Great to hear!

Any recent pictures of the interior?

I don't think anyway has been in for quite some time now. Not in the last year.

I take that back, I was in this afternoon. Water damage is much worse now. The North side of the auditorium has some severe water damage issues, from the ceiling along the wall. There is a hole in the roof at that point as well. The current owners are doing absolutely nothing to protect the building at all. It is deteriorating farther each day.

Someone report them to the building standards bylaw enforcers! These things are complaints-driven, and this works in Brantford, which has at least as backward an attitude toward built heritage as Hamilton does. (Looks like our city hall's going to acquisition and then demolish the longest stretch of pre-confederate buildings in Ontario.)

Emergency. That's not good. I don't understand this City? If McCabe truly cared about EcDev he'd have done something. Doesn't he understand that Hamilton's future economic viability will be beating the West GTA on quality-of-life, culture and amenities? Something we have but they don't. Unless we let it deteriorate like the Tiv.

Seriously, please put in a complaint! Law requires they investigate, force the owner to do the necessary protective repair, and if the owner doesn't take action, go ahead and do the work themselves and bill the property owner. I'd be willing to stand in as the person doing the complaint if you don't want to be associated, but I don't have the knowledge of the building or its condition to do the complaint myself:

I'm not at all against filing a complaint, however I have to keep in mind the fact that I had to trespass in the building in order to see the damage. This is something which I worry could blow up in my face if I were to go through with it. From the outside there is no visible damage.

And to go with that this.....

Bringing back the Tivoli
$15M restoration campaign

August 27, 2009
Nicole MacIntyre
The Hamilton Spectator
http://www.thespec.com/News/BreakingNews/article/625701

In a few weeks, the Canadian Ballet Youth Ensemble will launch a $15-million capital campaign to restore the historic theatre, which has sat empty since its partial collapse five years ago.

Belma Gurdil-Diamante, the group’s CEO, is waiting until the launch to reveal how much money has been committed to date, but says she’s confident the project will go ahead.

In the past few weeks, crews have been inside the James Street North theatre, removing mould and asbestos and installing a new electrical panel. The stabilization work, which cost $300,000, is to be funded one-quarter by the city.

Next week a parkette will be built in front of the theatre where part of the building was demolished after the initial collapse.

Once the park is complete, hoarding along the street will be removed to allow passersby to see the property.

Originally built as a carriage factory in the 1870s, the Tivoli was converted to a theatre in 1924.

The ballet company bought the theatre for $1 in 2006 from the Sniderman family of Sam the Record Man fame. Since then, engineers and architects have combed the building, judging its condition and making plans for the future.

As capital donations come in, the ballet company plans to start construction, hopefully in January. Pace Credit Union has agreed to match donations with financing.

In addition to restoring the heritage elements, the ballet company plans to build a new lobby and a backstage in the basement.

The pace of fundraising and the architect’s plan will decide the timeline, but Gurdil-Diamante hopes to be done in two years. Once complete, the theatre would be a multi-use performing venue used by a range of arts groups, she said.

“We want to make sure this place belongs to the community.”

thank you Jesus

About bloody time.

Ditto.

I used to love going there to watch movies. It was a wonderful old movie palace.

Not to be cynical though, I hope this is one announcement that comes to fruition, we all know about announcements in this city. They tend to be just that and nothing ever comes of the plans. Lets hope this is different.

I hope it goes well. The Tivoli has a nostalgic feeling about it. From a production point of view, its history as a former carriage house come movie house leaves it with limited facilities for mounting major theatrical productions. Perhaps the renovation can improve those limitations. Still, it should be a great facility for this ballet company.

It'll be a good performing art studio, ties in nicely with James St North Art District.

I wish the marquis would go back. not a stupid parkette, what is this? the suburbs?

I don't know a park, though I'd prefer it called a courtyard, would be nice. Obviously, the cost to rebuild the entrance to the building would be cost prohibitive, since they are already looking for $15M just for the theatre.

It's not the first time I've heard an outdoor foyer suggestion, and I think done properly would make the theatre all the more unique, and inviting.

Out of all the concepts this is likley the option to becoming a reality, new lobby and open space at the front.

http://www.raisethehammer.org/images...i_option_1.jpg

The parkette is a temporary project to rid the street of the hoardings and let people see the building closer. You're confusing this with knocking down a building and replacing it with a crappy parkette, ala LIUNA.

an outdoor foyer sounds cool but we always forget that our weather sucks 6 months of the year.

Understood that they won't have the $ for a grand foyer. But I'd like to see have some height. Soaring ceilings and glass curtain wall wouldn't cost that much more. Use the second floor inside the foyer as a balcony like Sheraton.
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_zJpnTu57Ko...hi-AI-020b.jpg
http://www.theluxuryspot.com/wp-cont...odern-wing.jpg
if you look at the new wing of the Art Institute of Chicago it's just cinderblock, glass curtain, metal roof with exo-steel frame, but impressive given the low cost design and materials.

http://www.raisethehammer.org/images...i_option_1.jpg
this something Calendonia would build.

Hamilton Community Heritage Fund Loan Program Application for 108 James Street North, Hamilton (Tivoli Theatre)

http://hamilton.ca/NR/rdonlyres/C669...01PED09298.pdf

The owner of the subject property located at 108 James Street North, Hamilton (see location map attached as Appendix “A”) has applied for a $50,000 loan under the program in order to retrofit the roof on the designated auditorium portion of the building, as approved under Heritage Permit Application HP2009-052. The total budget for the proposed work is $63,000, and the maximum loan of $50,000 is being recommended.