Fox Theatre (Detroit) facts for kids
.svg) |
|
The building in 2022
|
|
| Address | 2211 Woodward Avenue Detroit, Michigan 48201 |
|---|---|
| Public transit |  Montcalm Street |
| Owner | Olympia Entertainment |
| Operator | 313 Presents |
| Type | Performing arts center |
| Capacity | 5,174 |
| Current use | live event venue |
| Construction | |
| Opened | 1928 |
| Reopened | November 19, 1988 |
| Website | |
|
Fox Theatre
|
|
| Architect | C. Howard Crane Restoration by William Kessler |
| Architectural style | Art Deco with a blend of Burmese, Indian, Persian, Chinese, and Hindu motifs |
| NRHP reference No. | 85000280 |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | February 14, 1985 |
| Designated NHL | June 29, 1989 |
The Fox Theatre is a famous place for shows and events in Downtown Detroit, Michigan. It's located at 2211 Woodward Avenue. It first opened in 1928 as a huge movie theater. With over 5,000 seats, it was the biggest theater in Detroit. A famous architect named C. Howard Crane designed it. The Fox Theatre is so special that it was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1985.
It was also named a National Historic Landmark in 1989 because of its amazing design. The area around the Fox Theatre is even called Foxtown! The Fox Theatre is still one of the largest movie palaces from the 1920s that is still standing. It was fully fixed up and restored in 1988.
History of the Fox Theatre
The Detroit Fox Theatre is one of five amazing Fox Theatres built in the late 1920s. They were created by a film pioneer named William Fox. The other Fox Theatres are in Brooklyn, Atlanta, St. Louis, and San Francisco.
The architect, C. Howard Crane, designed the Fox Theatre with a very "exotic" look. He used styles from Burmese, Chinese, Indian, and Persian art. Inside, there are three levels of seats. These are the Main Floor, the Mezzanine, and the Gallery (which is like a balcony).
The outside of the building has a 10-story office tower. It features Asian designs that light up at night. You can see these lights from many blocks away. The Fox Theatre in St. Louis, Missouri looks very similar inside, but it has about 500 fewer seats.
The Fox Theatre opened in 1928. For many years, it was Detroit's main place to watch movies. Unlike many other theaters nearby, it stayed open until the early 1980s. Then, it closed for a big restoration project. By the 1960s, the building was getting old. Some parts were not kept up very well. By the 1970s, the upper seating areas were closed to the public.
In 1988, Mike and Marian Ilitch bought the theater. They spent $12 million to fully restore it. Their company, Ilitch Holdings, Inc., has its main office in the Fox Theater building. The area around the Fox Theatre is sometimes called Foxtown. Other new buildings like Comerica Park (opened in 2000) and Little Caesars Arena (opened in 2017) have also helped make the neighborhood lively again.
Famous Shows and Events
The grand opening of the Fox Theatre was on September 21, 1928. It showed the silent film Street Angel. The live show told the story of Detroit from its beginning in 1701. The performances included movies, short films, and newsreels. There was also a 60-piece orchestra, a 50-voice choir, and a 32-member dance group called the Tillerettes.
In the 1930s, child star Shirley Temple visited the theater when her movies were playing. During World War II, the Fox Theatre stayed open 24 hours a day. This was to let defense plant workers see movies after their shifts. In 1953, the theater was the first in Michigan to show movies in CinemaScope. It premiered the epic film The Robe.
In May 1956, Elvis Presley performed three shows at the theater. During the 1960s, many Motown music artists performed there. By the 1970s, the theater was getting old. But it stayed open by showing Blaxploitation and martial arts films.
After its restoration, the first show was a concert on November 19, 1988. It featured Joe Williams and the Count Basie Orchestra. Other famous performances include a concert with Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr., and Liza Minnelli in 1989. This show was even broadcast on TV. In 1990, Victor Borge performed, and his show was recorded for PBS.
The theater hosted the WWE Hall of Fame ceremony in 2007. This was the night before WrestleMania 23 at nearby Ford Field. The Fox has also hosted many live shows for kids. These include Blue's Clues Live!, Dora the Explorer Live, and Sesame Street Live. The Radio City Christmas Spectacular was a popular show every year from 1997 to 2005.
The Fox Theatre was even used in a Chrysler commercial for the Chrysler 200. This commercial, featuring Eminem, aired during the Super Bowl in 2011. The Australian children's music group The Wiggles have performed at the theater several times over the years.
Many famous Michigan musicians have played at the Fox Theatre. These include Aretha Franklin, The Temptations, Stevie Wonder, Diana Ross, Alice Cooper, and Kid Rock. Chris Cornell of Soundgarden played his last show there in 2017. In 2019, the theater hosted a primary debate for the 2020 presidential election. In April 2024, the theater hosted the first three rounds of the NFL Draft.
