Fox Theatre

It was here at the Fox Theatre in 1976 the the southern rock group Lynyrd Skynyrd recorded their "One More For The Road" live LP. This album is on of Lynyrd Skynyrd best selling albums to date.

The Fox Theatre was part of the American Broadcasting-Paramount Theaters, Inc. chain. And was operated in the Wilby Kincey Service Corp. division of the company. And when it was a movie theatre it seated 4462 people.

Following is a linkshowing the balcony of the Fox Theatre circa 1980. From the Library of Congress.

In the days when New York's Metropolitan Opera toured the country in a leased train, the Fox with its spacious orchestra pit, large stage and copious dressing room facilities was an annual stop. What a change from the grand, formal surroundings of the Met's home! To have heard the Met perform AIDA in the "Arabian Nights" Fox would have been an experience to remember for a lifetime!

I saw this lovely theatre in 1980. Art Linkletter was doing a free benefit -- it was standing room only. Even though the Fox had definitely been "saved" by this time, there were still a surprising number of cars around sporting "Save The Fox" bumper stickers. This is a must see theatre so if you're able, go celebrate the Fox's 75th birthday with a visit.

FOX NOTICE! Anyone interested please go to www.foxtheatre.org and read about the upcoming open house on the 26th of December as the theatre is celebrating its 75th anniversary on that date! The open house will be from 1-7 with many things planned throughout the day! Also, on the Atlanta Journal-Constitution newspaper site (www.ajc.com) you can read the first of many articles this week concerning the theatre's wonderful history! For your convenience, here is the article site to cut and paste into your browser! Enjoy as I did!

http://www.ajc.com/news/content/metro/atlanta/1204/18fox.html

I plan to attend the Fox Theatre open house on December 26th! I plan to wear a nametag that says CINEMA THEATRES.ORG with my name beneath PATSY so look for me as I'd love to meet others who post on our cinema site! I will post my thoughts and experiences here on Monday or Tuesday!

I miss have had too much eggnog as I meant CINEMA TREASURES.ORG

Yes, Patsy, I think you "miss" have had too much eggnog.

LOL! Boy, that eggnog is good!

Well, I have returned from the 75th anniversary open house at the Fox Theatre. For those of you who were there you know how much fun it was though the theatre was packed and for those who couldn't make it you truly missed a "Fabulous Fox" event. I wore my cinematreasures.org nametag and since nobody came up to me I did mention it to Larry Douglas Embury, organist in residence. I rec'd his business card and have sent him a thank you. When we finally entered the lobby I knew I had finally arrived! The sights and sounds were all there to take in. We quickly proceeded to the auditorim and it was only then that a small tear appeared at the corner of my eye as I stood and 'drank in' what was before my very eyes. The thought that the Fox came so very close years ago to becoming only a memory was more than I could comprehend as I stood and looked around then up at the star filled ceiling! We attended the 4:30 show sitting in the FRONT ROW right behind the organ as it slowly rose from the orchestra pit with Larry sitting at the keyboard! The restorer of the organ as told on the Fox documentary video is now the "Phantom of the Fox" as he was given the theatre apartment in return for his work restoring the organ! He lived up to his name as he was never seen by me that day nor by anyone I asked! Before the "1929" show we all sang Let Me Call You Sweetheart. We then toured the 2 ballrooms where an orchestra was playing, anniversary cakes were cut and served, dance lessons were underway to anyone who wanted to learn in the Egyptian ballroom and in the other ballroom were displays of the theatre's vast and rich history. Mayor Fergeson was the Mayor at the time the Fox was to be saved and he was directly responsible for one of the demolition permits to be halted! Unfortunately, Mayor Fergeson didn't live to attend the 75th anniversary open house event yet I feel that he was smiling down on that special day in Atlanta GA. And in the concession area which was a large room off the lobby they were selling cokes at 1929 prices along with chili dogs from The Varsity!

Hello All! and a Very Happy New Year too!
Joe Patten, my mentor and "Phantom of The Fox," also restores vintage cars. His 1947 Cadillac, Rolls and Bentley were part of the Shriner "Auto" parade, and brought dignitaries to the Fox, so Joe was busy organizing that outside. The 75th was truly an event not soon forgotten. For my part, it was thrilling to show off "Mighty Mo," in all "her" glory. Whenever you're at the theatre, stop by and say hello and have a glass of wine with me.
Most Sincerely,
Larry Douglas Embury
Organist in Residence
The Fabulous Fox Theatre
Atlanta Georgia
LarryD@DuoArts.com

Larry: I, for one, so much appreciate you taking the time to include your Fox thoughts on this cinema site. My husband and I truly enjoyed meeting you and Mighty Mo! I recently attended a MTOS dinner/meeting. Our longtime Atlanta friends sent me the Fox 2 hour video during the holidays so we showed that wonderful tape to the Metrolina Theatre Organ Society group and they fell in love with the Fox all over again. In fact, one of the members, Charlie Clayton who is originally from Atlanta and has known Joe Patten and the organist prior to you, Mr. VanCamp for many years so he truly enjoyed the video! So whenever we find ourselves back in Atlanta we'll come by to share a glass of wine. BTW, we would love to meet the "phantom", too! God Bless you and God Bless the Fabulous Fox! Happy New Year!

This person has a nice photo album of the Fox Theatre at this link:
http://community.webshots.com/user/fiftythree

TC: THANKS!

My wife and I lived in Atlanta between l966 and l968, and we went regularly to the Fox to hear Bob VanCamp play the beautiful Moller pipe organ between film screenings. What a magnificent sound.

Henry Aldridge

Does the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra ever use this theatre for concerts or opera's?? I know they have their own symphony hall but I was wondering if they accompany ballet's or opera's here at this theatre?

Henry: A friend of mine in Charlotte NC knew Mr. VanCamp and I recently met the current organist during the 75th anniversary celebration on December 26th, 2004.

Here is a link to a photo of the entrance and marquee of the Fox Theatre.
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y147/Chuck1231/FoxTheatreAtlantaGa.jpg

Charles: Fabulous photo of the fabulous Fox!

The word "fabulous" is an understatement when applied to the Fox. My personal connection to the Fox is intense since I grew up in Atlanta in the 1950's and 1960's. As a small boy, my father took me to the Fox a number of times. Among my most memorable experiences was seeing John Ford's THE SEARCHERS (1956), starring John Wayne, at the Fox. Over the years, I saw a lot of movies there, as well as live events.

After the demolition of Atlanta's Paramount, Roxy, and Loew's Grand, I am doubly thankful that the Fox was saved. On the my most recent visits to Atlanta, I took the tour of the Fox. It was very gratifying to say the least.

When my father was dying in 1996, I visited him in the hospital immediately after taking the tour of the Fox. In spite of his suffering, he brightened up when I told him how wonderful the theater looked. Our shared memories of the movies that we saw there turned what might have been a grim visit into a a very happy experience for both of us. It was the last conversation that I had with him before he died.

In a way, I owe that wonderful last experience with my father to the Fox Theater.

Don K: What a beautiful story about the Fox and about your dying father and your last conversation with him. A very uplifting and bright post that was so nice of you to share with all of us.

Here is a beautiful color photo of the Fox Theatre in Atlanta, Ga.
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y147/Chuck1231/Georgia%20Theatres/AuditoriumFoxTheatreAtlantaGa.jpg

Charles: GREAT photo!

This website has lots of nice photos of the Fox Theater in Atlanta. Click each photo to enlarge.

Old wartime photos:
http://www.508pir.org/images/benning/LBMPE2-030a-lg.jpg
http://www.508pir.org/images/benning/LBMPE2-031a-lg.jpg
http://www.508pir.org/images/benning/LBMPE2-031d-lg.jpg

More photos of the Fox in Atlanta can be seen here and here.

lostmemory: Nice slide show of a VERY nice theatre that was SAVED!

I saw Kansas in concert here in 1977 (76?) and Grateful Dead in 1978. Really amazing place to see live bands like those. The acoustics were phenominal, much better than the usual stadium or pavillion, although probably not designed that way like most symphony auditoriums.

I remember walking the stairs to our seats, thinking you could literally fall off the stairs and end up on the floor near the stage, it was so steep. But that could have been partly due to my altered state.

The acoustics of the Fox Theatre were even more wonderful if you had heard the Philadephia Orchestra perform there! For years, the Metropolitan Opera performed at the Fox for its spring tour. Supposedly, the singers really liked the accoustics of the Fox.

Of course, a good part of the auditorium is essentially a plaster shell. What appears to be an Arab tent at the back of the balcony is actually an accoustic foil. It literally deflects soundwaves and sends them back into the house! If you look at the top of the "Arab tent", you'll see what appears to be grease stains from cooking on the tent canvas. It's all an illusion! It's painted on plaster hung on a wire or steel frame.

