The Tivoli Theatre (Brisbane) operated between 1914 until its closure in 1965 and demolition in 1969. It was situated opposite the

Brisbane City Hall Brisbane City Hall, in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, is the seat of the Brisbane City Council. It is located adjacent to King George Square, where the rectangular City Hall has its main entrance. The City Hall also has frontages and entranc ...

, in the site of the present

King George Square King George Square is a public square located between Adelaide Street and Ann Street (and between two sections of Albert Street) in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. Brisbane City Hall is adjacent to the square. On 1 January 2004, King ...

. This theatre is not related to The Tivoli in

Fortitude Valley Fortitude Valley (often called "The Valley" by local residents) is an inner suburb of the City of Brisbane, the state capital of Queensland, Australia. In the , Fortitude Valley had a population of 9,708 people. The suburb features two pedestri ...

Construction

The Tivoli Theatre's construction began in

Albert Street, Brisbane Albert Street is a street in the Brisbane CBD, Queensland, Australia. It was named after Prince Albert, the Prince Consort of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom. Albert Street railway station is being built directly beneath the street and is ...

in 1914, on the site of the former Turkish baths. It was designed by architect Henry E. White in an ''

art nouveau Art Nouveau (; ) is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. The style is known by different names in different languages: in German, in Italian, in Catalan, and also known as the Modern ...

'' style and could house 1800 people on three levels. It was chilled by an air plant that could pump ice-cold air through the venue. It had ruby red carpets. It also featured a garden rooftop theatre holding 1200 with open sides for ventilation and steel shutters which could keep out rain. Its facade overlooking Albert Square had Oriental influences. It opened on 15 May 1915 and featured a production of the ''

Tivoli Follies The Tivoli Follies was a series of vaudeville revue programs in Australia staged between 1914 and 1917 by the J. C. Williamson's organization through their "Tivoli" chain of theatres in Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide. The name has since been revive ...

'' in the auditorium and a vaudeville production in the rooftop theatre. These were staged by

Hugh D. McIntosh Hugh Donald "Huge Deal" McIntosh (10 September 1876 – 2 February 1942) was an Australian theatrical entrepreneur, sporting promoter and newspaper proprietor Early life McIntosh was born on 16 September 1876, to Hugh Fraser McIntosh, a Scottis ...

, showman and promoter who was influential in the Rickard Tivoli circuit of Australia. It had a rival in vaudeville theatre the Empire Theatre also located in Albert Street which drew bigger crowds. Smoking was permitted in the rooftop theatre. During Brisbane's hot summer months, the rooftop garden was meant to be more desirable. As the building had two entrances, it was possible for two production companies to co-exist on site with separate audiences as well. Films were later shown in both venues after the advent of talking films.

Later renovations

Union Theatres Ltd. renovated the Tivoli Theatre in 1927 using Sydney architects, Kaberry and Chard. This was to provide for more seating as the venue changed from a live theatre venue to that more suited to a film going audience. Two galleries were removed to make way for a single dress circle. With the onset of the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

in the 1930s it was critical that the theatre could accommodate enough people to recover costs from cinema audiences as live theatre attendance dropped. More renovations to the foyer and the auditorium took place in 1935.

Demise of the Theatre

The Tivoli was purchased by the

Brisbane City Council Brisbane City Council (BCC) is the democratic executive local government authority for the City of Brisbane, the capital city of the state of Queensland, Australia. The largest City Council in Australia by population and area, BCC's jurisd ...

in 1963 and closed in 1965. The intended King George Square development led to a number of buildings being demolished, including

Centennial Hall Centennial Hall (german: Jahrhunderthalle) may refer to: in Canada * Centennial Hall (London, Ontario), London, Ontario, Canada * Centennial Concert Hall, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada * Saskatoon Centennial Auditorium, former name of TCU Place in ...

and the Hibernian Building. Programs from the theatre are held in the Fryer Library of the

University of Queensland , mottoeng = By means of knowledge and hard work , established = , endowment = A$224.3 million , budget = A$2.1 billion , type = Public research university , chancellor = Peter Varghese , vice_chancellor = Deborah Terry , city = B ...

References

External links

{{coord, -27.468462, 153.023961, display=title 1914 establishments in Australia Theatres completed in 1914 1965 disestablishments in Australia Buildings and structures demolished in 1969 Former theatres in Queensland Theatres in Brisbane Demolished buildings and structures in Brisbane