Fox Theatre (Atlanta) facts for kids

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Fox Theatre
Construction

The Fox Theatre in 2024
Address	660 Peachtree Street NE Atlanta, Georgia United States
Owner	Fox Theatre Inc.
Type	Movie Theater Palace
Capacity	4,665
Screens	1
Opened	1929; 96 years ago (1929)
Reopened	1991; 34 years ago (1991)
Tenants
Broadway Across America


Fox Theatre
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. National Historic Landmark

Fox Theatre Location in Atlanta Midtown
Architect	Olivier J. Vinour
Part of	Fox Theatre Historic District (ID78003178)
NRHP reference No.	74002230
Significant dates
Added to NRHP	May 17, 1974
Designated NHL	May 11, 1976

The Fox Theatre, often called the Fabulous Fox, is a famous place for shows and events in Midtown Atlanta, Georgia. It used to be a grand movie palace. You can find it at 660 Peachtree Street NE. It's a key part of the Fox Theatre Historic District.

This theater was first planned to be a large temple for a group called the Shriners. That's why it has a unique Moorish design. The main hall has 4,665 seats. It opened in 1929 as a fancy movie theater in the Fox Theatres chain. Today, it hosts many cultural events. These include the Atlanta Ballet, a summer film series, and touring Broadway shows. Sometimes, popular music artists also perform concerts here.

Amazing Architecture of the Fox Theatre
History of the Fox Theatre
The Mighty Mo Organ
The Private Apartment
Images for kids
See also

Amazing Architecture of the Fox Theatre

View from a nearby building showing the Fox Theatre's unique features

When the Fox Theatre first opened, people were amazed by its beauty. A local newspaper said it had "a picturesque and almost disturbing grandeur beyond imagination." Even today, it continues to impress everyone who visits. The main architect for the project was Olivier Vinour. He worked for the firm Marye, Alger and Vinour.

The Fox Theatre's design mixes two main styles. The outside of the building, the main hall, and some lounges show Islamic architecture. Other parts, like the Egyptian Ballroom, are designed with Egyptian architecture.

The Auditorium: A Night Sky Indoors

Entrance to the Egyptian Ballroom at the Fox Theater

The main hall, or auditorium, has 4,665 seats. It was built for both movies and live shows. This huge room looks like an Arabian courtyard. Its ceiling has 96 crystal "stars," and some of them even flicker! Clouds are projected onto the ceiling, slowly moving across this indoor "night sky." There was a long-standing rumor that one of the stars was a piece of a Coca-Cola bottle. In 2010, staff members confirmed this rumor. They found it while searching in the attic above the ceiling.

Egyptian and Islamic Designs

The Egyptian Ballroom looks like a temple for Ramses II at Karnak. In the Ladies Lounge, you can find a copy of King Tut's throne chair. The makeup tables there even have tiny Sphinxes. The Islamic parts of the theater have many ablution fountains. These fountains are not used for water today.

Tricks for the Eye: Trompe-l'œil

The Fox Theatre uses a lot of trompe-l'œil. This is a French term meaning "deceive the eye." For example, "wooden" beams are actually made of plaster. Paint that looks like gold is not real gold leaf. Some areas are painted and lit to look like they have outside light. The fancy fireplaces were never meant to have working chimneys. What looks like a giant Bedouin canopy in the auditorium is actually plaster and steel rods. These help to direct sound to the very back of the balcony.

You can take regular tours to see all these amazing details inside the building.

History of the Fox Theatre

The Fox Theatre was first planned as the Yaarab Shrine Temple. This was the main building for a 5,000-member Shriners group. The project cost $2.75 million, which was more than the Shriners could afford. So, they rented the main hall to William Fox. He was a movie boss who was building theaters across the country. The theater opened on December 25, 1929. This was just two months after the stock market crash and the start of the Great Depression.

A week later, the Shriners opened their new "mosque" in their part of the building. This area had offices, a large lounge, a ballroom, a kitchen, and other rooms. The Shriners continued to rent their space until 1949.

Challenges and Changes

The Fox Theatre faced tough times early on. It closed just 125 weeks after opening. The Shriners couldn't make their payments, and by 1932, William Fox was bankrupt. In December 1932, the whole building was bought by Paramount Pictures and Lucas & Jenkins. This Georgia company owned many theaters.

In 1939, the famous movie Gone with the Wind premiered in Atlanta. It showed at the Loew's Grand Theatre, not the Fox. However, the movie's parade down Peachtree Street started right outside the Fox. This was because the cast was staying at the Georgian Terrace Hotel across the street.

During the 1940s, the Fox Theatre became one of Atlanta's best movie theaters. The Egyptian Ballroom became a very popular dance hall. It hosted all the big big bands and country and western swing bands of that time. The Fox was also special because it was the only theater in Atlanta that allowed both white and black customers. However, there were separate entrances and seating areas. A wall in the middle of the second seating area showed this segregation. These historical features are kept today for educational reasons. The theater became fully integrated in 1962.