Yes, the stairs in the balcony can seem a bit steep. They certainly seemed that way to me when I was a child. However, the sight lines for watching movies in the balcony were great! Some people preferred them to the sight lines in the orchestra.

With an optimum seating capacity of aproximately 4400 seats for movies, there wasn't a bad seat in the house! Apparently it can be fitted with more seats for music concerts.

Interesting enough, the New York's Radio City Music Hall is surviving with a policy of booking live events similar to what it's creator, Roxy Rothafel, envisioned. The Fox seems to be surviving and prospering with a similar policy.

Long may they reign!

Here is a 1946 photo of the Fox Theater.

lostmemory: Great b/w!

Color postcard: www.i8.photobucket.com/albums/a18/Warrengwhiz/foxatlanta.jpg

Another photo tour of the Fox can be found here:
www.whitenberg.de/FoxTheatreAtlanta

The Fox Theatre opened on Dec. 25th, 1929.

Yes, Christmas Day...how very special!

I've seen a few Broadway musicals at the Fox over the years, but despite my best intentions had never attended a movie there until last night. June 12, 2006 was the 25th anniversary of the release of "Raiders of the Lost Ark," and the Fox was showing it as part of their summer film festival. The audience was full of enthusiasm, and I had an absolute blast. Seeing one of my all-time favorite films on the big screen for the first time in the Fox's gorgeous setting is an experience I'll always treasure. It was more than worth the 120-mile drive, and my excitement has rubbed off on my wife; we'll probably make our way down to another screening later in the summer.

The story of the Fox and how the folks of Atlanta cared enough to save this theatre treasure is most remarkable so a visit to the Fox on Peachtree is really special as one stands and looks around knowing how close this theatre came to being demolished and all of its beauty lost forever. Thank goodness it was not and we have it today. Thank you Atlanta!

This link has some recent photos of the Fox Theater. Click each photo to expand it.

Here is a December 1974 article from the Nevada State Journal when demolition appeared imminent:

IT'S CURTAINS AT LAST FOR HISTORIC ATLANTA MOVIE THEATER
NOW A "DECAYING FASHIONPLATE"

The ornate, mosque-like Fox Theater, a landmark near downtown Atlanta that has been a source of cultural pride for nearly half a century, will show its final film -"The Klansman" - January 2. The "Klansman," a critically panned Richard Burton - Lee Marvin film taken from a William Bradford Huey novel, is scheduled to end the Fox's final performance at 11:12 p.m.

"I'm going to put the chains on the doors on the 2nd, and after that, nobody will be let in again," said E. E. Whitaker, executive vice president of Georgia Theater Co., owner of the huge theater, said to be the last of its kind in the country. "It takes $1,000 a day to open the front door, and some days they don't take in $100," Whitaker said."

Opened at Christmas 1929, the Fox is a decaying fashionplate of theater architecture, equipped with indoor weather effects and the Metropolitan Opera in its annual spring performances in Atlanta. The outside is elaborate brick and tile, with the peaked
arches and spires of a Moslem mosque. In recent years, the Fox has been showing the black-oriented action and martial arts genre of film fare.

A "Save the Fox" effort among Atlantans began last summer with a moratorium requested by Mayor Maynard Jackson to forestall destruction of the theater until May 1. Numerous proposals were made to turn the lavish Fox into a music hall or cultural center of some sort, including an offer by local pornography kingpin Mike Thevis to buy the theater and give it to the city. But Thevis is now serving a federal prison term and other groups have apparently been unable to raise the money for the purchase.

The city block on which the Fox and a few other buildings stand has been sold to Southern Bell Telephone Co. for $3.5 million. The telephone company plans to tear down the buildings to make way for office space. A Southern Bell spokesman, Dick Yarborough, said Tuesday, "We'll step aside for anybody who can come up with the money to buy it from us, $3.5 million, and an alternative that would preserve it." If no such plan is forthcoming by May 1, he said, "The plans are to tear it down and build an office building." He added, "The owners told us they were going to tear it down anyway."

Daytime Photo of the Fox Theater and a night photo.

Lost Memory: I've been to this theatre (75th anniversary) 2 years ago and it was a special day for anyone interested in theatres as this one is certainly a special theatre. By the Grace of God and the fine folks of Atlanta it was spared the wrecking ball. Amen.

Johnny Winter sure loved to play there in the 1970's!

Added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1974

Fox Theatre *** (added 1974 - Building - #74002230)
Also known as See Also:Fox Theatre Historic District
660 Peachtree St., Atlanta
Historic Significance: Architecture/Engineering, Event
Architect, builder, or engineer: Et al., Vinour,Olivier J.
Architectural Style: Other
Area of Significance: Performing Arts, Architecture
Period of Significance: 1925-1949
Owner: Private
Historic Function: Recreation And Culture
Historic Sub-function: Theater
Current Function: Recreation And Culture
Current Sub-function: Theater

Few moments in my move going can match the experience of my visit to the FOX theater tonight ...300 playing one night one show at 7 pm after being out for months. It is the first time in my adult life i have ever viewed a FILM WITH OVER 2,500 PEOPLE IN THE AUDIENCE.WOW!

First the organist with a sing along,then a 1930s newsreel remake a WB cartoon and a new print of "300".
M

longislandmovies: Yes, the Fox is a very special theatre and one that was almost demolished. I was pleased to read your memorable account of your visit to the Fabulous Fox! For any theatre buff, it is a must-see!

NOW PLAYING AT THE FABULOUS FOX

http://www.flickr.com/photos/24391992@N00/583753962/

Night photo of THE FOX.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/24391992@N00/560736588/

I lived in the Atlanta area from 1971-89. Back in the early 70s I attended a number of movies at "The Fabulous Fox." One of the Friday/Saturday night attractions was Bob Van Camp at the "Mighty Mo." Its massive console rose from the orchestra as the organ roared to life, much to the delight of the audience. I remember how close Atlanta came to losing this treasure in the mid 70s. Last month the Fox opened one afternoon during American Guild of Organists regional convention. We got to hear "Mighty Mo" and see the auditorium in all its splendor..quite a treat for someone who hadn't been there in a long time! It's good to know that this architectural gem has been preserved.

And yes, oh yes, "it's good to know that this architectural gem has been preserved"....and NOT destroyed like the Paramount in Nashville.

Here is another photo of the Fox Theater.

This is the "Fabulous" Fox Theater.

This is the "Fabulous" Fox Theater.

I just got back from the Fox presentation of Spiderman 3. Seeing it at the Fox made this mediocre movie truly spectacular! I'm guessing there were about 3000 people there. It is truly something to hear the "Mighty Mo" organ followed by the pristine digital projection of the movie on the giant screen. I am so glad the people of Atlanta still appreciate the Fox as a movie theater. At $7 a ticket its the best entertainment deal in town.

Yes, it is the best entertainment in town as I have been there and seen the Fox in all of its glory!

Another recent photo of the Fox at night can be seen here.

Here is a photo from the Stan Malone Collection of the Fox Theatre made sometime after it closed in 1978.

A friend of mine in Atlanta recently sent me an article about the Fox and the man who has lived there for many years. Heis known as the "Phantom of the Fox".

This is a long post on the final years of the Fox as a regular movie theatre, and the summer film festivals and was prompted by Jack being kind enough to place the above photo link on his Flickr site. If your Fox interest is the in early years, "Save The Fox", or plays and concerts then you will probably find it dull.

I doubt if any one person, even Joe Patten, knows every bit of Fox history, but there are dozens if not hundreds of us who know the details of very small slices of the lifetime of this great venue. Yes, I do think that it is a great place, and a treasure as well, but in all honesty I never thought that the Fox was a very good place to actually see a movie. The trouble is that the Fox is a hybrid. Not really built as a theatre, either film or legit, it serves adequately for both, but not as well as it could if it had been built with either one in mind. The keystone deflection caused by the angle of the projectors is noticeable, and the sound bouncing off of the plaster walls pretty hollow. I have always thought that it is the look, feel, and atmosphere of the place that makes it great. Even though movie purists (of which I am not one) do not approve, the organ concert before the movie is enjoyable as well. The sing-a-long, less so to me at least, but lets face it, these days most people come to movie nights at the Fox for the experience. The movie is often secondary.

