Is that theatre south of Wilson called the Red Mill or something like that? I can't exactly remember the name.

As a kid we frequented the Tivoli, the Odeon, the Century and the cinemas on Ottawa N. As a young adult I often went to the Broadway - I recall there being a decent little cafe next door.

The Delta is new to me. Is the building still there or is it that property with the McDonald's?

Very cool stuff.

I watched many films in those theatres as well. Seems like a lifetime ago.

I also remember Jackson Square had a couple of theatres (I have no idea if JS has any today - I haven't set foot inside there in maybe 20 years). You accessed them via the roof. I remember seeing Amityville Horror (scared the crap out of me as a kid) and Meteor there. Other movies as well but I can't recall what they were.

I need a time machine. I wish I could have seen all of these theatres when they were at their best. I was born in '93 so the only theatres I've ever gone to frequently are SilverCity Burlington & Ancaster, and the newer Hamilton Mountain SilverCity...they can't compare to these old ones.

The dinner theatre was called the Red Hill.

The old Delta is the building just East of the McDonalds. It's apartments now.

The State theatre was later renamed the Hyland, the building is still there at King and Walnut. The Community theatre became the Playhouse and that building is still standing as well on Sherman N near Barton. The Empire theatre building is still standing on Barton near Wentworth as well. I think it is or was a Banquet Centre.

The Red Mill theatre is now owned by the Harvest Moon Chinese restaurant below and is occasionally rented out as a dance hall. It is still incredible inside.

I love the idea of all these smaller single screen theatres being scattered around. The consolidation of theatres these days is pretty awful for anyone who uses the HSR. If it's not at jackson square or Westdale, you're shit out of luck.

^I'd love to see the inside. Perhaps I could order a couple egg rolls and when their backs are turned, sneak in...

I feel fortunate to be just old enough to remember a lot of those cinemas, dying and rotting though they may have been. I only wish I could have seen the Grand, the Capitol and the Palace in all their glory.

I remember sitting in the balcony at the Century, lining up at the Avon to watch Star Wars (the line went round the corner as I recall) and later at the Tivoli to see the Empire Strikes Back.

It's funny to think about this now but pre-Beta/VHS/Laserdisc successful films ran in cinemas for months and in the case of Star Wars, literally for years almost continously but I digress...

I consider myself richer for the experience and the baby Jesus knows, we'll never see those days again. Silver City my a**!

The Red Mill apparently opened in 1907 and featured silent movies, vaudeville acts and a penny arcade, and went dark around 1978 before being revived 20 years later by Peller Estates' Jeff Peller and future Pearl Company man Gary Santucci. Its time-capsule decor packed a punch -- huge silk lanterns and giant golden lions guarding the stage (Sonic Unyon used the space memorably for a fifth anniversary concert in October of that year). When the ownership changed in the early 2000s (from Fortune Village to Harvest Moon), the Chinese imperial decor was stripped out for something inoffensive and contemporary, vaguely nightclubby. Still a neat space but it was a corker before.

Transit runs past all local cinemas save the Starlite. Like any bus service, it just takes time (roughly 45 minutes from King & James to SilverCity Ancaster or Hamilton Mountain; about an hour to SilverCity Burlington, as compared to 20 to Westdale), and that's more the fault of mediocre public transit than the multiplexes.

With Burlington’s second-run house Encore now closed, the Hamilton market is reduced to five cinemas (plus a seasonal drive-in)... currently playing 15 movies on 39 screens in a CMA containing nearly three-quarters of a million people.

I've always wanted to open a cafe/bookstore/cinema downtown. Unfortunately I have neither the money nor the business acumen for such ventures.

I first encountered this concept in Guelph 15-20 years ago at the Bookshelf and have since seen the idea repeated numerous times in other places around the world.

Probably a good little earner in the right hands and might be an interesting idea for the Tivoli. http://www.bookshelf.ca/

One thing that people often overlook about movie theatres is that they require heating and cooling. This can represent an enormous fixed cost (on top of staffing and exhibition fees for the film itself), and the larger your theatre is, the bigger your fixed costs and the higher your seat occupancy must be, in order to offset the cost of regulating venue temperature in anticipation of an audience (hopefully large, since you make your only real money off the concession stand) enjoying a film for two hours.

Tivoli Theatre: 1,164 seats
Westdale Theatre: 593 seats
Broadway Cinema (RIP): 437 seats
Empire Jackson Square: 312 seats avg
SilverCity Ancaster: 296 seats avg
Bookshelf Cinema: 140 seats

Relative to their respective cities’ population, the Bookshelf is scaled closer to Westdale than the Tivoli. (If Westdale operated both the Bean Bar & Bryan Prince, you’d have an even closer equivalent.)

Yeah, I'd only do it if I could afford to get reamed financially. And I wouldn't gouge people at the concession stand - I'd be a terrible businessman. It's all just nostalgic nonsense on my behalf. I just hate the idea of an age without the small, independent cinema.

I don't recall the Tivoli being that big. Ah, there's a balcony, isn't there...

Tvoli Theatre owners being sued by City
 

This thread is both culture, general, and maybe scandal.

