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Tivoli Music Hall, 65-70½ The Strand, London

Later The Tivoli Theatre / Tivoli Picture Theatre / Tivoli Cinema

Above - A Postcard for the Tivoli Theatre, Strand - Sent in 1908.

The Tivoli Music Hall, at 65 to 70½ the Strand, London (shown above) was built by the Theatre Architect C. J. Phipps and opened in 1890 with a capacity of 1,510.

Right - A Tivoli Theatre Programme for May the 28th 1892 - Click to see details.

On the Theatre's opening the Times printed a report of the new Music Hall in its May the 26th, 1890 edition saying:

'The Tivoli Music-Hall, which has been built on the Strand, nearly opposite the Adelphi Theatre, was opened to the public on Saturday night, with a programme of "Varieties," similar to that given at the Pavilion, the Trocadero, and Kindred places of ammusement. Outwardly the building, which is somewhat fanciful and mixed in its style of architecture, is an ornament to the Strand; internally it is sumptuously decorated and appointed. The prevailing hues of the internal ornamentation are cream, vermilion, and gold, and an Indian character is imparted to it by a display in high relief of idols, heads of white elephants, and other Hindoo symbols. The seating of all parts of the house is spacious and comfortable in the extreme, offering a commendable example to most of the London theatres. Iron and concrete have been largely employed in the construction so as to lessen the risk of fire, and the exits are ample.'

Above text from The Times May 26, 1890

On its opening week, Arthur Lloyd found himself incensed about the flagrant copying of his own work by one of the artistes at the new Music Hall and wrote a letter to the ERA complaining about it, which they duly printed, as seen below:

'Sir, - In your critic's notice last week of the opening of the Tivoli he referred to one of the company as giving an imitation of various dancers he met at a ball. On making inquiries I find this to be a wholesale appropriation of my original business which I created in my well-known "Polka" song, which I have been singing for the last seven or eight years. Everyone who knows me will acknowledge that I have been always one of the first to encourage talent in beginners, but when they bodily annex the entire business and style of a popular song belonging to a well known artiste, I think they should be immediately checked by public, press, and proprietors. I have all through my career been a staunch upholder of originality, and nothing annoys me so much as to see dead copies of popular songs and artists, who work hard to get original ideas. To all such copyists I give this advice, that to make any headway or popularity in this profession (that is, lasting popularity) an artiste must be original and have a style of his own, not a copy of one or a mixture of half-a-dozen others. Yours, &c., Arthur Lloyd.' From the ERA 1890 - Courtesy John Grice.

Arthur Lloyd is known to have performed at the Tivoli Music Hall himself in its opening year of 1890.

In 1900 Walter Emden altered the Theatre leaving it with a reduced capacity of 1,000 but by January 1914 it was announced that the building would have to be demolished completely for a road widening scheme on the Strand, which was reported in the Times of January the 26th 1914:.

'Closing Of The Tivoli - It was officially announced on Saturday that the Tivoli Music-Hall would definitely close on February 7, and the staff were given a fortnight's notice of the termination of their engagements on that date. The demolition of the Tivoli is a necessary precedent to the long-pending widening of that part of the Strand, and a Press representative was informed on Saturday evening that little time would be lost in the erection of a new and improved Tivoli on the site of the old one.'

Above Text from The Times Jan 26, 1914.

The Theatre was subsequently rebuilt after the Strand improvements although it didn't open until 1923 and by this time the fashion for Music Halls was on the wane and Cinema was becoming very popular, consequently the new Tivoli Picture Theatre, as it was called, was built primarily as a Cinema and opened on Friday the 7th of September 1923 with the showing of the film 'Where the Pavement Ends'. The Times reported on the new Tivoli Theatre in their August the 13th 1923 edition saying:

Right - The rebuilt Tivoli Cinema of 1923, during the run of 'Napoleon'.

'The New Tivoli Picture Theatre - Autumn Arrangements. The new Tivoli Picture Theatre, which has been built in the Strand on the site of the old Tivoli Music Hall, is to be opened to the public on Friday, September 7. An arrangement has just been made by Mr. James White and with Sir William Jury and Mr. Marcus Loewe, the chief of the American film-producing organisation, the Metro Company, by which all the biggest pictures of this company are to be shown in London exclusively at the New Tivoli Theatre.

A beginning will be made on September 7, with Where the Pavement Ends, a "Metro" film produced by Mr. Rex Ingram, who was responsible for The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. This will probably be followed by Scaramouche, based on Mr. Rafael Sabatini's book Ambrose Applejohn's Adventure, Long Live the King (with "Jackie" Coogan), and The French Doll.

Left - A Programme 'Cavalcade; at the Tivoli Cinema, Strand on May the 8th 1933.

Right - A Programme for 'Bulldog Drummond' at the Tivoli Cinema, Strand on September 16th 1929.

All these films will be shown in London either at the same time as, or before, they are seen in New York. This is a change, for hitherto American films have usually been shown over here long after they have been seen in the United States.' - From The Times August the 13th, 1923.

The Tivoli Theatre was demolished in 1957 and this time it was replaced with an office building and shops. The site of the Tivoli Theatre can be seen in the photograph below.

Above - The Strand in 2003 - The new building on the right stands roughly on the site of the Tivoli Theatre, and also on the site of 71 The Strand where Horatio Lloyd's father Robert Lloyd worked as a Hatter, and where Horatio himself was born. Horatio Lloyd was also the father of Arthur Lloyd.