As for the small bit of Fox history that I am somewhat familiar with, it starts in 1967 when my family moved to Atlanta. The feature at that time was "The Dirty Dozen". This list of bookings with the length of the run in weeks in ( ) will give you an idea of what the Fox was up against business wise as it entered the final years of its life as a movie theatre:

El Dorado (3)
Two For The Road (3)
Emily (2)
Who's Minding The Mint (2)
Waterhole #3 (2)
Rosie (2)
Point Blank (4)
Valley of the Dolls (8) - Christmas feature
Good, Bad, Ugly (2)
Happiest Millionaire (3)
Will Penny (1)
Doctor Zhivago (1)
Blackbeards Ghost (3)

"Doctor Zhivago", one of my all time favorite films which over the years must have played in almost every movie theatre in Atlanta, was among the first movies I saw here. Little could I have imagined that 28 years later I would be running it from the projection booth for a sold out house. I also remember seeing "Blackbeards Ghost" here on a Saturday night, made memorable only because it was the first time that I saw and heard the organ used, this time just as a filler between shows. I also remember my mother telling me about how she attended movies here during the 30's and 40's when the place was full and she had to stand behind the wall located behind the last row of seats. Quite a change from that sparsely attended night. Next came:

Sweet November (3)
Stranger In Town (2)
Private Navy of Sgt. O'Farrell (2)
Family Band (2)
Sweet Ride (4)
Green Berets (4)

For "Green Berets" it was the World Premiere since the movie was filmed at Forts Benning and Rucker. John Wayne was on hand and since the date was July 4th, he was the Grand Marshall of the WSB Independence Day Parade that year.

Where Were You When The Lights Went Out? (2)
Never A Dull Moment (2)
With Six You Get Eggroll (3)
Prudence and the Pill (4)
The Heart Is A Lonely Hunter (2)
I Love You Alice B.Toklas (3)
Lady In Cement (3)
Horse In The Gray Flannel Suit (3) Christmas 1968
Impossible Years (3)
Angel In My Pocket (2)
Stalking Moon (3)
Wrecking Crew (2)
African Safari (2)
Swiss Family Robinson (2)
GWTW (2)
Mayerling (1)
Doctor Zhivago (1)
Hard Contact (2)
The Longest Day (2)
True Grit (5)

"The Longest Day" which was a booking for the 25th Anniversary of D-Day was a special event for me in that it was the first time that I was allowed to attend a movie here alone. I rode the bus downtown, watched the afternoon show, and then had the treat of watching it again since my father met me after work and watched it with me. I also saw "True Grit" here. My mother and I met my father downtown and since we arrived early, we sat on the steps to the balcony, which was closed on that Friday night. This was the first time that I noticed a problem with the Fox as a movie theatre. The lobby crowd, when there was one could hear the movie almost as well as those inside, and the noise from the lobby would carry into the auditorium.

Rascal (3)
The Chairman (1)
Once Upon A Time In The West (3)
Italian Job (2)
Bullitt / Bonnie and Clyde (2)
Rain People (2)
Butch Cassidy (7) m/o from Loews Grand (I think)
Undefeated (4)
The Rievers (4)
101 Dalmatians (5)
The Only Game In Town (1)
Computer Wore Tennis Shoes (3)
In Search of the Castaways (3)
Kremlin Letter (1)
Ballard of Cable Hogue (1)
Lawyer (1)
Ben-Hur (1)
Butch Cassidy (2)
How The West Was Won (3)
Charlie Brown (4)
Boatniks (3)
Kelly's Heroes (5)
Jungle Book / Love Bug (2)
Hotel (1)
Giant (2)
Son of Flubber (1)
Monte Walsh (4)
Dirty Dingus McGee (3)
Aristocats (4) Christmas 1970
Wuthering Heights (4)
Wild Country (4)
My Fair Lady (1)
Barefoot Executive (3)
Vanishing Point (3)
Harper (1)
Racing Scene (1)
Escape From The Planet of the Apes (3)
20,000 Leagues Under The Sea (2)
LeMans (4)
Million Dollar Duck (2)
Tom Sawyer (1) (not the musical)
Pinocchio (2)
Sand Pebbles (1)
Young Love Is A Melody (1)
Joy In The Morning (1)
Believe In Me (2)
The Late Liz (2)
Jesse James (2)
Macbeth *

"Macbeth" ran for one night only, November 4, 1971, and someone did an excellent job promoting it. It was probably a rental, and was an old version with Maurice Evans and Dame Judith Anderson. For weeks before, the schools had been deluged with promotional materials and group discount ticket sales. I was an attendee, and the place was packed, although with so many teenagers present there was not much movie watching going on as it turned into one big party. As you might expect, the Varsity was packed before the show and the Krispy Kreame likewise afterwards.

Stars In My Crown (1)
Something Big (4)
Vanishing Point (1)
Lady And The Tramp (3) Christmas 1971
Peter Rabbit And Beatrix Potter (1)
Song of the South (5)
The Cowboys (8)

Even a brief glance at this long list makes it obvious what the booking pattern was. Lots of Walt Disney, John Wayne, and adult appeal movies that could still be viewed by the whole family. Very few "R"s. Also, very short runs. Georgia Theatre Company owned the Fox, but it was operated under a management contract by ABC Southeastern Entertainment, which also operated the downtown Roxy, the Phipps Plaza, and the Alabama and Ritz in downtown Birmingham. Although the Phipps had some long runs, the policy for these huge downtown theatres was family or acceptable adult movies turned over every two or three weeks. Given their large capacities, anyone who would be willing to go downtown for the movie could be accommodated at any time and after a couple of weeks, the feature would move to the intermediate houses in the suburbs where the rest of its audience awaited it. The longest run for any of these movies was "The Cowboys". I do not know which one did the most business overall, but the one day record had to have been held by "Song of the South". This was its last re-release before being banned, and although I had never heard of it, plenty of people had. On its opening weekend Atlanta was hit with a constant, heavy rain. This is a boon to theatre owners but a curse on the employees who actually ran the theatres as everybody always looks for something to do to get away from the house and such close proximity to the rest of the family. On the opening Saturday, every one of the 4600 Fox seats was full for the afternoon shows, and the two night shows did well also.

This pattern continued until the summer of 1973 when things started to change. The features that summer will tell the story. After a very successful run of "Worlds Greatest Athlete", the features were:

Coffy (5)
Song of the South / Arisocats (2)
Friends of Eddie Coyle (2)
Slaughter's Big Ripoff (3)
Cahill: U.S. Marshall (2)
That Same Summer (1)

"That Same Summer" was nothing but a filler booking of the previous years Broadview Plaza hit "Red Sky At Morning" re-released under a different title. As you can see there was a changing of the guard here as the next three bookings were:

Detroit 9000 (4)
Super Fly / 5 Fingers of Death (1)
7 Blows of the Dragon (3)

At this time I was working as a doorman across the street at the Atlanta Theatre, and many of the employees of the Fox, Atlanta, Baronet, and Coronet, at least knew each other, and would sometimes meet for a midnight breakfast at the Huddle House next to the Atlanta. Afterwards, we would go to the makeshift firing range someone had set up in the old coal bunkers of the Fox basement and blast away. Many nights I would go home with my ears ringing and covered with a fine layer of coal dust shaken loose after all of those years by the concussions.

Another event during this summer of 1973 was the first and perhaps only time the Fox hosted the Atlanta Film Festival. This was a short lived effort during the 70's that is notable here only because there was quite a bit of attention paid to it since it had been announced that "The Last Tango In Paris" would open the festival. Not a big deal you would think except for one small detail. This is hard to believe now, but although the film had been in release around the country for weeks if not months, it had yet to play in Atlanta. This was because the Fulton County Solicitor General, Hinson McAuliffe, had made a name for himself, and attracted a lot of free publicity, by raiding theatres playing adult movies. He usually left the hardcore 16MM stuff alone but never hesitated to go after higher profile targets such as the Andy Warhol movie "Lonesome Cowboys", "Oh Calcutta'', and later "Story of O'' and "Flesh Gordon", and quite a number of managers and projectionists who were not exactly threats to the public were carted off to jail. McAuliffe had already vowed, in advance, to raid any theatre which dared expose the good people of Fulton County to such filth. A lot of us were waiting to see if the Fox Theatre, of all places, would get busted for daring to run Tango. As it worked out, the Fox declined to get involved and it was announced that Tango would open the festival at a different location. However, McAuliffe was hot on the trail, and the movie never played, or if it did, not to the public.

As for the picture in the link, it was taken on January 10, 1975. As everyone knows, the place had just closed. Mike Spirtos, one of the nicest managers I have ever had the pleasure of working with had invited everyone to hang around after the last show on the 2nd and enjoy their last visit. Mike moved up Peachtree to manage the Phipps Plaza, and the Fox sat empty. By this time I was managing the South DeKalb Theatre for Georgia Theatre Company which meant that every Monday morning would find me at the Fox to attend the managers meeting at the Georgia Theatre Company offices located in what is now the Grand Salon. Although rather cold sounding, that quote posted above from E.E. Whitaker, the GTC GM, was accurate. The Fox was no where close to breaking even. I was told that during the final years it was only the office rent that GTC paid to itself that kept the place open. For those of you who think E.E. was being too much the hard core businessman on this subject, you can take comfort in knowing that his office, where our meetings were held, is now Joe Patten's living room.

