Fox Theatre

here is my unofficial Fox Theatre Website:

http://www.ameritech.net/users/musorgan/fox_page.htm

8/01 - The above link is no longer active.

Here is an active link: http://detroityes.com/rebound/foxsign.htm

The style of the Fox is, I believe, Rococo.

A good site for info on this theatre: detnews.com/history/fox/fox.htm

It's a grand large theatre now that it is restored. Once you step inside it is such a site to behold!

The style of the Fox is "Eva Leo", named for William Fox's wife Eva Leo Fox.
Designed by famous Detroit architect C. Howard Crane, The Fox seated 5041(41 seats more than The St.Louis Fox) prior to the 1988 12.5 million dollar renovation.
During the 60s The Fox was co-owned by movie producer Herman Cohen (I WAS A TEENAGE WEREWOLF) with his life long friend Bill Brown.

The Fox Detroit Theatre was operated by the Fox Michigan Corp. which was a division of National Theatres Inc.. Which also operated Fox West Coast Theatres, Fox Mid-West Theatres, Fox Inter-Mountain Theatres.

An exact twin to the St. Louis Fox. They only differ on the exterior.

A view of the Fox's lobby grand staircase can be seen in this 1930 photograph.

Both of the 2001 links are inactive. If anyone has current links, please post them.

Here is the current website for the Fox Theatre.

I would like to ad a word of correction to the previous comments regarding style. the offical style of the Detroit and St. Louis Fox theatres is "Siamese Byzantine" as described by it's architect, C. Howard Crane. It is not Rococo, as that term is properly used to describe Italian and French styles of the 17th and 18th century (many movie palaces were decorated this way). The term "Eve Leo" (not Eva) was a bit of 20's advertising ballyhooy (it was, after all a decade of intense ballyhoo) that was playing up on Mrs. Fox's habits in acting as purchasing agent for decorative items for the theatres. She had some descretion in what to buy, but many of the furnishings were specified by the architect/decorator. Her barganing powers were legendary. An often told story is where a supplier of furniture told her if she ordered what they had discussed they wold give her a very expensive piece for her home (which they would be pointing to at the moment) her reply was "how much is that table worth?" the salesman would reply with a grossly inflated figure. Her response: "fine,if you can afford to give me that table you can keep your table and subtract that amount from our bill!"
The "oriental" description on this site is adequate, and far more accurate than many I have seen in print and in cyberspace (the great un-editied library). I have been associated with the Detroit Fox since 1975, in one way or another. I have been on the theatre's staff since the 1988 re-opening. John

great to see you made it to the site John!
It's Sean from WaterWinterWonderland.

This Fox theater sounds to be as nice as the Fox in Atlanta and if you are in either Buffalo or Detroit this holiday season the Shea's in Buffalo and the Fox in Detroit have the Radio City Music Hall's Christmas Spectacular on their performance schedule! It is also in Columbus OH, Denver CO, St. Louis MO and Boston MA. Check the site www.thegarden.com/xs_cities.html for further details.

John Lauter: I just read that you "have been associated with the Detroit Fox since 1975, in one way or another" and "have been on the staff since the 1988 re-opening" so I'm quite sure you will be seeing the Radio City Music Halls' grand Christmas Spectacular many times over this holiday season! Lucky you! I wanted to see the show at the Shea's in Buffalo, but plans changed and I wasn't able to stay in the Buffalo area during those dates in November! :-(

Patsy, Yes I will be seeing lots of that show. I will be playing the Moller lobby organ and the auditorium Wurlitzer (both original to the theatre) before 13 of the sixty-some shows. We are the only "live" musical act in the show, the orchestral accompaniment being pre-recorded. The "review" nature of the RCMH Christmas show is a great fit for the Detroit Fox, and is remarkably like the live entertainment that preceded the movies during the halycon days. Thousands upon thaousands see this show every year, get to experience the magic of a movie palace (and what a palace!) and hear one of the last remaining all original, as built, still in it's original home--Wurlitzer theatre pipe organs. The Fox Wurlitzer is one of five made of the largest stock model Wurlitzers, only the Radio City Music Hall one-off organ in manhattan being larger.

How does the Radio City Christmas show at the Fox compare to the one at Radio City. The show in New York uses 36 Rockettes on its stage where many of the out of town shows only use 20-24 Rockettes.Is the show at the Fox a smaller show than the one in New York.brucec

In that sense, yes. NY still has a (ever shrinking) live orchestra, and the full 36 Rockette troupe. The set pieces are pretty much the same, we have 2 camels, 2 donkeys and 4 sheep for the finale. No, it's not exactly like New York, but we're not exactly in New York. It's still a lot of spectacle.

