the roof. This is a great piece of surviving history.
Take a look at the “Box Office” article about the remodelling of the Tivoli in 1954. It will show you what was contained in the demolished building. The entrance is referred to as the outer “vestibule” and the inside as the “second lobby”. The photos of the remodelling show what the interior of the demolished portion looked like, and what the remaining portions look like at present. What I termed the “lobby”, is called the “foyer lounge” in the article. Terminology trouble…
I have a vintage postcard (post-marked 1925) showing the Royal Theatre. The Royal was right next to the Worcester Market. The Market building still exists (looks closed but amazing) and can be seen in the Google street view, at the corner of Main Street and Chandler Street. The Royal has a large vertical sign, nearly three storeys in height.
I have removed and corrected my former incorrect and erronious comment. The remaining portions of the Tivoli Theatre can be seen on the Google street view. From James Street, the lobby building can be seen with the larger auditorium beyond that. The auditorium extends to Hughson Street. Take the view to Wilson Street, and you can see side of the Tivoli behind the strip mall. Continue on to Hughson Street and see rear of the auditorium.
The last time there was any mention of the Tivoli in the local newspaper was in October 2011. You can see this article at thespec.ca. Enter “Tivoli” in “search this site” and on page 2, and select the article titled “Lister revived as Tivoli withers”. It’s a “softball article” but hopefully it brought some attention to the project. They should have done a follow-up article, asking: “Why IS the Tivoli withering?” to find out what is going on there. Have you seen the YouTube video? Yikes!
Even 2006 seems like a long time ago. I know restoration projects can take a number of years, but there have been no reports of the progress of the project. The latest aspect of the campaign was to let local artists paint murals/pictures on the lower portion of the exterior walls. I guess this was to induce interest or support from the arts community. If you look at the Google street view, you can see the grey- painted, lower portions of the exterior walls. This paint was applied to cover grafitti that appeared periodically here, and on the upper portions of the walls. A “parkette” was created on the vacant portion, so the property has been open to the public (and grafitti “artists”/vandals). And as seen in the street view, the property has been overgrown with weeds a number of times. Sweet.
Chuck. I must have been really tired yesterday morning. I meant 2006 as the start of the restoration campaign. Sorry about that. The demolished building was the entrance (on James Street) to the theater, with a hall or walkway that led to the lobby area. This building also contained washrooms, a box office and the managers' office. The lobby can be seen in the 1947 archive photo. There was a refreshment stand and there were stairs that led to the auditorium.
The Tivoli lobby and auditorium are in good condition. The building that was demolished was built in the 1870’s. A small auditorium was added, and the demolished building served as an entrance to this silent movie theater. The large auditorium was built east- of/behind in 1924 and the theater was named the Tivoli. The former silent theater auditorium was converted to be the lobby. These two structures still exist. The Tivoli is still beautiful, even in its present condition. The roof has leaked, causing some damage to the interior. The interior also suffered the usual “Famous Players” paint job (high-contrast and garish color scheme).
A restoration project has been on-going since 1996. This is a public building, using public/government money for the restoration. But there have been no announcements or updates about the progress of the project and no accounting of how much money has been raised through fund-raising.
Thanks, SC. That’s the sign I remembered. I don’t know if I took photos when I was in London. And it was probably more than 10 years ago…
At the time of the demolition, the facade and marquee of the Tivoli Theatre looked much like they do in the above photograph. The only differences being the removal of the “FAMOUS PLAYERS” name & leaf logo, the building being painted dark brown and the removal of the neon in the TIVOLI letters. The outside box office had also been removed years before. OH! (and another thing) the Tivoli lobby and auditorium are STILL THERE!
No-No-No-No-NO!! The Tivoli Theatre auditorium and lobby are still standing. The building that partially collapsed and was later demolished only housed the theater entrance. The comments of Chad Irish and ScreenClassic are incorrect. Status should read: RESTORING…
I have a postcard (late 1920’s/1930’s) showing the State Theatre. The building still exists, as well as the columned building next door. The three structures directly opposite it (on Main Street at East Exchange Street) are still standing.
I’ve read through the commments about the photos, etc. Do you realize you can take the Google Street View into the interior of the theatre? It is amazing! I have a postcard (c. 1940’s) of an aerial view of downtown Akron which shows the auditorium building, with LOEW’S painted on it.
I have a photo postcard showing the Bijou Dream. It is a night shot captioned: INDUSTRIAL EXPOSITION ROCHESTER ‘09 R.P.S.Co. The postmark is OCT 15 1909. It looks as though there is a “light show” celebration, with the neighboring buildings and streets trimmed with electric lights. The Bijou “ADMISSION 5c” sign is illuminated. The McFarlin business/building is next door and there is one more building at the corner of Main Street and Saint Paul Street.
The location of the Massena Theatre is wrong on the Google map. On the satellite map, it looks like the theater still exists. It is located on Main Street, between W/E Orvis Street and Andrews/Phillips Street.
More research/updates/corrections: The Capitol Theatre building still exists. It has not been demolished, but has been converted. Who knows if any of the original interior still exists? The Showplace Performance Centre is still active (in the former Odeon Theatre). The Vibe Nightclub is now called The Venue, and is currently operating (the former Paramount Theatre). There are web sites for both the Showplace and Venue. As mentioned before, the Centre Theatre (on George Street) has been demolished.
A photograph of the Cinema Theatre can be seen on American Classic Images on page 56 (do a search for “Cinema”). The Cinema is shown after it closed and was for sale. The date given is September 1984. This is what the theater looked like from its l951 renovation to its closing. The Cinema page needs to be combined with the Main page. This theater was not twinned and should be noted as 1 screen. The “Nearby Theaters” list is incorrect. The Hyland is downtown, nowhere close to the Cinema. The Main is the same theater. Closer theaters are Kenilworth, Windsor/Rex, Avalon/Avon, Center Mall, Queens, Delta.
The Cinema Theatre was not twinned. It was a single screen house until it closed. The book states l981 as the closing year, while the Main listing states l984. My comment on the Main listing could be wrong. I stated that the theater was once named the Gregory. This was related in the “Glamorous Ghosts” article. There are a number of errors in this article, and the theater was either owned or operated by somebody named “Gregory”.
If you check out the above Google street view, you can see that the upper facade design of the building is the original, dating back to the 1925 Main opening. You can also compare this with the upper design of the Playhouse Theatre, now showing on this site!