2008 Woodie Awards
See movies, not make out sessions
Ambience flourishes at local cinemas, where throngs of obnoxious teenagers can be avoided
By: Kim Nolan
Issue date: 3/9/06 Section: LifeStyle
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6350 Delmar Blvd.
The 29-foot tall vertical sign towers above the Loop's legendary marquee. The Tivoli Theater housed inside a four-story building, built in 1924, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The theater started as a repertory theater house known for vaudeville acts. The novelty of television in the 1950s changed the focus of theaters across the nation, including the Tivoli, according to manager Dale Sweet.
Known as University City Cinema in the late '60s, the Tivoli added foreign films to its repertoire by the early '70s when it was known as The Magic Lantern. Movie Inc. took over between 1976 and 1977 and the focus of the theater echoed repertory cinema, eventually merging with Landmark in the 1980s, Sweet said.
Harman Mosely had the Tivoli "closed forever" in 1994.
"(Tivoli) was owned all along by an absentee slum-lord," Sweet said. "There was no heating or cooling. There was five feet of water in the basement causing a bad smell. Mosely was spending too much money to keep it going."
Joe and Linda Edwards, owners of Blueberry Hill, spent more than $2 million renovating the Tivoli, reopening it as a three-screen theater. After four years, the Edwards' leased the Tivoli back to Landmark Theatres.
Post-renovation features included a vestibule with a terrazzo floor, ornate ceilings, recessed ceiling domes, a proscenium arch, a stage orchestra pit and a lush burgundy curtain, according to http://www.landmarktheatres.com.
Evidence of Joe Edwards' ownership lies in the collages of original movie art hanging in the lobby.
"(Joe Edwards) spent one winter cutting up art auction catalogs, organizing them by themelike animation or western-and puzzle-piecing them together," Sweet said.
The concession stand sells bottled beer and wine ranging from $3.75 to $5.25. Other delectables include Kaldi's coffee, Numi tea and Arnott's Tim Tam chocolate bar, alongside the basic treats.
Admission: $8
The Hi-Pointe Theatre
1001 McCausland Ave.
The Hi-Pointe Theatre, built in 1922, fames itself as "St. Louis's oldest continuously operating cinema," according to http://www.landmarktheatres.com. Unlike the Tivoli Theater that was built as a vaudeville theater, the Hi-Pointe has always shown film. Their single screen showcases films that aren't typically shown elsewhere in the city such as "Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room." The classic ambience, complete with turquoise seats from 1963, is reminiscent of the drive-in theater days.