I guess if I had to pick where I would really like to see the RCMH Christmas show it would be in NYC, but would certainly go if I were near one of the performance cities! I see the list of cities are all first-timers this year so wondered if the Fox in Detroit will be on the docket for next year as well or will they have all new cities in '05? I recall years ago it was in Cincinnati, Cleveland OH and Myrtle Beach SC.

The RCMH Christmas spectacular has been running at the Detroit Fox since 1997, and has done very well. It shows no sign of ending within this decade. The Ilitch family, who owns the Fox (and the Little Caesar's Pizza chain, the outfit that paid for the restoration of the Fox) truly believes that the Fox should be doing that show every December (we run from 11/26-12/26) and have stated that they are not bottom line sensitive on that show. That hasn't been a problem, as the show has really caught on, and does very well. The RCMH people are enlarging the number of franchises they operate. I believe the Ohio theatre in Columbus is new this year with the show. John

I remember the Fox where, in the late 1950's, I attended a pipe organ recording session with Edgar Gress. I no longer have the record, and am interested if anyone knows where I can get a copy.

Keith, that record is a real collectors item today. It was on a private label (I don't even remember what the label name was) but it was Ed Gress' own label. He was from Detroit, moved to Boston in the late 50's and became a respected builder/designer of church and concert organs. Funny thing about that album--he was young when he recorded that disc, and played every song in the key of C! nice arrangements, though. After he moved to Boston an eminent professor of organ (who was a theatre organist in the 20's) heard him play, and Ed wanted to know what he thought of his playing. He replied that his style was good, but that there were 11 other keys that a song could be played in, and it might make his playing more enjoyable. Ed dug right in and studied all twelve keys, modulations between them, etc. and became very proficient in them.
I have only ever seen one copy of that album, a friend lent it to me in 1975, I made a really bad cassette copy and returned it. Good luck. John

John Lauter: I was going to send you an email, but it's not listed in your profile so will let you know here that you can go to www.ajc.com and read the articles with photos about the Fox Theatre in Atlanta and the upcoming 75th anniversary open house that is being planned on Dec. 26th from 1-7. You can also visit the Fox site on this cinema site. A Fox documentary was none on GPBS that will be shown on the 26th in the theatre with much more planned throughout the day....ballroom dancing in the theatre's ballrooms, too! Our Atlanta friends taped the GPBS program and will be sending it to us.It's been run on local GA TV throughout the month of December! Enjoy!

I posted a couple of photos of the Fox, Detroit that I took about 4 years ago on the Cinephoto UK website. One is of the lobby and the other shows part of the auditorium exterior:

http://www.cinephoto.co.uk/photos_martin_chapman.htm

I also took a couple of interior photo's that don't reproduce too well. I was almost thrown out of the place for taking them but what the heck...it was worth the aggravation to have my own pictures!
The Detroit Fox is a marvel to see. I make a point of visiting there from Canada once every year or so just to be overwhelmed.

Am enjoying the cinephoto.co.uk site. Thanks and it's great to find a place on the internet to share with other cinema nuts! HO HO HO!

To John Lauter- thanks for your kind response. I just completed a web search on the name Edgar Gress and, unfortunatley came up with an obituary notice: Gress, G. Edgar, American organbuilder, d. 2/1/1991 at 58; b. 1/5/1933. American Organist, v. 25 no. 4, April 1991.

Modern photo:

http://community.webshots.com/photo/175127446bZlZbu

TC: Great photo and will help me spot it if I find myself in Detroit in August for the Woodward Avenue Dream Cruise!

The recently released (at the time of this posting) movie 'The Upside of Anger' has a scene showing the marquee of the Fox towards the end of the film for those that are interested. I wouldn't have recognized it without looking it up here and for the fact the the movie was based in and around Detroit.

Although the exquisite Fox Theatre in Detroit is not exclusively a movie house, it is the largest active movie theatre in the USA. I have read where it has 4 more seats than the Fox Theatre in St. Louis. Since the restoration of this historic marvel, I have seen there the restored rerelease of Lawrence of Arabia. I also saw Ben Hur (the 1959 version) in which Charlton Heston and his family attended and were in the audience. Charlton gave a short talk before the show. He said in todays dollars (this was around 1989 when he said it) it would cost over 150 million dollars to produce! This a a wide-screen cinema buff's dream house.

