The Fox
Theater is located in downtown Detroit at 2211 Woodward. The theater originally opened in 1928 as the
flagship theater of the Fox Theaters chain.
It was the first theater to be designed and built with a speaker system
for films with sound. The Fox Theater was listed on the National Register of
Historic Places in 1985, and was also designated as a National Historic
Landmark in 1989.
The Fox Theater of Detroit is one
of five Fox Theaters built in the late 20’s by film innovator William Fox. The
other theaters were built in Brooklyn, Atlanta, St. Louis and San Francisco.
The architect that built the Fox Theater in Detroit was C. Howard Crane, who
also designed other theaters in the area at that time. The Fox is that largest surviving theater of
the time, and the largest of the original five that were built. The Theater seats
5,048 and 5,174 if the removable seats from the raised orchestra pit are in
use. The interior design of the building is a mixture of Burmese, Chinese,
Indian and Persian motifs. This style of
design was quite unique for the time period, as most buildings were designed in
the Art Deco style of the time. The theater features three levels of seating
that include the Main Floor, the Mezzanine, and the Gallery, which is the
balcony. The building also features 10 stories of office space and the façade
of the entire building is done in an Asian style that is illuminated at night.
Unlike many of the other theaters
in the area, the Fox Theater was a movie destination for years and years. While many other theaters were closing their
doors, the Fox remained open. The theater did start to show its age though,
especially in the 1960’s and in the 1970’s the mezzanine and balcony levels
were closed off to the public. The
theater closed in the early 1980’s for a major restoration project. Mike and
Marian Ilitch purchased the Fox Theater in 1988 and put into motion a $12
million restoration project of the beloved theater headed by William Kessler.
The current marquee was installed during the restoration but it is based of the
original marquee that once graced this phenomenal theater.
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