I took this picture not as a reminder of the days when the Fox was closed, but because I expected the place to be torn down soon. There are a lot of people, some on this page that know the "Save The Fox" story a lot better than I do, so I will not get into that. I will just say that I was told that GTC just wanted a clean sale transaction and did not want to get involved with any non profit group who might start to buy the place but would then have trouble coming up with the money. That could have tied the sale up for years. The contract with Southern Bell specified that the property be delivered as a clean piece of dirt, or words to that effect. Southern Bell certainly did not want to take the PR hit for tearing the Fox down, something GTC was willing to absorb in order to close a quick sale. Again, all of this is just what I was told. I have no first hand knowledge. I do not believe that GTC wanted the Fox destroyed out of fear of competition, something that I have heard people say. If that had been the case, they would have been running it themselves all of those years.

Although not afraid of Fox competition, apparently GTC did not want anyone to get any ideas along those lines. Once more, the story I was told was that the booth equipment was removed as required by the contract. If this was true then someone left a giant loophole since nothing was said about running movies with other equipment. Maybe no one thought that it was economically feasible and left it at that. Regardless, as everyone knows, the Loews Grand just happened to catch fire about the time Georgia Pacific expressed interest in building their new tower on the site. Since only the entrance and not the auditorium was damaged, the booth equipment and screen made the journey from 157 to 660 Peachtree. Years later, the Fox also bought the projection equipment from the Atlanta Theatre when it closed for good.

When the Fox returned to the movie business I was there for the first one, Ben-Hur in 70MM, Monday, July 17,1978. 7:30 showtime, $2.50 ticket. My mother was with me to enjoy the floating focus and the beautiful stained screen. We ran into Tommy Young, the manager of the Stonemont there. He had worked at the Fox for several years as an usher and crew chief for ABC, and later at the Phipps as Assistant Manager. Tommy spent an hour standing in line at the popcorn cart waiting for some of that popcorn "popped using an old recipe found in the files in the Fox basement." At this time the condition of the theatre was still pretty shabby and the old concession stand was still in its place in the center of the lobby. Some other memories from that year: 70MM presentations of Patton, That's Entertainment, Close Encounters, and Around The World in 80 Days, in 35MM instead of the advertised 70MM and my only viewing ever of this film. The summer series was so successful that a fall series was run that year which allowed me to view 70MM showings of The Alamo, and Lawrence of Arabia.

The next year saw a great improvement in the quality of the presentation and a new screen to show 70MM viewings of My Fair Lady, Camelot, Paint Your Wagon, Oliver, and Sound of Music, topped off by a 35MM show of North By Northwest, my first ever viewing of this great film. 1980 had 70MM showings of 2001, Hello Dolly, and Doctor Zhivago, plus a 35MM West Side Story, which was quite a change from my previous viewing of it 9 years earlier at the Candler Road Mini Cinema complete with intermission inserted at the reel change right in the middle of the rumble.

I do not recall any 1981 Fox movies, but 1982 started off with Ben-Hur again. My date was unimpressed with the 70MM despite my efforts to explain it. She said that the picture was too good since it showed up the models of the ships and men used in the sea battle so well that you could tell that they were not real. Next was a repeat of That's Entertainment also 70MM as were Raiders of the Lost Ark, My Fair Lady (again), Camelot (again), and Oliver (again). After that the number of old movies and 70MM started to decline although GWTW could always be counted on to bring in a full house. More recent movies started to appear and finally the ''family'' aspect was dropped. Can't have a family film festival with movies like Saturday Night Fever, Sin City, and 300 on the schedule.

It was during this period that many rumors made the rounds that the Fox would get back into the regular movie business on a part time basis. This was probably just wishful thinking, but people who claimed to be ''in the know'' were saying that the Empire or Jedi chapters of Star Wars, or the second and third Raiders might open for a two week exclusive at the Fox in 70MM before going wide. Since the film series proved that people would come downtown to see a movie at the Fox, it was not too much of a stretch to imagine what the Fox or Peachtree Street would look like if something like this came to pass. It never did of course, probably because it is almost impossible to find two consecutive weeks where the Fox is not booked with something, and more likely the film companies do not care to alienate the big megaplex operators by draining off the Atlanta audience for a film before they even got it. Still it is easy to believe that this type of booking would be a success. For the past few years, the summer film series has ended with two or three of the hit movies from earlier in that very summer, usually the ones that opened in May. Despite having worked their way down the hall to the smallest theatre in the local megaplex, or even moved on to the dollar houses, these films still draw capacity crowds as evidenced by some of the comments above.

One movie in particular that sticks in my mind is Evita. Since it had been a Christmas release, and may even have been out on video by then, it was expected to be just another solid performer in the series. At about 7:55 PM, after the organ recital, the sing-along, the cartoon, even after the "Sunrise / Sunset", and just as the previews were about to end, the phone rang with instructions to raise the house lights and stop the show between the last preview and the "Feature Presentation", an almost unheard of event. The reason: The line to buy tickets was still extended around the corner and down Ponce de Leon. About five minutes later came word to roll the film since the "Sold Out" sign had been put up.

My fondest memories of movies at the Fox are centered around the summer of 1996. Since the Fox only ran a dozen or so movies a year, the projectionist was hired only on an as needed basis, although they were lucky enough to get a highly qualified man who is still running the booth to this day, 30 years later. Of course he had a regular job as well which was no problem until the Fox decided to put on an Olympic film festival. Since this would be more than one person working all out could handle, and since I was available, I ended up practically living at the Fox for a good part of that summer. My main memory of that summer involved the week before and the week following the Olympics. Pre Olympic week called for 22 different movies in 7 days, usually one at 2PM and another at 8. On some days we ran all day events such at the Spielberg festival with Jaws, Raiders, and Close Encounters. On the final Saturday we ran Toy Story at 10AM, followed by a James Bond double feature and topped off with a 70MM showing of 2001 at night. That was also the week that the print of King Kong arrived the day before its showing, but it was the Jessica Lange version instead of the advertised Fay Wray version. The proper version was located and made it to the theatre three hours before showtime.

After the Olympics were over, the schedule called for 24 movies in 8 days. Since some of these movies, like Sound of Music, Zhivago, Ben-Hur, and GWTW were equal to two movies, my main memories of both of those weeks center around standing for hours at the make up table inspecting and building up print after print. There was hardly room in the booth for all of the film and cans. We also played Lawrence in 70MM. I never saw much of the shows since whenever a movie was playing I was breaking down the last one and loading the next one. The Fox had installed a platter by this time which was too bad since it would have been much easier to run everything reel to reel to say nothing of the pleasure of doing it the old way. Unfortunately, the one thing that we did do the old way was show the slides for the sing-along using the last bit of 1929 equipment in the booth, a Brenograph, double carbon arc lamphouse, alternating slide projector. Running this thing where you had to manually drop and remove the heavy glass slides into the carriage and crank the handle to alternate the slides, all the while listening to the organ so you would know when to change, was by far the most stressful part of the show. If you ever dropped one or got out of sync, you were finished, as was the sing-along.

It was a great summer. I think I put in about 120 hours per week for those two weeks and enjoyed 99% of them. The Fox was much more fun to work in when you ran grind instead of once a week since you did not have to set up and then secure the projector area each night. I remember working several shows in 1997, and a couple in 1998. The last movie I remember running there was L.A. Confidential. At the time it was hard and sometimes hectic work, but looking back on it ,it was for the most part very enjoyable, as was running the booth for the Opera all of those years.

With the opera gone, and the digital projector in place, I can safely place my Fox days in the past history file, but I will always have fond memories of working there to say nothing of the ten cent coffee machine.

This is a recent night view of the Fox Theater.

I don't think these were posted before. This website has some great photos of the Fox Theater from June of 2007. Click each photo to expand it.

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

Discussions of Atlanta's Fox theatre inevitably mention the connection to the Yaarab Temple Shrine Mosque, but I've never heard the whole story of how the site/building changed hands, nor the subsequent association between the two organizations. The implication is that the onset of the Great Depression caused the change in ownership, but the theatre opened as the Fox at Christmas 1929 - only six weeks after November 1929 stock market crash. That seems too short a time frame to have completed a change in ownership and prepare a major opening. Does anyone know the whole story of why and when Fox took over and what became of the masonic organization that originally started the project? Also, how much of the design is Fox's and how much is from the Shrine's part in the development?

This website has some history of the Fox Theater. The architectural firm was Marye, Alger and Vinour.

Can ALWAYS count on you, LM! Thanks!

Here is another recent photo of the Fox Theater.

Here is a different view of the Fox Theater.

This is a 2008 view of the Fox Theater.

I have written to the management of the Atlanta Fox to suggest they solicit the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences to have at least ONE year of the DAYTIME emmy awards at the Atlanta Fabulous Fox.

That would serve two (2) purposes:

(1) Allow the entire country to see the interior of this beautiful theater
(2) Spare the public from seeing that awful sorry-excuse Kodak Theater in Hollywood which has NO atmosphere what-so-ever.