Buster: I don't think there have been any movies shown at the Fox, Detroit for a few years now. In fact I am not sure the projection equipment is still there. I called the projectionists union local in Detroit last year to see any projectionists could get me up to the booth but I was told they have not sent anyone there for quite a while and he thought the equipment had been taken out. I could be wrong but thats the info I was given. Maybe John could weigh in here.
I was in the Fox last October and tried to see from the balcony what was behind the ports but I could not tell.
I also saw Ben Hur at the Fox years ago. What a magnificent and appropriate place to have seen it.

Buster, You probably heard me playing before "Lawrence of Arabia" that was the summer of '89 and I was playing 4-5 nights a week. We set a retro house record of 4880 patrons for one show!. The projectors are still very much in place at the Fox, although not much in the way of films is going on. They are used for the Radio City Music Hall Christmas show, to project the "One solitary life" text on the scrim, and a hokey "Santa flying over Manhattan" thing. The machines at the Fox are Cinemamechanica 35/70's, they were installed in '89 right before the "Lawrence" showings. They replaced Simplex XL's. The Fox booth is so huge it defies description. I played for many "Ben Hur" shows, but my good friend Tony O'Brien played the night of the Charlton Heston premier.

John:
Thanks for clearing things up!

While the Fox Theatre is "technically" a movie house, its one screen is used very rarely and only for limited special engagements. I saw "The Wizard of Oz" there January 1991 or 1992. It was terrific to see that movie on a BIG screen -- it was the first time I'd ever noticed the Tin Man's rust! Most often, the Fox is home to live performances like the Radio City Music Hall's Christmas Spectacular, mentioned above, and Broadway-style productions. It's a gem.

This is a closeup view of the Fox marquee in Detroit.

lostmemory: Wonderful detail photo of the Fox marquee!

Dictionary 101: The Shea's Theatre in Buffalo presented the Radio City Music Hall Christmas Spectacular last November. A beautiful painting of the Shea's can be found at www.thelmawinter.com listed under Unique Places.

Here is a picture of the Fox, Detroit showing the huge marquee and part of the huge auditorium and office building:

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b189/mrchronoman/foxdetroilexterior.jpg

Interior views of the Fox Theater are here and here and one more is here.

lostmemory: Thanks for these interior photos. The word...palatial comes to mind!

Here are more photos Patsy. These are larger.

Yes, larger and breathtaking.....a must-see, in person someday!

This is a large photo of the exterior during the day and this is the exterior at night.

Great news! The tower along the top of the Fox will be recreated with a cool LED scheme. Full info on that here: http://www.ilitchholdings.com/Portals/0/Fox-Tower-Sign-Facts.pdf

Today Ilitch had a press conference that included the United Artists, Fine Arts Building, Fox Theater, former Madison-Lenox Site and Detroit Building.

Full press release here.


Pics are under Media Room>Photo Gallery

Great news for the City of Detroit, but could someone post a photo of what this tower along the top of the Fox looks like? And to bruce c: There were only 18 Rockettes in the RCMH Christmas Spectacular in Charlotte.

They have a rendering under their photo gallery, as well as what the old one looked like. http://www.ilitchholdings.com/Portals/0/ILITCH_HOLDINGS_TO_

They have already finished installing them (what a turnaround!), unfortunately I haven't been down to get some photos of it yet.

SNWEB: When I went to the ilitchholdings site I was told that the page cannot be found, but then clicked on the home page and saw a color photo of the vertical Fox marquee and a photo of a lovely looking couple. Is this tower that you speak of the Fox marquee that reads FOX, vertically?

SNWEB: Upon looking further I found some b/w photos that showed a roof tower that read FOX, vertically and it had a coned shaped top on it. Is this the tower of which you speak?

I just went up to earlier posts and read the Fox tower spec sheet so now know it is located on the roof of the building. Yes, great news!

MY WHAT A GREAT PART OF AMERICIAN THEATER AND MUSIC HISTORY!

WITH JUST A "LITTLE BIT" OF SADNESS IN MY HEART... I'LL SHARE
THAT THE FOX PROPERTY WAS ALMOST DONATED TO MY NON-PROFIT,
CHRISTIAN ORGANIZATION ... SOME YEARS AGO. (BEFORE ITS PRESENT
OWNER AND REFERBASHING PROJECT)

WITH GREAT JOY, TIME HAS PROVEN;"THAT IT WAS NOT GOD'S PLAN (FOR
MY LIFE,NOR FOR THE THEATERS FUTURE)

WITH PEACE.. I CAN TRUELY "GIVE HIM THINKS".. FOR GUIDING MY
STEPS AND PREVENTING MY LIFE FROM MAKING A "WRONG TURN"...
THAT LOOKED VERY LUCRATIVE (FOR OUR INTERNATIONAL MINISTRY
AND MISSIONARY OUTEACHES).. BUT BEST FOR THE FATHERS DIVINE
WILL TO BE ACCOMPLISHED IN OUR LIFES!

