Tivoli Theatre

In 1927, G.E. Adams, a cake manufacturer, acquired the titles for two lots (just over 61 perches) in Costin Street for the purposes of building a modern factory and offices. Two houses on the site were removed and an application for the construction of the factory approved by the Greater Brisbane City Council in 1926. The estimated cost of the building was £6 000 and the builders were A. Stonadge and Son. Sidney W. Prior designed the one storey brick building for Adams.

The cake manufacturing firm of Adams Brothers was established in the southern states in the nineteenth century by G. E. Adams (Sydney) and C. Adams (Melbourne). By the early 1920s, G. E. Adams had formed his own company and established a manufacturing and retail presence in Brisbane. At this time, the firm operated a factory in Warry Street, Spring Hill. Adams expanded into central Queensland and spent £12 000 building new retail shops in Brisbane during the mid-1920s.

The new factory in Costin Street was claimed to be “the most up-to-date and hygienic factory of its kind in Queensland” with electric revolving ovens, modern machinery and a modern freezing plant for the storage of ingredients. The factory produced 14 tons of cake each week. Within two years, the building had been extended and improvements added. By 1946, the additions running the length of the building on the eastern and western sides had been built.

Sidney William Prior, the architect of the building, was born in Croydon in England in 1895. He immigrated to Brisbane with his family in his youth and studied construction and drawing before serving in World War I. Prior was employed as a draftsman by the Commonwealth Government and registered as an architect and designer in Queensland in 1923. Other Brisbane buildings designed by Prior include the Clayfield Memorial School of Arts (1925), Moreton House at Wynnum (1937) and the Redcliffe Council Chambers (1940).

The factory at Costin Street remained in the ownership of G.E. Adams until 1968. It changed hands several times before it was acquired by Ann and Harry Garms in 1989. Garms, a Brisbane entrepreneur, also purchased the neighbouring allotment to the east, increasing the holding to 2160 m².

Garms purchased her first restaurant, the Old Courthouse, at Cleveland in 1977. In the early 1980s, she bought and renovated the 1885 house, ‘Roseville’, at Teneriffe and established the successful Roseville Restaurant. After purchasing the former Adams cake factory, she made extensive internal alterations, adding a balcony and stage before opening it as the Tivoli Theatre and Restaurant. In 1999, the Tivoli was purchased by the O’Rourke family who continued to run it as a music venue.

The Tivoli has become a popular entertainment venue attracting both local and international acts, including Bob Dylan, Katy Perry, and the final performance of the Go Betweens in 2005. Many Brisbane music lovers have formed a strong connection to the building and several thousand signatures were collected for its future protection in early 2016.

The front façade has a flat, metal roof. Behind this, the main brick building with its high gabled roof extends towards the rear of the site. Running the length of the main building on either side are additional sections with separate gabled roofs.

A post 1946 addition is located at the rear of the main building bringing the footprint to the boundary.

Internally, the building is composed of a large space with a stage located at the southern end. The gabled roof is high with exposed king post trusses. A mezzanine balcony surrounds the western, northern and eastern sides and is reached by a central internal staircase at the Costin Street end of the building.

A bar and toilets are located in the section on the western side of the building.

The building has not been internally inspected. However, it is understood that the ovens of the cake factory have been retained and are located at the rear of the building near the stage.

A car park occupies the eastern section of the site.

1. Garms, Ann. The Ultimate Betrayal and the Chocolate Souffle: My Story. No date. http://anngarms-mystory.com.au/content/ Retrieved 3 Mar 2016.

2. Cameron, Ian. 125 Years of State Public Works in Queensland 1859-1984. Brisbane: Boolerong Publications. 1989

3. BCC Detail Plan 213, dated July 1916

4. Department of Natural Resources and Mines, Queensland Certificates of Title

5. Queensland. Post Office Directories

6. Digitised newspapers and other records. http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper

7. Brisbane Courier, 18 Nov 1921, p11

8. Brisbane Courier, 21 Dec 1929, p.10

9. Evening News (Rockhampton), 24 Jun 1926, p.4.

10. Sunday Mail, 21 Aug 1927, p.13.

11. Truth (Brisbane), 11 Nov 1928.

12. Queenslander, 1 Oct 1931, p.3.

13. Evening News (Sydney), 18 Jul 1931, p.3.

14. Telegraph (Brisbane), 10 Dec 1931, p.6.

15. Courier Mail, 26 Feb 2016.

16. Architectural and Building Journal, July 1926.

17. BCC Building Register Jun 1926 to Jan 1927.

18. Courier Mail, 26 Feb 2016.

19. Surveyor-General’s Office.  McKellar’s Official Map of Brisbane and Suburbs. Brisbane, 1895