If they could host the daytime EMMY awards at Radio City Music Hall for years and for the past two years have them at that plain-boring
Kodak Theater, which is much smaller than the Atlanta Fox, why don't they have at least one year in a beautiful theater worth seeing. I understand the FOX ATLANTA also has 2 ballrooms which could accomodate the ABC and CBS parties afterward. (NBC has dropped out of the Emmy Awards).

LET'S ALL ROOT FOR A NATIONAL TV PRESENTATION IN THAT BEAUTIFUL PLACE! The "Mighty Mo'" could entertain the audience between commercial breaks.

What do some of you fine people think?

Trainmaster

Here is another photo of the Fox.

Always nice to see another photo of the fabulous Fox! Thanks.

We just visited the Fox this past Sunday Eve for 'Ben Hur' While I love the theatre the problem for me and many other people these days is the Fox Atlanta is not showing film most of the time on thease Coke Summer Film Series. You see film reels in the window display the posters for all the summer FILMS. They are not showing film just digital video. Many people in the theatre Sunday thought they were going to see the 70mm version of 'Ben Hur' This was not the case. The new digital projector at the Fox is way up in the old projection booth. A super long distance. The screen is not as wide as when they use film. Plus the advertised time for the movie is 7 PM. This is correct, but for the first 25 minutes of the film you have hundreds of people wandering all over trying to find a seat in the dark. The pre show organ and video 'Film' pre show started at 6:15 PM. In the adds for Ben Hur it says 7PM. Most people missed the pre show. Please someone at the Fox needs to put in the adds Come early for the pre show Starts at 6:15 then put movie time. The video digital image of 'Ben Hur' looked fuzzy. The stereo sound did sound great with all the surrounds being used. They even played the oveture with red lights on the curtain. The Fox people need to put in the adds Digital Projection. The days of showing a restored 70mm or 35mm print or classic 35mm film are gone at The Fox. Many people think digital video is the way to go but at the Fox Atlanta the image is not as big and crisp as 35mm or 70mm film. Next time you go complain. They need to change the name from Coke Film Summer Series to Coke Digital Series. Most of the movies this year are new and on DVD. They showed the same newsreel during the pre show I saw last year. Someone must have some 35mm Cartoons and Newsreels to rent the Fox or loan out. Bring back FILM at the Fox Atlanta. I think the owners are more interested in the wine tasting they have before the theatre opens to the regular public (they charge extra) then the way they are presenting the image on the smaller Fox video screen. Bring on wide Cinemascope 35mm film, open the masking up to the full wide side of the screen. People can see video at home. I left after the organ pre show and after 25 mn of Ben Hur I got tired of people walking all over with bad video presentation on the smaller Fox screen. With all the ushers before the movie started they need to send them back into the theatre for the late people. I saw a few older people in the very dark balcony stumble on the stairs. It's a accident ready to happen!

Although not the point of this comment, I will note that as I write this at 6:28 PM on 7/17/2008, exactly 30 years ago, almost to the minute, I was walking into the Fox Theatre to see the first movie presented there since the place closed up on January 2, 1975. The feature: Ben-Hur, in glorious 70MM. I have described that event in more detail than anyone would care to read in my earlier post so I will get to the point. This comment will hopefully clear up a few of the technical questions raised by Mr. Wade in the above post.

As for the media used to present Ben-Hur, I can assure everyone that there was nothing digital about it, even, unfortunately, the sound. It was a 35MM print struck on May 9, 1993. This meant that while the sound was Dolby Stereo, it was analog since Dolby Digital did not come along until mid decade. Considering its 15 year age it was in pretty good shape, but I think that its condition could kindly be described as "Best Available". As with any print that old there were numerous and noticeable dirt type scratches at the beginning and end of each reel, and repeated build ups and tear downs for platter screenings had resulted in missing frames. Fortunately, the Overture, Intermission tag, and second half walk in music were included although splices at the beginning of the Intermission tag and end of walk in music indicated that at least once someone had run this print straight through without an intermission. A real crime against showmanship in my opinion.

The size of the screen at the Fox is as large as it has ever been, and as large as it can be. Although there is some more room on the sides for a wider screen, there is no more room at the top. Since all of the vertical space is being used, expanding the width would cause the top and bottom to be cropped off. This is a problem I described in my original post where I pointed out that the Fox is a hybrid, designed as an auditorium, not a movie theatre or stage show venue. The image projected for Ben-Hur and other cinemascope pictures is as wide as it can be given the height limitations of the stage. If you are sitting the balcony, it may seem that the screen can go higher, but this is not the case. For anyone sitting under the balcony, especially near the back, the line of the bottom of the balcony meets the top of the screen, so anything projected on a taller screen would not be visible to these patrons.

When it comes to the screen size used for different movies, that is determined purely by the aspect ratio of the film in question. This is not a technical site, but simply put, there are three main screen shapes used in films. Describing the ratio of width to height, they are 1.33 to 1 (roughly the shape of a pre HD television), 1.85 to 1, called "flat" in the industry, and 2.35 (or wider) to 1, called scope, cinemascope, or widescreen. Some years ago someone who had attended a screening of "Gone With The Wind" at the Fox had written to the Q and A section of the AJC to ask why the Fox had taken out its huge screen and replaced it with a small square screen. The explanation for all of this is that the Fox is very careful to present the movies it shows in their correct aspect ratio. (When we ran "The Searchers" the 1.66 to 1 lens and screen width were used, a very rare event.) This means that when a classic such as "GWTW", "Casablanca", or "Wizard of Oz" plays, the side masking is brought in to make the screen the correct 1.33 to 1 size. It may look small in comparison to the massive Fox stage width, but the full height of the stage area is used. To try to widen the picture would result in the cropping that I described above. (For a perfect example of this, read the story of what happened to GWTW when they blew the image up to 1.85 to 1 for its 1967 70MM reissue.)

All of these notes apply to digital projection as well as film. The type of projection makes no difference in the size of the screen. Aspect ratio is the determining factor. A scope picture presented in digital projection will be the same size as one presented via film. The same goes for 1.85 and 1.33. I should point out that when I say digital I am talking about the new Digital Cinema Systems that are now being installed in theatres across the nation. I am most assuredly not talking about using some digital capable projector to show a DVD on the screen.

Speaking of this past Sunday, anyone who attended Ben-Hur was able to see all three aspect ratios in use. The preshow documentary Mr. Wade referred to was a Public TV production and was projected at 1.33 to 1 using the digital video projector. The rest of the program was all film. When the 35MM film projector was started for the previews, the masking was pulled back to the 1.85 to 1 mark. When the previews ended, there was a pause for the lens to be changed to 1.33 to 1 and the masking was brought back in so the cartoon could be presented in its proper 1.33 ratio. (Oddly enough, the film company logo on the front of the cartoon was modern and in 1.85 ratio so there were black bars at the top and bottom just like on a letterboxed DVD until the cartoon itself started and took up the full screen. When the cartoon ended, the 1.85 lens and masking were returned to present the Fox policy and feature presentation strips. At this point the curtain was closed and the curtain lights came on for the Overture. During the Overture, the masking was pulled back to its full open mark and the 2.35 to 1 scope lens was put in place. When the overture ended, the lights dimmed and the screen opened to its full width for the MGM logo.

With regard to some other points by Mr. Wade, I think that the newsreel in question is used because it features the World Premiere of "Gone With The Wind" as its final story. I am happy to see that he took note of the fact that the curtain and lights were properly used during the Overture. Very few theatres even have curtains anymore, and the applause from the audience when the lights dimmed and the curtain opened to reveal the MGM lion seemed to indicate that they appreciated an example of the long lost art of properly presenting a big, class, roadshow production. At least to the degree possible.

As for the debate between film as opposed to theatre grade Digital Cinema, let me say this. I have been working with film most of my life. Even though I now see my future job prospects being rapidly eliminated by the advent of Digital Cinema, I will have to admit that the picture quality of a movie properly presented (usually meaning being bright enough) using the Digital Cinema process is better than that of film. On Sunday afternoon, before the night showing of "Ben-Hur", the Fox presented a Digital Cinema presentation of the Disney movie "Enchanted" using the digital projector. Both movies are 2.35 to 1 scopes so the picture size was the same, but the clarity of "Enchanted" to say nothing of the lack of scratches, specks, flecks, and splices, was greater than the 35MM film presentation of "Ben-Hur". It is too bad that a 70MM print of Ben-Hur was not available for the Fox as it has been at least twice in the past. The last two times the Fox has presented "Ben-Hur" it has been with 35MM, so perhaps 70MM is no longer available. Next year is the 50th Anniversary of this great film so hopefully MGM, or whoever controls the rights now will order some 70MM DTS prints for an anniversary run the way "2001" is touring the country this year.

