Tivoli Theatre

The Tivoli Theatre building dates back to 1875 when it began as a carriage factory. The carriage factory closed six years later and the building remained abandoned for the next 26 years.

In 1908 the factory was converted to a theatre with 200 seats and named the Wonderland, followed by the Colonial (1910 to 1912) and the Princess (1913-1923). The theatre showed live vaudeville acts and movies. It was the first cinema in Hamilton to feature soundtracks.
In 1924 a man named Andrew Ross took over and converted the store theatre into an auditorium which was named The Tivoli. It opened on September 29th, 1924. In 1950 the theatre began showing movies full time and was operated by Famous Players Corporation. The building was remodeled in 1943, 1947 and 1954.

September 28th, 1989 was the last day the building was used as a movie theatre.

The theatre was last used between 1998 and 2004, rented out by the current owners, the Snidermans (Sam the Record Man), to a local theatre company called the Tivoli Renaissance Project.

The former lobby was damaged on June 29th, 2004 and subsequently demolished. The City of Hamilton took over the property, secured it and removed the third floor, front wall, cupola and the marquee sign. The following year the Sniderman family applied for a demolition permit to demolition the 750-seat structure.

The property was then sold to the CEO of the Canadian Ballet Youth Ensemble for $2. The dance company was unable to keep up with the repairs on the aging structure and it was then sold to the CEO's husband, head of Diamante Investments.

Diamante Investments plans to build a new lobby that will lead to a restored auditorium. In addition a 22-storey condo tower will be built on the site. The tower would supply the revenue required to restore the theatre. The plaster work and mouldings would be preserved and restored as part of the heritage process. Diamante Investments would then donate the completed theatre back to the Ballet Ensemble in a partnership plan that would have to be arranged. The City of Hamilton approved the developer's proposal to build the condo tower and restore the theatre

In 2015 their proposal was approved with the condition that the theatre open before the condos.

Hydro works if you can find the switches. Difficult POE. 

Links courtesy of Digitisation.

MAY 2021 - No hydro anymore. All the breakers and copper removed. Spotlights all haphazardly tossed into a room meat the stage. Dirty used needles ALL OVER the front area. BAD air quality. Asbestos present. Give it time and mold will come in. I (ishoothings) feel this will not be restored. There are soo many holes from the inside out, that just about anything can get in here. I hope I am wrong, but it just seems too far gone even though it is an absolute gem of a place.

UPDATE SEPT.2025 - Demolition began September 25 2025 and was quickly halted due to not having proper demolition permits. The permits were eventually obtained so demo is imminent. News report stated the two statues and other significant features would be salvaged and saved.