TO GOD BE THE GLORY!

WHEN WE STAND BEFORE THE FATHER... THE ONLY THING THAT WILL
HAVE ANY VALUE..."IN HOW MANY OTEHRS WE BROUGHT TO HEAVEN
WITH US!

"JUST ONE LIFE...TWILL SOON BE LOST;
ONLY WHATS' DONE FOR CHRIST... WILL LAST! "

(REV. BUFORD DOWELL /EITENTS@YAHOO.COM)

*IN CHRIST ... IS LIFE!

Speaking only for myself, your interest in the theater is appreciated. I could do without the religious propaganda, though. Plenty of other websites for that.

SORRY I'VE OFFENDED YOU!

RELIGION OFFENDS ME TOO!

RELATIONSHIP..WITH THE LORD, DOES NOT!

I PRAY YOU TO WILL KNOW HIM... IN A PERSONAL WAY,
THEN YOU TOO WILL DESIRE TO SHARE YOUR JOY OF HIM,
TO EVERY ONE YOU CAN.

NO MATTER WHAT LIFE HAS DELT TO YOU,... GOD STILL
LOVES YOU AND HAS A PURPOSE FOR YOUR LIFE.

MY PURPOSE WAS NOT TO OWN THE FOX!

HE'S A GOOD GOD!

BUFORD DOWELL

Great new on the tower

As of last night it was up and running, the LED lighting and animated star, looks quite nice!

Here is a current link:
http://info.detnews.com/history/story/index.cfm?id=63&category=locations

National Theatres had two Fox Theatres that were seperate from Fox West Coast Theatres, Fox Mid-West Theatres, Fox Wisconsin Theatres, and Fox Inter-Mountain Theatres. They were this Fox Theatre, and The Fox Theatre in Philadelphia. The Fox Theatre in Philadelphia was built by Stanley and Jules Mastbaum, of The Stanley Company of America (later known through mergers as Stanley Warner Theatres, RKO Stanley Warner Theatres, RKO Century Warner Theatres, Cineplex Odeon Theatres, and now as AMC Loews Theatres). I believe National Theatres purchased The Fox in Philadelphia from Stanley Warner in 1946, and later sold it to Milgram Theatres in 1969.

When The Fox Theatre in Philadelphia closed in 1980, it's former backstage area was a seperate theatre, called Milgram's Stage Door Cinema Theatre. The Fox Theatre in Philadelphia was a 100% duplicate of the Loew's State Theatre in NYC.

The parent company National General also operated the Roxy Theatre in NYC. The Fox Theatre in Detroit opened on Sept. 21st 1928.

This is a recent night view of the Fox theater.

This isn't perfect for this page, but I doubt the Philadelphia Fox was built by the Mastbaums for their competitors. They were builders, so I am open to hearing the proof, but it doesn't sound right to me.
I know Glazer says the Philly Fox building was a duplicate of NYC's Loews State, but I don't know if the entire interior of the theater was a twin.
I'm also disliking the long ownership chain. If not earlier, at least when Warner disappears from the name, there's no resemblence to any former company.

Lost Memory's photo gallery above includes a picture of the entire roof sign.

It is sweet.

And I never picked up on the fact that this place has 5,000 seats!!!

Holy Moses!!!

Sweet:

http://www.ilitchholdings.com/MediaRoom/ImageGallery/tabid/130/AlbumID/432-6/Default.aspx

Sweet:

http://www.ilitchholdings.com/MediaRoom/ImageGallery/tabid/130/AlbumID/432-4/Default.aspx

This place rules.

Just a note to let everyone know, the projection equipment is still at the FOX in Detroit and is still is GREAT working order. Just last month there was a movie there, "Field of Dreams"

This is a recent photo of the Fox Theater.

Here are a few recent photos of the Fox Theater. Click each photo to expand it.