Architecture and Design
The Fox Office Building is 10 stories tall. It forms the front of the theater on Woodward Avenue. The front and sides of the office tower are covered with a cream-colored material called terra cotta. There are fancy lintels (decorative pieces above windows) on the second and tenth floors. The building wraps around the theater lobby, making a U-shape. The main theater and the back of the office tower are made of brick.
The large sign outside, called the marquee, was put up during the 1987 restoration. It looks like the original sign from the 1920s. The first and second floors of the building used to have 20 shops on each level. These shops had big display windows looking into the hallways.
The third through tenth floors were for offices. These areas had marble floors and wainscoting (wood panels on the lower part of walls) in the hallways. Office doors had full-length glass with glass panels above them. This allowed light and air into the hallways.
The theater entrance on Woodward Avenue has 16 doors. They open into a small entry area called the storm lobby. This lobby has a black and white marble floor. It also has small, fancy plaster designs on the ceiling. The storm lobby leads into the main lobby, which is about 87 feet (26 meters) deep and six stories high. The floor is made of terrazzo, which is a mix of chips of marble or other materials set in cement. It has brass designs. This floor was hidden until the 1988 renovation.
A story says that Eve Leo, the wife of Fox President William Fox, didn't like that the theater was going to have a bare floor. She insisted it needed carpet. So, the largest single-piece wool rug ever made was put down. This rug covered 3,600 square feet (334 square meters) of the lobby floor and weighed 3,000 pounds (1,360 kg)!
Above the entrance doors are fake organ pipes made of plaster. In a balcony to the upper left, there is a real Moller organ. Its pipes are hidden in a room above the organ console. This Moller organ is the only one still in its original place. On each side of the lobby, there are eight red columns made of scagliola (a material that looks like marble). These columns are decorated with eagles, flowers, and glass jewels.
The tops of the columns, called Corinthian capitals, are covered in silver leaf. They have pictures of different animals and birds. The columns hold up plaster beams decorated with faces, starbursts, and fancy designs called cartouches. Between the columns are small balconies on the mezzanine and balcony levels. From here, people can look down into the main lobby. The ceiling is blue with a sunburst design. It is surrounded by Fox griffins (mythical creatures).
At the back of the lobby, a grand staircase leads to the mezzanine level. Two plaster lions with jeweled eyes guard the bottom of the stairs. Fish-like creatures decorate the balustrades (the railings of the stairs). On the mezzanine level, four columns frame two-story windows that look into the auditorium. A loggia (a covered walkway) above these windows lets people on the balcony level look down into the lobby.
Next to the grand stairs are doors that lead to the 2,898 seats on the orchestra level. The auditorium is 108 feet (33 meters) high and 175 feet (53 meters) wide. An inner lobby wraps around the seating area. It has two oval stairways that lead to the upper seating levels and the lounges downstairs. The walls of the auditorium are light brown. They are decorated with molded plaster plants, human faces, geometric designs, birds, and animals.
The proscenium (the arch over the stage) is 70 feet (21 meters) wide and 30 feet (9 meters) high. Like the side walls, it is decorated with animals, human figures, starbursts, and flowers. Above the center of the proscenium is an elephant's head. Below the elephant is a large, quatrefoil-shaped censer (a container for burning incense) that hides the speakers. The backstage area originally had 18 dressing rooms for performers, offices, and a broadcast booth. In the basement, there were staff dressing rooms, workshops, a first-aid room, a screening room, and storage rooms.
The orchestra pit and parts of the stage can be moved up and down using hydraulic lifts. The stage is 78 feet (24 meters) wide and 32 feet (10 meters) deep. It holds a large Wurlitzer organ. This organ was built especially for the theater. It is one of the few theatre organs in the world that is still in its original place.
On the side walls at the orchestra level, there are Moorish arches that reach up to the balcony. Above them is a row of columns at the balcony level. There are nine red scagliola columns that match those in the lobby. These columns support decorated arches. Behind the first three arches are grilles that hide the 2,700 pipes and other effects for the organ. The spaces between the other columns have tinted mirrors. The walls are topped with a decorative border called a cornice. It has lion and human faces among geometric designs and sunbursts.
The ceiling looks like a round tent with a hole in the middle, called an oculus. The tent drapes slightly and is covered with a special felt that helps with sound. It has a stenciled design. The ceiling of the oculus is blue. A large, globe-shaped chandelier made of colored glass hangs from a starburst design. This chandelier is 13 feet (4 meters) wide, weighs 2,000 pounds (907 kg), and has 1,200 pieces of glass!
The projection booth was one of the largest of its time. It originally had four projectors, three spotlights, and a Brenograph Machine. This machine was used to create special effects.
See also