YourHamiltonBiz.com reported today that HECFI is suing the Canadian Ballet Youth Ensemble (aka Hamilton Ballet Youth Ensemble) for not paying approx $50,000 for their performance of The Nutcracker in 2011. They allegedly "failed to pay all costs and expenses agreed to", pursuant to a rental agreement.

What is with this ongoing Tivoli Theatre nonsense? The narrative appears to be this:

The underlying Foundation, Hamilton Ballet Youth Ensemble, bought the heritage building, for $2.00

The Foundation got a grant for $20,000, to study the potential uses for the property.

The building was suitable but needed some stabilization and improvements, and the Foundation got another grant: $75,000.

A wall collapsed, and the City of Hamilton spent $300,000 to demolish that wall.

The roof needed work, so a interest-free loan was given by the City to fix it. Interest -free.

The Foundation is a charity, and apparently pays no property taxes.

So all in all, a $2.00 building and $400,000 in grants and expenditures has come from the taxpayer.

But wait, there's more.

The Foundation allegedly plans to transfer its major asset, the Tivoli Theatre building, to a property company owned by the husband of the Foundation's Director.

Now the Foundation is being sued for allegedly being dead-beats.

How could there not be a conflict of interest in that possible property transfer?

Why is this whole affair not being put under a microscope?

What say you?

That's a shame but I think we could all see this coming - something didn't smell quite right.

The City needs to expropriate the building and hand it over to one of the other interested parties to renovate, etc.

Alas, the Tiv seems destined to sit vacant and broken for a few more years yet.

pEte, I agree on your solution, but the stink of this seems not have hit the nostrils of the media, Hamilton City Council, etc. This is not just a scandal, it's outrageous.

http://yourhamiltonbiz.com/owners-of...sue=2013-03-20

http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/show...49#post6060449

They're a bit slow on the uptake but they'll get there. Or perhaps the parties involved have given the City/ media pause for some reason. Who knows.

Thanks for the insights. 7 months into our move here, still on the learning curve.

I've no insight on the matter, really, but there's no doubt something else happening here we're not aware of.

There are some others on the forum who've had a peek behind the municipal curtain and would be better able to respond to your questions.

Speak up anytime, forumites! What's behind that curtain?

An excerpt from the article in question.

Owners of Tivoli Theatre facing Nutcracker Lawsuit
(YourHamiltonBiz.com, Saira Peesker, March 20 2013)

The owners of the Tivoli are facing a $50,000 lawsuit from the City of Hamilton. The not-for-profit Canadian Ballet Youth Ensemble owes $48,593 for the use of Hamilton Place during its 2011 production of The Nutcracker, according to a statement of claim filed in Ontario Superior Court on Feb 15.

The claim, filed by Hamilton Entertainment and Convention facilities Incorperated (HECFI), states the ballet group failed “to pay all costs and expenses agreed to” when it used Hamilton Place for the 2011 incarnation of its annual production.

At the time, HECFI was the arms-length agency that managed the City’s large entertainment facilities. The legal action is being handled by City lawyer Colleen Robertshaw.

According to the filing – which has not been proven in court – the production cost $184,238.55 and brought in $135,645.19, leaving the ballet group on the hook for the outstanding shortfall of $48,593.36.

“CBYE has not made any payments to HECFI,” it says.

Robertshaw was unavailable for comment when contacted Tuesday, but on Wednesday, City spokesperson Debbie Spence said “the debt is being pursued in the normal course of events pursuant to a rental agreement.”

Attempts to contact the organization were unsuccessful; its outgoing voicemail message says its staff is away from the office until “Friday, Nov 23”.

CBYE board member Gary Santucci told YourHamiltonBiz that the group had received the lawsuit and would likely respond to it on Monday.

“There’s always two sides,” he said Wednesday. “There are other aspects surrounding this claim that we’re looking at as well. There were some grants that were not given for some reason and we’re wondering why that didn’t happen.”



While I understand the temptation to draw connections, and although I have been skeptical of the CBYE Tivoli deal since its earliest days, it's also easy to overstate things without having access to all of the details. It will be interesting to hear the CBYE's take.

On the face of it, the legal action launched by HECFI against CBYE is about a nonprofit organization failing to fulfill a rental agreement at 1 Summers Lane.

Although it is tempting to read subterfuge into this news, at first glance, it is unclear what inspired action on the outstanding production fees. In light of the timing, one reading would be that the action has come about as a result of tying up loose ends of book-keeping prior or pursuant to the recent management contract with Global Spectrum/Live Nation. Was it the City being belatedly diligent in its paperwork, or was it GS/LN being characteristically rigorous in its attention to the financials of its facilities?

It is equally unclear what other parties might have had unmet and outstanding contractual obligations at Copps Coliseum/Hamilton Place/Studio Theatre/Hamilton Convention Centre. I suspect that the general mess of HECFI's balance sheets camouflaged any such irregularities. One need only look at the KPMG audit of HECFI to see how seat-of-the-pants their performance metrics were. This dismal showing was, of course, the reason that the City contracted out management of HECFI facilities.

If you're looking to weed out nepotism, bad actors and lapsed oversight inside City Hall or the local business/cultural sectors, you will never be bored for the remainder of your mortal days. If you're at a loss for someplace to start, I would suggest that you seek out a copy of Their Town: The Mafia, The Media and the Party Machine (Lorimer, 1979), which turns up in local used bookstores from time to time.