Fox Theater (Spokane, Washington) facts for kids
The newly renovated Fox Theater in 2007
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| Full name | Martin Woldson Theater at the FOX |
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| Address | 1001 W. Sprague Ave. Spokane, Washington |
| Coordinates | 47°39′25″N 117°25′36″W / 47.65694°N 117.42667°W |
| Public transit | Spokane Transit Authority Bus: Routes: 6,20,43,60,61,66 |
| Owner | Spokane Symphony |
| Operator | Spokane Symphony |
| Type | Theatre |
| Genre(s) | Concerts, movies, theatre |
| Capacity | 1,715 |
| Construction | |
| Opened | September 3, 1931 |
| Renovated | November 2007 |
| Construction cost |
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| Architect | Robert C. Reamer |
| Tenants | |
| Spokane Symphony | |
| Built | 1931 |
| Architect | Robert C. Reamer |
| Architectural style | Art Deco |
| MPS | Movie Theaters in Washington State MPS |
| NRHP reference No. | 01001287 |
| Added to NRHP | November 30, 2001 |
The Fox Theater in Spokane, Washington is a beautiful old building. It opened in 1931 as a movie theater. Today, it's a place for live shows and concerts. The Spokane Symphony performs there. A famous architect named Robert C. Reamer designed it. He also designed the Old Faithful Inn in Yellowstone National Park. The theater was part of a big movie company called Fox Film Corporation. It showed movies until September 21, 2000. The last movie shown was Gladiator.
Contents
The Fox Theater's Story
Planning and Building the Theater
In 1927, people started hearing rumors. They said William Fox's movie company wanted to build a huge movie palace. It would be in downtown Spokane. Fox's company bought a large piece of land. Spokane already had many theaters. But it didn't have one from a major movie studio.
The first plans showed a "Hispano-Italian" style theater. But the project was delayed. Fox's company had money problems. This was after the stock market crash in 1929. The company changed its name. The land stayed empty for a while.
In 1929, Robert C. Reamer was hired as the architect. He had designed other famous theaters. These included the 5th Avenue Theatre in Seattle. The Spokane company Whitehouse & Price helped him. A designer named Anthony Heinsbergen worked on the inside.
A final design was shown in 1930. It was a "modernistic" Art Deco style. This was very different from the earlier plans. Art Deco was becoming very popular.
Building the Fox Theater
Construction began in early 1930. About 200 people worked on it. The building was made of poured concrete. This was a new and fast way to build. The outside walls were finished in just ten days. The building has cool designs carved into its concrete. There are eagles on one side and butterflies on another.
During the Great Depression, money was tight. The Art Deco style was cheaper to build. It used less expensive decorations. The budget for the theater was reduced. This meant a simpler outside look. The lobby also had less fancy decorations.
Heinsbergen's interior designs were a mix of styles. They combined the sharp angles of Art Deco. They also had the flowing lines of Art Nouveau. The theater's look was inspired by Hollywood's Art Deco. It also took ideas from Cubism and Fauvism. Even Persian styles influenced it.
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The theater's carpet looks like the ocean. The first floor and lobby feel like an underwater scene. The second floor and balcony are like treetops. The roof has decorations that look like stars. Heinsbergen's murals were like children's book pictures.
The main feature inside was a huge light fixture. It was 60-foot (18 m) wide. It looked like a sunburst. Nine smaller lights looked like stars.
The theater was built for both movies and live shows. It had a big movie screen. It also had a full stage, an orchestra pit, and dressing rooms. There was even a Wurlitzer pipe organ. From the entrance, two lobbies led to fancy hallways. These hallways took people to the main seating area. Grand staircases led to the balcony.
The building cost about $1 million in 1931. Fox executives said it was the most artistic theater in their chain.
Grand Opening and Early Years
The Fox Theater opened on September 3, 1931. It had seats for 2,350 people. Many celebrities came to the opening night party. A huge crowd of 20,000 people gathered outside. They watched a free show and saw the stars arrive. People were surprised by the theater's modern Art Deco look. It was very different from what they expected.
Newspapers praised the inside decorations. One reporter said the design was "so unusual, so bizarre and so futuristic." The inside used aluminum and glass. It also had hand-painted murals of undersea plants.
The Fox opened with a live variety show. Then, the movie Merely Mary Ann was shown. People also saw Laurel and Hardy. This mix of live shows and movies was popular. Movies were a cheap way to escape during the Great Depression. Live shows slowly stopped after a few years. But the Fox remained a main place for live performances.
The theater started its "Community Concerts" in 1934. These brought famous musicians to Spokane. In 1935, Frank Sinatra performed there. In 1937, Bing Crosby, a famous Spokane resident, hosted a talent show.
The Fox also showed popular films. Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs set a record in 1938. It had 40,000 visitors in seven days. Gone With the Wind broke that record in 1939.
Changes and Closing
In 1953, the theater got a bigger screen. It also added 3-D effects. The first 3-D film shown was Bwana Devil.
The big Wurlitzer organ was removed in 1961. It was sold to a collector in California. In 1968, the Spokane Symphony started performing at the Fox. They stayed until 1974. Then, they moved to a new building.
In 1975, the Fox Theater changed. It became a three-screen movie complex. One screen was downstairs. Two smaller screens were in the balcony. In 1989, the theater started showing older movies for just $1. Some chandeliers were removed to make these changes.
A new, larger movie theater opened in Spokane. So, Regal Cinemas sold the Fox Theater. The last movie, Gladiator, was shown on September 21, 2000. A small ceremony marked the sale of the theater. The Spokane Symphony bought it.
Later, Michelle Obama visited the Fox. She held a rally there in 2008. This was for her husband's presidential campaign.
Saving and Restoring the Fox
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A nearby club wanted to buy the Fox Theater. They planned to tear it down for a parking garage. But the Spokane Symphony wanted to buy it too. They wanted to use it as a concert hall. The club decided to support the Symphony instead.
The Symphony bought the theater for $1.1 million in 2000. They started a big campaign called "Save the Fox." They needed to raise money for repairs. A generous person named Myrtle Woldson gave $1 million. She then challenged others to match a $2 million donation.
About a quarter of the money came from the government. This included grants and state funds. Important parts of the theater were renamed. This honored the people who donated money. The theater also has a "Walk of Stars" outside. It thanks those who supported the theater. The Fox Theater was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2001.
NAC Architecture of Spokane designed the restoration. Walker Construction was the builder. Workers cleaned and repaired old details. They also recreated missing parts. The stage area was made bigger. A new sign was put on top of the building. The original stage was changed to a "thrust stage." This type of stage extends into the audience.
Inside, the walls that made it a multiplex were removed. A new inner lobby was created. This reduced the seating from 2,350 to 1,727 seats. New steel beams were put in the attic. This was to support modern equipment. Experts from EverGreene Architectural Arts restored the interior designs. They also fixed the sunburst light fixture.
The theater also got new heating and air conditioning. It was also soundproofed. This made the sound perfect for a symphony. The original glasswork was cleaned. Some parts were remade using old techniques. The metal in the stained glass was replaced with shiny zinc. This kept the Art Deco look.
The total cost of the renovations was $31 million. It was finished in November 2007. The project won a national award in 2010.
The theater was renamed the Martin Woldson Theater at The Fox. This honored Myrtle Woldson's father. He had given $3 million for the renovations.
The theater reopened on November 17, 2007. The Washington Governor was there. Tony Bennett performed on November 19, 2007. A TV film called "Spokane's 21st Century Fox" showed the restoration.
Images for kids
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The newly renovated Fox Theater in 2007
