Tivoli Theatre (Chicago)
Encyclopedia
The Tivoli Theatre was a movie palace in the Woodlawn neighborhood of Chicago
, Illinois
. It the first of the "big three" movie palaces built by the Balaban & Katz theatre chain run by A. J. Balaban
, his brother Barney Balaban
and their partner Sam Katz, who were also owners of the Rivera Theater (North Side) and the Central Park Theater (West Side), that opened on February 16, 1921. The opening was a gala affair, complete with music from a 55 piece orchestra. The theater cost $2,000,000 to construct; its lobby was two stories high and was able to hold 3,000 people.. About 1924-1925 Milton Charles was the resident organist who recorded for Marsh Laboratories on the Paramount label using the new electric recording system of Orlando R. Marsh
with microphones, compared to the more common acoustic method using horns. Charles succeeded Jesse Crawford
as a Marsh artist after Crawford went to New York to play at the Paramount Theater (New York City)
and eventually record with Victor Talking Machine Company
.
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
. It the first of the "big three" movie palaces built by the Balaban & Katz theatre chain run by A. J. Balaban
A. J. Balaban
Abraham Joseph "A. J." Balaban was a Chicago-based showman whose particular influence on popular entertainment in the early 20th century led to enormous innovations in the American movie-going experience.Following the leasing and operation of a modest nickelodeon house in 1909, Balaban oversaw...
, his brother Barney Balaban
Barney Balaban
Barney Balaban was president of Paramount Pictures from 1936 to 1964, and innovator in the cinema industry. The eldest of the seven sons of grocery store owner Israel Balaban, Barney worked as a messenger boy and a cold storage company employee until 1908, when he was persuaded, at age 21, to go...
and their partner Sam Katz, who were also owners of the Rivera Theater (North Side) and the Central Park Theater (West Side), that opened on February 16, 1921. The opening was a gala affair, complete with music from a 55 piece orchestra. The theater cost $2,000,000 to construct; its lobby was two stories high and was able to hold 3,000 people.. About 1924-1925 Milton Charles was the resident organist who recorded for Marsh Laboratories on the Paramount label using the new electric recording system of Orlando R. Marsh
Orlando R. Marsh
Orlando R. Marsh was an electrical engineer raised in Wilmette, Illinois. In early 1920s Chicago, Illinois he pioneered electrical recording of phonograph discs with microphones when acoustic recording with horns was commonplace...
with microphones, compared to the more common acoustic method using horns. Charles succeeded Jesse Crawford
Jesse Crawford
Jesse Crawford , was a US pianist and organist. He was well known in the 1920s as a theater organist for silent films and was avery popular gramophone record recording artist. In the 1930s, he switched to the Hammond organ and became a freelancer...
as a Marsh artist after Crawford went to New York to play at the Paramount Theater (New York City)
Paramount Theater (New York City)
The Paramount Theatre was a noted movie palace located at 43rd Street and Broadway in the Times Square district of New York City. Opened in 1926, it was the premiere showcase for Paramount Pictures and also became a popular live performance venue. The theater was closed in 1964 and its space...
and eventually record with Victor Talking Machine Company
Victor Talking Machine Company
The Victor Talking Machine Company was an American corporation, the leading American producer of phonographs and phonograph records and one of the leading phonograph companies in the world at the time. It was headquartered in Camden, New Jersey....
.