Saving the Fox

In the 1970s, the Fox Theatre started to decline. Many people moved to the suburbs, and new multiplex theaters opened there. In 1974, Southern Bell, a phone company, wanted to buy the theater. They planned to tear it down to build a parking garage for their new headquarters.

A group quickly formed to save the theater. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in May 1974. Many people spoke out, and celebrities like Liberace and Lynyrd Skynyrd helped. Lynyrd Skynyrd even recorded their first live album there. Because of this huge effort, the city refused to allow the demolition.

A complex deal was made to save the Fox. The Southern Bell Building (now Tower Square) was built next to the theater. Its parking deck was built on another part of the property. In May 1976, the U.S. Department of the Interior named the Fox a National Historic Landmark. This was because of its unique architecture.

Restoration and Today

After being saved, the Fox began a long and costly restoration. Much of its original design had survived. New parts were created using old photographs. Today, the Fox looks much like it did when it first opened. Some additions that were planned but cut due to money problems in the 1920s were finally added. Other changes were made to meet modern safety codes.

The Fox Theatre, facing northwest

The Fox is now the only grand movie palace left in Atlanta. Other famous theaters are gone or have been changed. The Fox Theatre is now run by a non-profit group called Atlanta Landmarks, Inc. It hosts many cultural and artistic events. These include the Atlanta Ballet's annual Nutcracker shows and touring Broadway productions. Because it was built as a movie house, the Fox has a shallow stage. This means some very large modern shows need special changes to fit their sets.

In 2006, the theater got a new digital video projection system. It was first used to show The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. The fun sing-alongs before each movie are still shown using the original 1929 Brenograph Movie projector.

The Egyptian Ballroom and the Grand Salon are often rented for events. These include banquets, fundraisers, weddings, and school proms. Every year since 1975, the Fox has made more money than it spends. About 750,000 people visit the Fox each year.

Many famous musicians have played at the Fox Theatre. These include Elvis Presley in 1956, Bruce Springsteen in 1976, and Bob Marley and the Wailers in 1979. Pearl Jam played there in 1994, and the Rolling Stones in 1981. Many Georgia musicians have also performed, such as the Allman Brothers, Ray Charles, James Brown, R.E.M., and Outkast.

The Mighty Mo Organ

The Fox Theatre has a huge pipe organ called the "Mighty Mo." It has four keyboards and 42 ranks of pipes. This organ was custom-built for the Fox by M. P. Möller, Inc. in 1929. It has 3,622 pipes, making it the second-largest theater organ in the country. Only the Wurlitzer at Radio City Music Hall in New York City is bigger. It was the largest theater organ ever built by Möller.

The console of the Mighty Mo organ

The Mighty Mo is a true theater organ, not a church organ. Its pipes range from 32 feet (nearly 10 meters) tall to the size of a small pen. It's designed to sound like a full orchestra. Besides pipes, it has a marimba, xylophone, glockenspiel, drums, sleigh bells, a gong, and even a six-foot (1.8m) grand piano. It can also make many silent movie sound effects, like car horns, thunder, and bird whistles. What's special is that it also has 12 ranks of pipes for a church organ. This means it can be played as both a church organ and a theater organ. The Mighty Mo is one of the few organs that are still in the theaters they were built for.

Larry Douglas Embury was the theater's main organist from 2002 until he passed away in 2016. He played the Mighty Mo during the Fox's summer film festival and the Atlanta Ballet's The Nutcracker. In 2002, he hosted "Fox at the Fox," a concert honoring the famous organist Virgil Fox. Virgil Fox had played many "Fox at the Fox" concerts on the Mighty Mo in the 1970s.

The Private Apartment

The Fox Theatre also has a 3,640 square foot (338 square meter) apartment. This was the home of Joe Patten, who was the technical director from 1974 to 2004. Joe Patten, who passed away in 2016, was given a lifetime rent-free lease to the apartment. He first got involved with the Fox by helping to fix the theater's Moller pipe organ. He was also very important in the effort to save the Fox from being torn down.

The apartment is in a space that the Shriners used as an office. The walls of the apartment are very thick, about 2 to 3 feet (0.6 to 0.9 meters). A secret passage leads from the bedroom to a former spotlight platform high up in the auditorium. There's also a separate entrance directly to the street.

Joe Patten is credited with saving the Fox from a fast-moving fire in 1996. The fire started in the attic wiring before dawn and caused $2 million in damage. The damage would have been much worse if Patten hadn't been there to call the fire department.

After Patten's death, Atlanta Landmarks, the group that owns the Fox, didn't have a clear plan for the apartment. They said it could be used for dressing rooms or rehearsal spaces. They also said it was unlikely anyone else would live there. In 2010, there was a disagreement between Patten and Atlanta Landmarks. Patten said he was being evicted, but the board stated they wanted to create a new lease to help with his health needs. They said he was still welcome to live there.

Images for kids

The theatre illuminated at night
The theatre from Ponce De Leon Ave NE
Fox Theatre in foreground with the Cox-Carlton Hotel and Georgian Terrace Hotel in background, with The Ponce Condos to the right
Interior of the Fox with a view of the canopy ceiling.