Fox Theatre
527 N. Grand Boulevard,
St. Louis,
MO
63103
527 N. Grand Boulevard,
St. Louis,
MO
63103
38 people
favorited this theater
Related Websites
The Fabulous Fox-St. Louis (Official)
Additional Info
Previously operated by: Arthur Enterprises Inc., Fox Circuit
Architects: Charles Howard Crane
Functions: Concerts, Performing Arts, Stage Shows
Styles: Oriental
Phone Numbers:
Box Office:
314.534.1111
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News About This Theater
- Jul 8, 2008 — AAA Magazine article focuses on Midwest theaters
- May 30, 2005 — St. Louis Fox to present "Stan Kann Celebration"
- Jul 29, 2004 — St. Louis Fox Parties Like it's 1929 on 75th Birthday
- May 24, 2004 — Fox Theatre to Celebrate 75th Anniversary
The Fox Theatre was opened on January 31, 1929 with Janet Gaynor in “Street Angel”. The St Louis Fox Theatre and its twin in Detroit were intended to be the Fox studio’s flagship Midwest theatres. Built in an exotic Siamese-Byzantine style, the St. Louis Fox Theatre alone cost nearly $5 million, at that time an outrageously huge sum for a movie theatre.
In the lobby, a pair of huge golden griffons flanked the grand staircase, and deep red faux marble columns ringed the mezzanine level. From every corner statuary peeked out—including a group of large gilt maharajahs. The cavernous auditorium was spectacular in scope, dramatic in its lighting and swirling décor, and when the Governor of Missouri appeared on its stage on opening night to dedicate it, he was nearly at a loss for words. It was equipped with a Wurlitzer 4 manual, 36 rank theatre organ which was opened by organist Betty Gould.
From the 1930’s through the 1950’s, not only did the Fox Theatre host gala movie openings, like 1957’s “The Spirit of St Louis” starring James Stewart, but was host to elaborate stage shows, and big-name entertainers, like Nat King Cole. But by the 1970’s, the theatre was reduced to screening kung fu epics to half-empty houses.
In 1981, the Fabulous Fox, not so fabulous after years of decline, was renovated in a year-long, $2 million renovation. Improvements were made to the sound and lighting systems, dressing rooms, and stage.
The St. Louis Fox Theatre is now host to concerts and Broadway shows and is more successful today than at any other time in its history.
Contributed by
Paul Salley, Bryan Krefft
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Recent comments (view all 160 comments)
This will be a great show!!! I am bringing 6 people from Chicago. 2 years ago was so good. And don’t forget a Stan & Oliver film too !!
The best show ever….Col. Jack was outstanding as well as Dave Wickerham & Justin Lavole…..All terrific artists!!! A show never to be forgotten…A very good attendance too. A beautiful afternoon in a beautiful movie palace!
March 14, 1930 photo added. Premiere of “The Golden Calf” at the Fox Theatre.
Postcard added advertising 6000 seats originally.
There is one inaccuracy in the description of the history of this still flourishing theater. During the 1960’s the Fox was still a top notch first run house playing movies like “Planet of the Apes”, “The Birds”, and “True Grit”, etc.. It wasn’t until the awful 1970’s that they resorted to kung-fu movies and so-called “blacksploitation” films. The theater closed after the theater operator, Arthur Enterprises, declared bankruptcy. It was rescued from certain oblivion by Mary Strauss and restored as a Broadway touring and concert venue in the 1980’s. The Fox is a major destination for touring shows and it’s powerful Wurlitzer is still operable. A rare survivor from the Golden Age of movie palaces.
Pleased to read that its Wurlitzer is still there and operational. They were built in North Tonawanda NY with the demonstration organ in the Riviera Theatre in NT for prospective buyers. There is a Wurlitzer in most surviving theatres in the Buffalo NY area.
The Fox theatre opened on January 31st, 1929. Grand opening ad posted.
The Fox Theatre appeared in the 1990 film “White Palace.”
Mayor Victor J. Miller’s grand opening ceremony speech in two takes can be both seen and heard here, which was filmed a few days prior to the opening of the Fox.
Additional history credit Missouri Historical Society, link at bottom.
January 31, 2017
Origin Story: The Fabulous Fox
by Jen Tebbe | Former Digital Communications Manager
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Although his name isn’t on the marquee, St. Louisans largely have Charles Howard Crane to thank for the Fox Theatre’s breathtaking architecture. Crane, a Connecticut native, certainly had a niche: He designed more than 250 movie theaters over the course of his career, including several so-called movie palaces.
In 1914, New York’s Mark Strand Theatre became the first movie palace to open its doors. With its unique second-floor viewing balcony and the ability to seat approximately 3,000 people, the Strand ignited a new appreciation for escapism through entertainment. For a small fee, patrons could enter a movie palace and be engulfed in the rich and exotic, immediately forgetting the drudgery of day-to-day existence.
Crane’s Fox theatres in Detroit and St. Louis fully embraced the exotic with their use of Siamese-Byzantine style, which mixed “the salient features of Burmese, Hindoo, Persian, Indian and Chinese architecture and decoration,” according to the March 1929 issue of Union Electric Magazine. Owner William Fox referred to the theatres’ décor differently, calling it “Eve Leo style” in reference to his wife’s hands-on involvement: She traveled widely to purchase furnishings for Fox’s theatres, making numerous trips from New York to Detroit to St. Louis to oversee their delivery and installation.
The two theatres are nearly identical twins, with the biggest difference visible when you observe them from the street. Because Detroit’s Fox Theatre was built in that city’s downtown, it was attached to an office building—albeit an intricately styled one. St. Louis’s Fox Theatre was built far enough from downtown that the building could have its own ornate façade, hence the elaborate arch housing a massive window that overlooks the grandiose lobby inside.
On January 31, 1929, the St. Louis Fox was ready for its debut. William Fox himself addressed the crowds, as well as Missouri governor Henry S. Caulfield and St. Louis mayor Victor J. Miller. In addition to the feature film Street Angel, which also happened to be the premiere film at the Detroit Fox’s opening, attendees were treated to a performance of Wagner’s Tannhäuser overture courtesy of the 150-person Fox Grand Orchestra; Tableaux St. Louis, “a tribute to the city’s civic pride and progressive enterprise”; and a performance of Irving Berlin’s “Roses of Yesterday” by the Fox Ballet and Choral Ensemble.
Today the Fox is home to concerts and touring Broadway performances. Although these spectacles weren’t what Crane had in mind when designing the space, the escapist nature of the venue’s entertainment remains intact thanks to towering red-and-gold columns, a powerful Wurlitzer organ, a bejeweled chandelier, and stunning staircases that lead us up and away from our daily grind—for a few hours anyway.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Because Crane’s renderings of the Fox are still under copyright, we can’t show you the detail here. If you want to take a look at—and even touch!—these fabulous artifacts, simply stop by the Library & Research Center at 225 S. Skinker Blvd. during regular operating hours.
Architecture, Charles Howard Crane, Detroit, Eve Leo, Fox Theater, movie palaces, Siamese-Byzantine style, Street Angel, William Fox, Wurlitzer organ.
https://mohistory.org/blog/origin-story-the-fabulous-fox?fbclid=IwY2xjawPbTmRleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETFCUm5JQVRwc1ZjZm8ycHpKc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHmA315wfclEmIrrInD7Ft-VQLOQWzPy_jjSFKtpj9u02UMmk20frDFtUEVEo_aem_4otwS7FwdsfOpnoQe9e5UA