Did I mention that the roof sign is sweet?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/i_am_jacques_strappe/335849197/

Added to the National Register of Historical Places in 1985

Fox Theater Building *** (added 1985 - Building - #85000280)
2111 Woodward Ave., Detroit
Historic Significance: Event, Architecture/Engineering
Architect, builder, or engineer: Crane,C. Howard
Architectural Style: Other
Area of Significance: Architecture, Entertainment/Recreation
Period of Significance: 1925-1949
Owner: Private
Historic Function: Commerce/Trade, Recreation And Culture
Historic Sub-function: Business, Theater
Current Function: Commerce/Trade, Recreation And Culture
Current Sub-function: Business, Theater

Unlike most theaters listed in Cinema Treasures, Detroit's FOX THEATRE is fully restored, operating a year-round calendar of shows, is attended by thousands, and is the most magnificent theatre I've ever seen. Do a search for olympiaentertainment.com for a full schedule, and the next time you eat a Little Caesar's pizza, keep in mind that's where the restoration money came from. They own it now.

This is another recent view of the Fox Theater.

Here is another view of the Fox Theater at night.

I'm always amazed that once upon a time you could just go to the movies at these places -- you know, walk up to the box office, pay a dollar or two (and often less!), and suddenly you're whisked away for a few hours of magic.

Aahhhh.............saps, that was the whole idea, and it was a lot less than a dollar. The palaces were very elaborate grind houses that entertained huge numbers of people every day, not just concert events as most of the survivors today are used.

A more recent photo of the Fox Theater can be seen here.

I went to the Fox to see Artie Lange on the 15th of september and was completely awestruck.The show was good also.

Jeez...can Artie Lange fill a 5,000 seat theater? Who else was on the bill?

It was close to 4000!He had 3 other comedians from the Howard Stern show open for him and it was a great show.

Excellent photos of the Fox here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/snweb/sets/463068/?page=12

you could easily spend half an hour looking at them all.

It is, without a doubt, one of America's magnificent buildings.

little caesar's may own it, but at least they haven't changed the name. i saw wilco there last night and didn't see any sign of little caesar's other than banners in the concession stand advertising pizza for sale.

speaking of concessions, the candied warm nuts they sell just inside the door are delicious!!!!! what a great theater, in every possible way. it gives me hope that chicago's uptown, which i live near, can still be saved from near-death.

This is a December 2007 photo.

I saw Rossanne Barr here in concert in the early 90s. Not the best theatre for that kind of show but im sure big touring musicals and movies are amazing in this beautiful auditorium.

I got to play here once, amazing stage. Here is a close-up of the sign ( very cool ) , taken in mid-October 2007.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/detroitderek/2109941636/in/set-72157602770798694/

FYI. There is a brief glimpse of the Fox marquee in a current Kid Rock music video, "Roll On" or something.
It features KR driving around the Detroit area in an `60's Lincoln convertable.

A giant fenced-in classic building with arches is also featured. Presumably an abandoned auto manufacturer's headquarters.

My wife and I went to the theatre last night for new years eve with Bare Naked Ladies. We went in over an hour early to take in all of the sights, and even that wasn't enough time! The more you look at the detail, the more that you can see of this beautiful house.

Even though BNL can rock the house, I can't imagine what a full fledged rock concert could bring. We sat in the mezzanine and could see the rail rise and fall with the sway from the crowd. Architecturally amazing that this cantilever still performs 80 years later.

And another photo of the Fox.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ifotog/2814898927/sizes/o/

The last time I ventured into the Fox was during Spring Break from college in 1963. I rememember seeing the unforgettable "Days of Wine and Roses" starring Jack Lemon and Lee Remick. Sunday night at the movies was a ritual when I moved to Detroit in 1957 to live with my father and stepmother, but Dad was extremely "thrifty" and didn't believe in wasting good money on first run movies shown at the Fox and other downtown theaters, so I had to sneak like a fox into the Fox whenever I got the chance. Was there an organ player during intermission or is it just my imagination? For me the Fox Theater and Michigan Central Station epitomized big city glamour, grandeur, and magic. I felt, "This is where I belong." I was transformed.

I felt the same magical transformation when captivated by the Fox Theater in Atlanta after it integrated in the 60's.

1977 Photo

1980 Photo

1982 Photo

1983 Photo

1983 Photo

Is the current marquee a 1920's original or a restoration of a 40's or 50's one? Also, can anyone tell my why the Detroit and St. Louis theatres were designed as " twins"?

The original 1920's marquee was simpler. I don't know when the current marquee was put up. As far as why the St. Louis and Detroit Foxes were twins, I can only guess that the theatres were being built at close to the same time, and it was probably a money saving measure to be able to use the same molds for the plasterwork.

Here is an interior photo, circa 1930s:
http://tinyurl.com/kt6wn4

This is a nice shot of the Fox at night.

This a nice night photo of the Fox from CT member Derek Farr
http://www.flickr.com/photos/detroitderek/1308362844/in/set-72157602770798694/

Nice shots of the Vertical looks much better with it.