Tivoli Theatre

744 W. Flagler Street,
Miami, FL 33130

Unfavorite 1 person favorited this theater

Additional Info

Previously operated by: Paramount Pictures Inc.

Architects: T.C. Haire

Styles: Italian Renaissance

Nearby Theaters

Tivoli Theatre

The 1,200-seat Tivoli Theatre on W. Flagler Street between 7th Avenue and 8th Avenue was opened on January 18, 1927 with Clara Bow in “The Plastic Age” & Ben Turpin in “When a Man’s a Prince”, plus vaudeville on the stage. It was equipped with a Wurlitzer 2 manual 5 ranks organ which was opened by organist J. “Unit” Smith. By 1941 it was operated by Paramount Pictures Inc. through their subsidiary S.A. Lynch. It became a primary Spanish language house for the Cuban immigrant and exile community during the 1950’s, 1960’s and 1970’s. The interior was decorated in a Venetian style and the canopy had an impressive blinking neon design and the concession stand served both the inside and the line waiting outside at once.

The house ran double feature first runs mainly from Spain, Mexico and Argentina. Stage shows were common with child stars Marisol, Joselito and Rocio Durcal appearing live between movies.

Our family went every Sunday without knowing what was showing. Cantinflas films played for weeks so we often saw the same film again.

Contributed by Al Alvarez

Recent comments (view all 21 comments)

Harvey
Harvey on April 11, 2009 at 8:57 am

1987 photo of the Tivoli here.

Al Alvarez
Al Alvarez on April 11, 2009 at 11:22 am

Wow! You’ve hit a gold mine of rare Miami theatres images, Harvey!

Harvey
Harvey on April 11, 2009 at 5:02 pm

I did! I followed a few links posted at the Paris and 79th Street Art by ken mc, so credit needs to be given where credit is due. Thanks ken mc!

Al Alvarez
Al Alvarez on July 5, 2009 at 10:33 am

According to an April 6, 1940 issue of Boxoffice magazine, the Tivoli was involved in the Paramount Consent Decrees whereby the management claimed that Paramount refused to allow the Tivoli a sub-run on their product until five months after first-run and after lower priced Paramount Theatres had already played out the films in the area. The Tivoli was forced to give Paramount a half interest in its profits in exchange for reduction in the clearance time.

rivest266
rivest266 on October 16, 2011 at 3:32 pm

This opened as a playhouse on January 31st, 1927. Ad being posted here.

guarina
guarina on May 15, 2012 at 11:38 pm

AlAlvarez, I don’t remember exactly when it started, but by l963 the Tivoli was already showing Sarita Montiel’s movies “La Violetera”, “Pecado de Amor”, “Frente al Pecado de Ayer”, “La Reina del Chantecler”, Spanish movies with Joselito and Libertad Lamarque, Argentinean movies with “Sandro”. I saw “El Bulín”, a very good Argentinean comedy. It later became a supermarket.

Al Alvarez
Al Alvarez on May 16, 2012 at 12:06 am

I imagine the Tivoli turned to spanish films in the early 1960’s, after the Cuban revolution. Before that the neighborhood was mostly Jewish retirees watching subrun double features.

guarina
guarina on May 16, 2012 at 7:01 pm

Quite a few theaters starting with T in Miami, Town, Tivoli, Tower, Trail, Trianón, Twin, Triple.

rivest266
rivest266 on January 25, 2020 at 1:44 pm

This opened on January 18th, 1927 (not the 31st as I posted back in 2011). Grand opening ad posted.

Tivoli theatre openingTivoli theatre opening Tue, Jan 18, 1927 – 19 · The Miami Herald (Miami, Florida) · Newspapers.com

dallasmovietheaters
dallasmovietheaters on September 11, 2022 at 8:07 am

Robert E. Collins 1945 redesign sketch - in a $75,000 update to a streamline modern venue - is posted in photos.

You must login before making a comment.

New Comment

Subscribe Want to be emailed when a new comment is posted about this theater?
Just login to your account and subscribe to this theater.