Reading Terry Wade's comment above, I though "oh, my goodness, we might as well forget about showing film at the Boyd in Philadelphia if the Fox in Atlanta has also given up!" so I was greatly relieved when I read that a 35mm print was shown! I've heard so much about the Fox that I'd find it hard to believe they'd show a DVD of a classic. So far as I know, digital movies like Enchanted are available in 2k or 4k but only new movies- not classics.

Enchanted was shown in 2k or 4k rather than DVD, right?

And, yes, let's hope a wonderful 70mm print of Ben Hur is issued for its 50th!

Hello Howard: Always good to hear from another refugee from the Zeigfeld page.

Yes, Enchanted was shown in 2K.

Last year I was surprised to hear that even some of the recent movies released in Digital Cinema would not always be available in digital editions. The equipment used to send the download to the theatres has the content erased so that it can be reused. This makes sense although I would have thought that a couple of editions might have been kept intact just the way prints of old movies are. That may well be the case, since as far as I know the movies that have been released digitally have still been available up to a year later.

So far this year, the Fox has run a recently struck 1.33 to 1 print of Casablanca (mono), and the above mentioned Ben-Hur. Everything else has been Digital Cinema 2K.

I will have to confess that I am not a movie "purist" when it comes to new technology. As long as the content is not tampered with I am happy to see the classics updated from mag to Dolby stereo and Dolby and DTS digital sound. If no 70MM prints are struck for Ben-Hur next year, I would like to see it offered as a 2K or 4K digital download. As Mr. Wade noted, the Fox booth has a tremendous throw to the screen which is accompanied by a vertical keystone. Good people can disagree on matters such as this, but I think that unless you get a brand new well timed 35MM print, the digital picture looks better.

Stan -- Bravo for your comments above. You did a great job of explaining the issue of sightlines and their affect on screen size, something we lived with to some extent at Radio City. I was in your beautiful theatre once with my boss from Radio City when we attended a NATO conference in Atlanta. We walked over to the Fox to see if we could get a peek inside, and met Alex Cooley (?)outside who was the promoter for a BTO concert going on at the time. We asked if we could take a look and he let us in and gave us the run of the place. Warren and I wandered up to the booth, but the operators (were you one of them?) were busy manning the spots. We did take a quick look around so as not to bother anybody, and left. I believe you still had Motiograph projectors at that time before the 70mm install. That has to be one of the deepest booths in the country, as I recall the rewind bench and film cabinets were actually in the middle of the room a long way from the back wall which is where they would normally be. Very impressive!
Your comments about digital are also interesting, in that Mr. Wade was complaining about what he thought was bad digital projection, but which was 35mm projection with a normally used print. It's too bad he didn't get a chance to see your presentation of "Enchanted", since good digital projection can really alter misconceptions. I work in a screening room which has done split screen comparisons with digital and film, and they can be almost identical. What is perhaps more enlightening howerver is that we run a lot of first edits transferred from 4K servers to D-5 H.D. You tend to forget you're looking at digital, until months later when you screen the same thing on film, and even with a new print, you tend to see occasional specks of dust that you never would have noticed in the days before digital.

Most of the material we work with either film or digitally originated is transferred to 4K servers for post production work, and now the discussion in the industry is whether or not to archive at 4K. The studios have been archiving at 2K, but there's a growing sympathy to save the "best" version of the material just as they saved the camera negative with 35 and 65mm. Be assured that digital material is being archived, its just a case of at what level of quality. (And now Bob Harris who restored "Lawrence" is pushing for 6K archiving, and NHK is demonstrating their 8K capture and projection system in Japan -- "the times they are a-changin".

Thanks for your notes about last Sunday at The Fox. The people in the lobby I guess didn't know the correct media used that night. It seems when I have been to the Fox in the past many years ago the Cinemascope screen was very wide. Wider then what I saw Sunday night. More like a big wide blind with the masking pulled down at the top. Now if someone can work out the pre show times and put in the add we won't have all the people walking around in the dark 20 minutes into the feature. A new 70mm print of 'West Side Story' is now avail. Lets hope the Fox Atlanta can get a copy and advertise it in 70mm for future Coke shows. It is so great that the Fox runs the curtains and curtain lights. I still like the look of film 35mm or 70mm over digital video. Iam glad the Fox Atlanta still has kept the 35mm/70mm projectors. Even though they are not used much with the new digital video projector in the booth. To see a true 70mm film in the Fox with all the stereo surround speakers on It's a dream come true!

Terry Wade: There are a couple of things about "Ben Hur" that may have affected how you felt about the width of the image you saw, and StanMalone can probably verify them. "Ben Hur" was shot in MGM's proprietary process Camera 65, which was an anamorphic 65mm process. Thus as with CinemaScope, the image was squeezed slightly on the 65mm film. Normal 70mm release prints have an aspect ratio of 2.21:1 which is less than the Scope print you saw at the Fox, but Camera 65 with its squeeze had a 2.76:1 ratio which was the widest of the 35 or 70mm formats. As Stan mentioned above, the sightlines at the Fox under the balcony limit the height of the picture. Thus if you had seen a Camera 65 70mm print projected there, the screen would have been much wider side to side than the 2.35 print you saw. It's doubtful that the 70mm "Ben Hur" prints today are anamorphic, since the lenses to show them aren't available (I did have one 70mm reel of the Camera 65 "Ben Hur" to use as a test reel at Radio City, and was always perplexed by the slight squeeze in the image.) The original 35mm prints were 4 track magnetic stereo, and had a 2.55:l ratio. You could well have seen one of those at the Fox, and it too would have been wider than the 35mm print with optical track they just showed. If they do strike a new 70mm print for the 50th Anniversary, they could keep the original ratio without the squeeze by "letterboxing" the image on the 70mm frame although the image quality wouldn't be quite the same since they would be using less of the full frame. If you look at the DVD of "Ben Hur" you'll notice that the image is "skinnier" across the frame than other Scope titles. This caused a furor when Turner ran a letterboxed version on its movie channel in the days before letterboxing was a familiar as it is now, since it really produced a small image on the tv screens of those days. StanMalone: any comment?

Stan,
Though I do comment on the Ziegfeld page because sometimes I see films there, I am primarily in Philadelphia (and as a volunteer, lead our group, www.Friendsoftheboyd.org

I don't understand as to the Fox's summer season. The Fox is showing other classic films, but not on film, via digital projectors? in what format is the classic film? DVD? 2 k?

Studios or distributors are putting classic films into 2 k?

Thanks REndres**Can you imagine how a BIG curved Todd-AO or D-150 screen would look coming out of the huge stage with the booth moved downstairs with a new 70mm print shown and wrap a round curtins. Seems to me the Fox had a semi curved Cinemascope screen at one time? Now It's just flat as they raise it for stage shows.

Howard:

Starting 30 years ago the Fox ran a true "classic" film series usually scheduled for ten straight Monday nights. As the Fox started to emerge from the run down shell it was during the mid 70's into the palace it is today, more week long stage show and single night engagements made running a consistent schedule difficult. When the series started it was known as the Coca Cola Family Film Festival and the schedule consisted of the usual suspects of classic films plus a good number of more recent (for the 70's) films that were available in 70MM. Although a couple of my favorites, Patton and Oliver, only ran once, others like Ben-Hur, My Fair Lady, and of course Gone With The Wind, ran numerous times. I will try to look up the titles of these years and post a list a la Michael Coate.

In more recent years 70MM has almost vanished. The last ones I recall were 2001 in 2002, and Lawrence of Arabia a couple of years later. Also, the classics started to drop out in favor of more recent releases and we are lucky to see more than one or two such films per summer. In the 90's the "Family" aspect was also dropped so "R" rated films could be run. In recent years, the earliest of that summers releases have been available by the end of the summer for a final chance for people to see them before the DVD comes out.

As for the method used for presentation, it is either 35MM or 2K. For the recent releases, anything that was released in 2K or 4K and is available, is run in 2K. All of the older films that were released in the days of film only are still run on film since there does not seem to be any movement toward putting golden oldies on 2K digital. This summer is a good example with Casablanca and Ben-Hur on 35MM and everything else, so far, on 2K digital.

We can hope that one day the studios will see the value in putting classic movies on 2, 4, or 6K digital. That way they would be more available and the studio would not have to worry about someone cutting the leaders and tails off of their "archive" prints or damaging them in any number of other ways.

REndres: I enjoyed your post and I do have a couple of comments, but no time at the moment. Hopefully tonight.

They did. The father of the public relations director at Radio City when I was there managed the Fox and I guess became an exec for the circuit that ran it. Patricia always said that he was the one that put CinemaScope in the Fox over the initial objections of higher management. The standard was for a curved screen at the time. That curve is always a problem for theatres that do stage shows and have to fly the sheet. It kept Radio City from showing CinemaScope for a year after its development because the depth of the curve would have eliminated at least a couple of the fly lines used for scenery in the stage show. In essence a frame would have to be built around the whole screen to stabilize it and provide fly points, and that means giving up line set space.

