Fox Theatre (St. Louis) facts for kids
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The Fox Theatre, St Louis
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| Location | 527 N. Grand Blvd. St. Louis, Missouri, United States |
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| Coordinates | 38°38′19″N 90°13′54″W / 38.63861°N 90.23167°W |
| Public transit |  MetroBus |
| Owner | Fox Associates |
| Type | Concert venue |
| Capacity | 4,500 |
| Construction | |
| Opened | 1929 |
| Renovated | 1982 |
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Fox Theater
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| Architect | C. Howard Crane |
| Architectural style | Siamese Byzantine style |
| NRHP reference No. | 76002261 |
| Added to NRHP | October 8, 1976 |
The Fox Theatre in St. Louis, Missouri, is a famous place for shows and concerts. It's also known as "The Fabulous Fox." This amazing building is in the arts area called Grand Center. It first opened in 1929 and was completely fixed up in 1982.
Contents
History of the Fox Theatre
The Fox Theatre was built in 1929 by a movie pioneer named William Fox. He wanted a special place to show his movies and big stage shows. It was one of five amazing Fox Theatres he built around that time. Other Fox Theatres were in Brooklyn, Atlanta, Detroit, and San Francisco.
When it opened on January 31, 1929, the Fox Theatre was one of the biggest theaters in the United States. It had 5,060 seats! For many years, it was one of St. Louis's most important movie theaters. Today, it's a popular place for many different kinds of performances.
Building Style and Design
The Fox was designed by C. Howard Crane, an architect who specialized in theaters. He used a mix of Asian decorations. This style is sometimes called "Siamese Byzantine." The inside of the St. Louis Fox Theatre looks almost exactly like the Fox Theatre in Detroit, which was built in 1928.
Reporters in 1929 said the Fox Theatres in St. Louis and Detroit were "awe-inspiring." They described them as being like "Hindoo Mosques of Old India," full of richness and dazzling details. William Fox called this style the "Eve Leo Style." This was a tribute to his wife, who bought many of the decorations, paintings, and sculptures for the inside of the theater during her trips overseas.
Restoration and Reopening
The Fox Theatre closed in March 1978. It was then bought by a group called Fox Associates in 1981. The theater was completely restored for at least $3 million. This was a big project, especially when you think it cost $6 million to build in 1929.
The theater reopened in September 1982 with the Broadway musical Barnum. The Fox Theatre can seat 4,192 people. There are also 234 seats in a special area called the Fox Club. In September 2007, the theater celebrated 25 years since its reopening. They had a concert and showed movies, just like when it first opened.
Famous Events at the Fox
The Fox Theatre has hosted many exciting events over the years.
Movies and Music
The outside of the Fox Theatre briefly appeared in the 1981 film Escape from New York. In the movie, the character Snake walks towards the theater. You can clearly see "FOX THEATRE" written in graffiti on the building.
The theater hosted a 60th birthday concert for rock and roll pioneer Chuck Berry in 1986. Chuck Berry was born in St. Louis. Keith Richards from The Rolling Stones helped lead the band for this concert. This concert was part of a documentary film about Berry called Hail! Hail! Rock 'n' Roll. In the film, Chuck Berry shared that when he was a child, he was not allowed into the Fox Theatre to watch a movie because of his race.
On June 25, 1991, Dan Fogelberg performed at the Fox. This concert was filmed and recorded. It was later released as a concert film and live album called Dan Fogelberg Live: Greetings from the West.
Political and Broadway Shows
The theater also hosted the Vote for Change Tour on October 6, 2004. This was a concert tour with a political message. Pearl Jam was one of the bands that performed.
The Fox was the last stop for the Third National Tour of Les Misérables. The final show was on July 23, 2006. This tour had been running for 17 years and had 7,061 performances!
America's Got Talent
The popular NBC show America's Got Talent came to the Fox Theatre from March 8 to March 10, 2012. They filmed five tapings where over 75 people performed for the celebrity judges. The judges included Howie Mandel, Sharon Osbourne, and Howard Stern. The host was Nick Cannon.
Howard Stern said in an interview, "We've been in three cities so far, and St. Louis has had the best talent." The judges were also very impressed by the lively audiences at the Fox. Howie Mandel said the audiences were "super jacked."
The Theater Organs
Main Wurlitzer Organ
The Fox Theatre has a huge Wurlitzer pipe organ. It cost $75,000 when it was bought in 1929. This amazing instrument has four keyboards, 36 sets of pipes (called ranks), and 348 stops to control the sound. The organ was carefully restored in 1981 by Marlin Mackley.
Tom Terry was the theater's main organist from 1929 to 1935. The organ was not played for the public for many years after that. In 1952, Stan Kann became the new resident organist. He played the organ at the Fox for 22 years. He became very famous among people who love theater organs.
Lobby Organ
A second Wurlitzer organ was put in the lobby during the theater's renovation in the 1980s. This smaller organ replaced an older one that had been removed. The lobby organ has two keyboards and 11 ranks. It was originally installed in the Majestic Theatre in East St. Louis, Illinois, in 1930.
