Tivoli Theatre
201 W. Main Street,
Ardmore,
OK
73401
201 W. Main Street,
Ardmore,
OK
73401
1 person
favorited this theater
Additional Info
Architects: Leonard Henry Bailey
Functions: Concerts, Live Performances
Styles: Streamline Moderne
Previous Names: Palace Theatre
Phone Numbers:
Box Office:
580.439.4067
Nearby Theaters
Originally opened as the Palace Theatre November 15, 1915. It was renamed Tivoli Theatre June 14, 1935. The Tivoli Theatre is a former movie house that has been restored for live entertainment including comedians, musicians and live entertainment.
The front facade has been painted a leaf green with a large vertical down the middle with “Tivoli” in blocks on each side and rows of flashing bulbs on the back side. The V shaped marquee is used to announce upcoming shows.
Contributed by
Chuck Van Bibber
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Recent comments (view all 18 comments)
This is what the Tivoli Theatre looks like today. Former Temple Theatre can be seen in distance.
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Ardmore trivia;
Actress Rue McClanahan grew up here, and Gene Autry’s “Worlds Wonder Horse” Champion (A dark sorrel with four white stockings and a medium-wide blaze) is buried beneath the sidewalk in front of the Tivoli Theatre in Ardmore.
… and, Champion’s hoof prints are enshrined in cement inside the forecourt of Hollywood’s Mann’s Chinese Theatre.
A Nice looking theatre, stopped by the other day. Such am amazing downtown area. Must have been amazing in it’s day.
The Tivoli Theatre was designed by architect Leonard H. Bailey. It was (as the Princess Theatre) on a list of theaters he had designed that was published in the October 25, 1930, issue of Exhibitors Herald-World.
This opened on June 14th, 1935. Grand opening ad in photo section.
The July 15, 1916, issue of The Moving Picture World had this item that must have been about the Princess/Tivoli Theatre:
So far I haven’t found any mention of the opening date of the Princess in any of the trade publications, but it must have opened in the autumn of 1916.Excellent finds, Lost Memory. Now that I’ve seen Leonard Bailey’s drawing, I can’t say that the plain facade of the Tivoli is an improvement on his design for the Princess.
I notice that the opening day ad mentions the Theatorium but not the Majestic Theatre. I wonder if Helback & Cox closed the Majestic upon (or even before) opening the Princess? I haven’t seen any ads for the Majestic after 1916.
Rusty is correct, and as the Palace and the Princess were both being listed in The Daily Ardmoreite from 1917 through at least 1922, it is clear they were two different theaters. Whether the house that became the Tivoli ever used the name Princess at all I haven’t discovered, but it seems increasingly unlikely.
Neither have I been able to find an address for the Princess Theatre that opened in 1917. It’s possible that the Princess was at the address we have listed for the Palace (109 W.Main Street), seeing how the two houses have been conflated in other ways, but not certain by any means. An earlier Princess Theatre, probably a storefront nickelodeon, was in operation at Ardmore by late 1909. I don’t know its address, either.
Celebrated a transformation by Griffith Amusements to widescreen and presentation of CinemaScope films on October 23, 1954