'History Happens Here': Tivoli Theatre documentary tells story of Downers Grove's movie house

An iconic Downers Grove movie house that has been entertaining locals and visitors for almost a century is poised to be the star of its own show.

It was on Christmas Day in 1928 that the Tivoli Theatre opened at 5021 Highland Ave. in Downers Grove around the same time the silent film era was winding down, and "talkies" were becoming the next sensation.

The Tivoli was built as one of the first "sound" theaters in the country. In its 95 years, the venue has outlasted three owners, survived three nearly business-ending shutdowns, housed an embalming facility in its basement, and, eventually, was lovingly preserved by its current proprietors - the Johnson family of Downers Grove.

Now a documentary about the Downers Grove landmark is set to premiere in a single-night screening on May 2.

Called "History Happens Here, The Tivoli Theatre," the film is coproduced by filmmaker Jim Toth, along with the Downers Grove Historical Society. For the event, doors will open at 6 p.m. Admission is free to Downers Grove Historical Society members and costs $5 for other viewers, with proceeds benefiting the society. Tickets can be bought in advance at dghistory.org/tickets.

Toth, who spent more than 20 years in the Chicago advertising world, calls the film "a labor of love."

"This started out as yet another personal passion project and then snowballed into something," Toth said. "It was a pretty big undertaking."

The feature-length film clocks in at about 90 minutes. Toth said countless hours were spent filming and editing the piece.

It is the third documentary in three years he has gifted to the historical society. His first film centered on the Downers Grove Main Street Cemetery. The second film focused on Mochels Hardware Store, which opened in 1884.

Toth's interest in independent filmmaking was piqued after losing his job when the pandemic hit.

"I wanted to increase my hands-on experience with filmmaking, which is something I'd been tangentially a part of through the advertising world," he added. "I bought a camera and decided to take on these endeavors."

Toth is excited to share his latest work with the community. And so are the theater's owners, Willis and Shirley Johnson.

The pair bought the Tivoli building, of which the theater was its largest tenant, in 1976. When the theater's operator abruptly left in 1978, Willis Johnson - who had been a partner in a printing business for more than two decades - and his wife took over.

"It was a great leap of faith that Willis and Shirley took in themselves - and in one another," Toth said. "They found an opportunity and, in that opportunity, they discovered something that they loved and then invested every ounce of themselves into it."

The Johnsons went on to found Classic Cinemas. Today, the family-owned company operates 16 theaters with 137 screens in 15 communities in the northern Illinois and Wisconsin area.

Toth said getting the business off the ground was no small task as the Johnsons "kind of inherited a mess."

"The gentleman that owned the theater prior had kind of let it fall into an incredible state of disrepair," Toth said. "So they painstakingly rebuilt the entire theater, repainted every inch of it, got new seats,"

Willis Johnson's son, Chris Johnson, was named chief executive officer of Classic Cinemas in 2014. But his start in the business was nowhere near as alluring. At age 11, he was tasked with clearing out the Tivoli basement. Two years later, he began working at the theater.

He is excited about the film, which he likens to watching a history lesson unfold.

"It's excellent and really showed the life's work of my dad and Shirley and how they fell into this by accident in their 40s and really changed not only Downers Grove but many other communities where they did the same thing," Chris Johnson said. "So many theaters have gone by the wayside and they actually have saved so many and shown that history can be saved in towns. Downers Grove is lucky to have a prime example of it."

Johnson is excited about the introduction of "History Happens Here, The Tivoli Theatre" to the community.

"The Tivoli is one of the only businesses that's still around after almost 100 years," he said. "I think the story of it will resonate, especially if you've been in the town for a while. But even if you haven't, you'll get an understanding of how the Tivoli has always kind of been there and been a part of the history."