A 29-foot-tall sign calls your name as you wander down the sidewalks of the Delmar Loop. You can almost smell the popcorn as you approach the old fashion box office embroidered with Hollywood-esque lights. As you head inside an employee offers a snack or a ‘soda pop.’ Walking through the corridors you step back in time through the hand-collected and hand assembled collages of movie posters until finally you reach one of the gorgeous theatres adorned with a huge red velvet curtain which rises as your movie begins…this ideal movie atmosphere comes to life at the Tivoli.
“The architecture is just gorgeous and the interior is elegant, but not garish. I love the Fox Theatre but it’s so over the top. This is more understated and classy. It’s just such a great atmosphere in which to see a movie. It sets the tone for a great movie experience,” Tivoli owner Joe Edwards said.
The Tivoli theatre first opened in 1924 and was another victim of the Great Depression. The building itself was in rough shape. Chunks of concrete from the building fell to the sidewalk and huge holes in the ceiling allowed pigeons to fly in at leisure. In 1994, the Tivoli was forced to shut down.
“I picked up the Post-Dispatch and on the front page there was a photograph of the Tivoli theatre box office window with a hand written sign [reading] ‘Closed forever,’ and that just pierced my heart. I thought if this building gets torn down it would be devastating for the progress of the Loop,” Edwards said.
Edwards, who owns a lot of the property in the Loop including Blueberry Hill, decided to take the risk of renovating the theatre knowing Blueberry Hill could not survive without it. After a complete renovation, the Tivoli was restored to its former glory still boasting its old-fashion style.
“Some things you never would start if you knew how difficult it was going to be, but luckily naivety does have its pluses,” Edwards said.
A parade with jugglers, stilt walkers, and fire twirlers welcomed the Tivoli back to the Loop, where it would soon become one of the Loop’s top spots.
“[The Tivoli’s restoration] was the first time people in the metro area really believed the Loop was back,” Edwards said. “It was really a signal of yes, come on down to the Loop, it’s safe, it’s fun, and now you can see movies.”
The one-of-a-kind Tivoli contributes to the overall atmosphere of the Loop. Edwards describes “Loopish” as whimsical, fun, unique, and complete with “diversity on every level.”
“I couldn’t say it any better than President Clinton did when he was here during an election year. He praised the diversity of U-City which is embodied in the Loop which is what makes the Loop great,” Tivoli employee John Thompson said. “Somehow we all have to get along together and it seems like for the most part that is happening in the Loop.”
For teenagers especially the Loop offers the perfect place to feel at home. The non-judgmental attitudes of the diverse culture allow teenagers to enjoy the neighborhood along with everyone else.
“It’s an open-minded, tolerant community…I think that gives comfort to teenagers who feel marginalized in their own community or their own school due to cliques or whatever it might be,” Edwards said. “They can come here and see people with blue spiked hair or pink spiked hair, people in suits or dresses, people with tattoos or people without tattoos–there’s just a little of everything.”