A big curved Todd-AO screen would look great, but if you check out the Rivoli N.Y. page for the last couple of weeks, you'll find a number of negative comments about what the installation of U. A.'s D-150 did to the classic architecture. Purists object (with good reason in many cases) about what those screens cost in terms of keeping a theatre's unique design, as with the Egyptian in Hollywood. I liked those screens, and being much younger at the time, didn't mind what they had done to the structure. Now I would say, "Fine", but only if the screen could be removed at the end of a run and the theatre retain its unique features. Judging from what StanMalone said, they would still have to kill a number of rows of seats in the orchestra under the balcony or the height would be restricted. (Some of that would be done automatically by placing a booth at the back of the orchestra under the balcony .) I believe Atlanta had a Martin Cinerama at one time, and that would be a more appropriate venue for Todd-AO or D-150 had it been saved since those formats were a product of that time, and as has been pointed out on the Rivoli page, were better adapted to achieve the effect you're looking for. Disney's restoration of the Paramount into the El Capitan shows how great those theatres looked when the wrap around curtains were taken down. The Atlanta Fox is glorious as is -- we're so lucky it was saved.

REndres:

First let me say that I have enjoyed your posts on the Ziegfeld and RCMH pages of this site. I need to say that the technical side of this business is not really my field. Having started out my theatre days downstairs, and later in management, this site, especially the Ziegfeld page which has turned into something of a blog on showmanship in general, is more in line with my interests.

Your Ben-Hur write up reminded me of something that I had known about but did not think to consider when this subject came up. As I remember the story, Ben-Hur was filmed in 2.76 to 1 but the action was centered within the frame in something like 2.55 to 1 so that the theatres of the day could show it without cropping out anything important. Sort of an early version of what I understand Super Panavision to be. If my understanding of that is correct then I guess I owe Mr. Wade an apology since it is possible that he did indeed see an earlier screening of Ben-Hur in the wider 2.55 version. There are a couple of reasons that this is possible.

First is the way the curtain and masking operate. Instead of the local megaplex method of having someone in the booth hitting a button to move the masking back and forth (or up and down as the case may be) to one of two preset positions, the masking at the Fox is set by stagehands pulling the ropes. This allows the masking to be set to accommodate even the smallest variables in the size of the image. Second is the fact that the head projectionist at the Fox, who has been there since that first showing 30 years ago, is a true perfectionist. Before each show, he makes sure that the side and top masking is set to expose every possible inch of screen surface. So, if the image on the print was greater than 2.35 to 1, I am sure that the masking marks were set at the points needed to show every bit of it. Also, the Fox has had several screens over the past 30 years, the first of which, like the projectors, was the refugee from the Loew's Grand. It might have had different dimensions and been slightly wider than the ones that followed which were measured to fit the layout of the Fox.

As for your visit to the Fox booth, that must have been in the fall of 1974. The Fox was still a grind movie house in those days but would occasionally cancel an evening for live shows in an effort to keep the doors open. Those projectors are long gone. If you want to wade through my post from last year, that story is in there, somewhere. That was during my theatre managing days and was long before my days of working in the Fox booth.

Your comment on the Turner letterboxing story reminds me that there was a VHS release during the 80's that was pan and scan except for the race which was letterboxed. I never actually saw it but have heard several people mention it so it is probably true.

Your mention of the Martin Cinerama brings back good memories as it was my favorite of all the theatres I worked in, even if I was only an usher working my way through college. It was located only a couple of blocks from the Fox, operated under several names over the years, and is listed on this site as the Atlanta Theatre. When Martin renovated it for Cinerama they put in the 146 degree ribbon screen. I never saw three screen Cinerama there, but did see numerous 70MM presentations using the projectors that were installed starting with Mad Mad World. I regret to say that the theatre now resides in the landfill and the site now serves as a parking lot.

StanMalone:
For someone who claims not to be from the technical side of the field you are very knowledgeable about projection conditions at the Fox and very good at explaining them in an understandable way. The Fox is lucky to have you and your chief projectionist (I ran into a similar combination in Champaign, Illinois last year at the Virginia Theatre which has been restored and run by the Parks Department. It is the site of Roger Ebert's "Ebertfest" each year, and the venue has a manager and a projectionist that take great pride in the theatre. The 70mm booth is one of the best maintained and equipped I've seen. It's good to know that there are people like you tending our restored classic theatres.)

According to Martin Hart's American Widescreen Museum, there was an optical soundtrack version of "Ben Hur" that was reased which was slightly letterboxed on anamporphic 35mm film to preserve the 2.55/2.76 ratio. He has a picture of the clip on his site. My laserdisc version of "Ben Hur" was also 2.76 aspect ratio at a time when letterboxing was fairly rare even on laserdisc which more or less created the concept.

The Martin Cinerama mention brings up something that has begun to disturb me. The most impressive of the Cinerama/D-150 theatres, which were as much a symbol of their time as the Fox is of its time, are all disappearing. It's as if we've learned something about preservation, but only consider the oldest examples of something worthy of preservation. I was surprised when I found that until Bob Harris started focusing on some of the 70mm Roadshow epics, that spectacular boxoffice successes of my generation were endangered. (At one point when I was at the Hall, I heard that Fox had misplaced the 65mm negative of "The Sound of Music". They've since used it for the DVD release, and the studios are starting, thanks to ancillary markets, to be more aware of the value of their libraries.) Unfortunately, that doesn't seem to extend to theatres. I worry the great examples of S.Charles Lee's theatres will all be gone, since they were built specifically for movie use and didn't have the stage facilities of the Fox and Music Hall which make them suitable for other performing arts.

The best and most effective sites for large screen presentation of the type Mr. Wade refers to above weren't the theatres that were adapted for them such as the Rivoli in New York and Eitel's Palace in Chicago, but rather the Martin and Cooper Cineramas, and the U.A. and River Oaks D-150's. Of those, almost the only survivors are the Seattle Cinerama and the Dome in L.A. Someday we may look back and regret the demolishing of those sites, even though not as grand, as we now do the Roxy in New York.

I just learned through a friend in Atlanta that the Fox Theatre has formed the Fox Theatre Institute to help restore/repair other theatres throughout the State of Georgia. The theatres are as follows: Rylander in Americus, Imperial in Augusta, Holly in Dahlonega, Gem in Calhoun, Grand Opera House in Macon, Springer Opera House in Columbus, DeSoto in Rome, Strand in Marietta, The Ritz in Thomaston, The Ritz in Brunswick, Emma Kelly in Statesboro, Douglass in Macon, Cox Capitol in Macon, Morton in Athens and The Grand in Fitzgerald. The Atlanta Constitution article was in the July 17, 2008 paper and the title was "A Ticket To Restoration...Atlanta's Fox launches initiative to help other historic theaters". I, personally, applaud the Fox!

I have finally located the article from the newspaper announcing the first use of the digital projector at the Fox. "Narnia" was the feature. CT requests that we not cut and paste entire articles due to copyright concerns, but here are some sentences from the article that are of interest to this thread:

Projectionist Scott Hardin, who's manned the booth for 29 consecutive Fox Summer Film Festivals, says he's "kind of had to pinch myself" over the latest enhancement. "I've been anticipating this day for so many years."

Instead of huge reels of celluloid, he'll download "Narnia" from a removable hard drive into a new Dolby server, which will play it back through the NEC digital projector.

The projector is among the most powerful on the market. It has to be, because it must "throw" the image 160 feet, from the rear of the auditorium to the screen, more than double the distance in many cinemas.

Fox officials aren't yet certain which remaining summer films will be available to be shown digitally, but they expect them to include "V for Vendetta" (July 31) and the recently booked "The Da Vinci Code" (Aug. 17). Other titles, especially older ones such as "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly" (July 17), will continue to be exhibited in 35mm format. And the lyrics for the follow-the-bouncing-ball singalongs before every feature will still be shown via the decidedly retro Brenograph glass-slide projector that, remarkably, operates from the same spot it did in 1929.

The article is dated 6/26/06.

Movie Lineup 1983-1990:

For Howard, and anyone else who finds this type of thing of interest, here is a list of the attractions from some of our summer movie lineups. Just to correct a mistake I made in a previous post, Coca Cola has been the sponsor only in more recent years. Before that it was Delta Air Lines. I am still digging through some of the old paperwork on the earliest years, but here is the lineup, as complete as I can make it, starting in 1983, which was year seven. You can see that even then they were showing fewer classics and more of the hits from the previous year. Where the information was available I have made a note concerning 35 or 70MM and what type of sound, or any other notes regarding presentation.

