Tivoli Theatre
5021 Highland Avenue,
Downers Grove,
IL
60515
5021 Highland Avenue,
Downers Grove,
IL
60515
32 people
favorited this theater
Showing 1 - 25 of 69 comments found
Here’s the link to the Geico commercial featuring the exterior of the Tivoli. I hope this works. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TjrXRXFCIwo
Here’s a link to an auditorium view: flickr
The exterior of this theater shows up in the new Geico commercial about the gecko ventroliquist. Not sure if the auditorium shots are from the theater, but there are a few organ chords thrown in at the end.
I took my wife to see “The Artist” at the Tivoli on Valentine’s day. It was pretty cool to see this silent film, set in the 20’s and 30’s, in a theatre from 1928. Especially cool because the Tivoli was built to house talkie movies but openned with one of the last great silent films “Fazil”
Here is an early view of the Tivoli with its original marquee and a parapet at the roofline that was later removed.
Back in 1965, my parents and I traveled from Southern California to Illinois so they could visit friends and family in their old stomping grounds. Lucky for me, the Dave Clark 5 were out promoting their latest film and stopped by the Tivoli. They simply walked on stage, waved, and left. So, yes, Mary, I was there, too. After their appearance, I ran outside, under the arms of the police officers surrounding their tour bus, and got right up next to the bus. I just stood there with my mouth hanging open, too shy to try anything else.
Mary, if you see this, I have some great photos I took of the DC5 that day.
Was there any relationship between Van Gunten and Van Gunten and Eugene De Rosa? To me the Tivoli looks similar to this place:
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From 1949 a photo postcard of the Tivoli Theatre & Hotel in Downers Grove.
Here is a photo taken at the Tivoli with the lights out, showing the proscenium arch and the organist playing the Mighty Wurlitzer.
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I grew up in Downers Grove and went to the “Tiv” on a regular basis as a kid. I remember that in 1965 the Dave Clark 5 appeared at the Tivoli Theater because their movie was premiering one evening and they showed up on a bus. Does anyone else remember this? It did deteriorate over the years, but it has been renovated (not necessarily restored)to the previous grandeur. Glad to see D.G.’s old Grand Dame is surviving and thriving!
Very nice.
I wish there were more theatres like the Tivoli in the Bay State, and in New England, generally.
I remember the bowling alley around the corner had the best hot dogs.
This is a recent photo.
Here are two more photos of the Tivoli:
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Here are some 1982 photos:
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This is another shot of the Tivoli at night.
For any of you that didn’t know, the Tivoli has seen some recent upgrades. During 2008 a digital projection system was installed, and within a few months of that it was upgraded to give digital 3D presentations.
This looks like a wonderful theatre, both inside and out.
A 2009 photo can be seen here.
New url for the Russell Phillips 1984 photo. Contrast with these current views posted by John Allen of High Performance Stereo. (HPS did the sound system). The after photos are a great tribute to the Johnson’s.
AIA lists it as one of the 150 great places of Illinois. They also have the design firm listed as Van Gunten & Van Gunten and claim it was the second theater anywhere purpose designed for sound films. Does anyone know the exhibitors history? The stagehand site claims it was a B & K until 1948.
It’s a great space. Without a riser or balcony there’s no way to reference the scale. The screen fills the entire area under the proscenium but you don’t get a sense of its size until you’ve walked two-thirds of the way down to the stage. Most exterior shots only show the entrance and marquee and not the business end. Gotta love that flyhouse.
This is indeed a nice pic!
Here is a nice recent photo of the Tivoli.