1983:
Doctor Zhivago: June 13
Dark Crystal: July 8
Sound of Music: July 18
Fiddler on the Roof: July 20
Giant: August 1
Casablanca (1.33)
Tootsie
2001
Gandhi: August 29
Gone With The Wind

The Right Stuff: October 20 (Invitation Only Premiere)

House of Wax: 3D, Halloween weekend.

1984:
Torchlight: 3/21
Around The World In 80 Days: June 8
Notorious
Oklahoma: June 25
Yentl: July 2
Heidi: July 9
Thief of Baghdad: July 14
A Star Is Born: July 16
Superman: July 23
Cleopatra: July 30
3 Coins In The Fountain: August 6
Doctor Doolittle: August 20
Never Cry Wolf: August 27
Greystoke: September 3
Purple Rain
Ghostbusters
Temple of Doom

1985:
American In Paris (1.33)
Bridge On The River Kwai
South Pacific (35MM mag)
The King And I
Bringing Up Baby (1.33)
Amadeus (70MM)
Star Trek 3 (70MM)
Hello Dolly (70MM)
Daddy Long Legs
Chariots Of Fire (35MM Dolby)

1986:
Cocoon (70MM)
West Side Story (35MM mag)
Back To The Future (70MM)
Gone With The Wind (1.33)
Chorus Line (70MM)
Treasure of the Sierra Madre
Rocky and Bullwinkle (16MM)
Out of Africa: July 20 (70MM)
Glen Miller Story: July 28
New York New York: August 4 (35MM mono)
Funny Girl: August 6 (35MM mono)
High Society: August 22 (35MM mono)
Lawrence of Arabia: August 31 (35MM mono)
White Christmas: December 28

1987:
Music Man (35MM mono)
Top Gun: June 10 (70MM)
Grand Hotel (1.33)
Oliver: June 29
American Tail (35MM Dolby)
Color Purple: July 13 (35MM mono)
Little Shop of Horrors: July 17 (70MM)
Crocodile Dundee: July 28 (35MM Dolby)
Singing In The Rain: August 4 (1.33)
Star Trek 4: August 10 (35MM Dolby)
Camelot: August 24 (70MM)
The Mission: August 31 (70MM)
Thats Entertainment (70MM)

1988:
The Last Emperor (70MM)
3 Men And A Baby (35MM Dolby)
Some Like It Hot
Yankee Doodle Dandy (1.33)
Roxanne (35MM Dolby)
Mr. Smith Goes To Washington (1.33)
Dirty Dancing
Bye Bye Birdie (35MM mag)
Empire of the Sun (70MM)
Phantom of the Opera (1.33 Silent) with Dennis James on the organ

1989:
Gone With The Wind: June 5-8 (1.33)
Accidential Tourist June 15
Pink Floyd: The Wall: June 16
Rainman: June 19 (35MM Dolby)
Babes In Arms: June 26 (1.33)
Big: June 29 (35MM Dolby)
Goodbye Mr. Chips: July 3 (1.33)
Wizzard of Oz: July 6 (1.33)
Roger Rabbit: July 20 (70MM)
Ninotchka (1.33)
Twins (35MM Dolby)
The Women (1.33)
Woodstock: August 16 (35MM mag)
Lawrence of Arabia (70MM)
Hamlet: November 18 (1.66)
Gone With The Wind: December 29 (1.33 Dolby) Fox 50th Anniversary

1990:
Batman (70MM)
Littlest Mermaid (70MM)
Funny Face
Honey I Shrunk The Kids
The Bells Are Ringing
Glory (70MM)
I. Jones and the Last Crusade (70MM)
Rebecca
Hunt For Red October (70MM)
Driving Miss Daisy (35MM Dolby)
Phantom Of The Opera (1.33 Silent) with Dennis James on the Organ

Yes, it is an interesting and inspiring list.

I wonder if anyone here can help me with a date?

I attended a "Planet of the Apes Marathon" at the Fox in about 1974 -
ALL of the Planet of the Apes movies back to back.

Are there any records of that?

Thanks

Here is a recent view of the Fox at night.

I am afraid that I can not help with the Planet of the Apes marathon dates. I was managing a theatre at that time and had enough work to do without keeping up with things which I used to find pleasure in doing. However, I no longer have to worry about that and have had time to list some more Summer Film Series schedules:

1991-1997:

1991:
Fantasia 70MM @ 1.33
Ghost
Sound of Music 70MM
Hamlet 1.66
42nd Street 1.33 mono
Memphis Belle 70MM
GiGi 35MM Dolby
Dances With Wolves 35MM Dolby
Home Alone 35MM Dolby
Spartacus 70MM
Fiddler on the Roof 70MM
Citizen Kane
Gone With The Wind 1.33

1992
Casablanca
Buster Keaton Festival with Dennis James on the organ
Doctor Zhivago
Breakfast At Tiffanys 35 mono
Beauty and the Beast 70MM
Cabaret
Father of the Bride
Star Trek 6 70MM
Hook
Addams Family
Mary Poppins
Fried Green Tomatoes
Far and Away 70MM
Out of Africa 35MM

1993:
Aladdin
Unforgiven
A Few Good Men
Oklahoma 70MM @ 30 FPS
A River Runs Through It
Roman Holiday
Last of the Mohicans 70MM
Summersby
South Pacific 35MM mono
Howards End 70MM
A League of Their Own
Snow White
Scent of a Woman
Fugitive

1994:
Oklahoma 35MM Dolby @24 FPS
Jurassic Park (first DTS)
Gettysburg 70MM
Remains of the Day
Joy Luck Club
20,000 Leagues Under The Sea
Age of Innocence
Philadelphia
Going My Way 1.33
Affair To Remember / Sleepless In Seattle
Sunset Blvd 1.33

1995:
Schindlers List
Forrest Gump
Wild Bunch 70MM
Pocahontas
Grease
Saturday Night Fever
Speed
Little Women
Mask
Dumb and Dumber
Ace Ventura
Madness of King George
Legends of the Fall
My Fair Lady 70MM
Doctor Zhivago 35MM DTS
Lion King
Best Years of Our Lives 1.33

1996:
Gone With The Wind 1.33
North By Northwest
Braveheart
Color Purple
July 8: 2PM West Side Story 35MM Dolby
July 8: 8PM Doctor Zhivago 35MM Dolby
July 9: 2 PM Day @ Races / Night @ Opera 1.33
July 9: 8 PM Casablanca 1.33
July 10: 2PM Jaws
July 10: 5PM Raiders of the Lost Ark
July 10: 8PM Close Encounters
July 11: 2PM Searchers 1.66
July 11: 8PM Lawrence of Arabia 70MM
July 12: 2PM Singing In The Rain 1.85 matted to 1.37
July 12: 8PM Chariots of Fire
July 13: 10AM Wizard of Oz 1.85 matted to 1.33
July 13: 2PM and 8PM Gone With The Wind
Aug. 7: 2PM Snow White 1.85 matted to 1.33
Aug. 7: 8PM Sound of Music 35MM Dolby
Aug. 8: 2PM King Kong / Tarzan both 1.33
Aug. 8: 8PM Ben-Hur 35MM Dolby
Aug. 9: 2PM Beauty and the Beast 35MM Dolby
Aug. 9: 8PM Citizen Kane
Aug.10: 10AM Toy Story
Aug.10: 2PM Dr. No / Goldfinger
Aug.10: 8PM 2001 70MM
Aug.11: 2PM Phantom of the Opera (Silent) with Dennis James on the organ
Aug.11: 5PM Toy Story

1997:
Star Wars
Empire Strikes Back
Return of the Jedi
English Patient 35MM SRD (first Dolby Digital)
Vertigo 70MM DTS (first 70 DTS)
When We Were Kings
Giant mono
Shine SRD
Evita SRD
Bridge on the River Kwai
Hunchback of Notre Dame SRD
Godfather SRD
Lost World

Nov. 14, 1997: Merry Widow (silent) with Dennis James

More Fox Summer schedules. As you can see, it is turning into more of a revival of the previous years hits and ending with the May and June hits from earlier that summer.

1998:
L.A. Confidential DTS
GiGi 35MM/D
Anastasia DTS
Borrowers SRD
Les Miz SR
Titanic (4 Days) 70MM DTS
Mousehunt DTS
Barney's Great Adventure SRD
City of Angels
Easy Rider / 5 Easy Pieces 35 mono
Quest For Camelot SRD
Can't Take It With You / It Happened One Night 1.33
Gone With The Wind
Horse Whisperer SRD
Mask Of Zoro

1999:
Saving Private Ryan DTS
Rug Rats DTS
Vertigo 70MM DTS / Psycho 35 mono
Shakespeare In Love SRD
Stagecoach 1.33 / Liberty Valance 35 mono
Baby Geniuses
Blazing Saddles / Young Frankenstien (both mono)
Babe: Pig In The City
Driving Miss Daisy
Life Is Beautiful
Something About Mary
Bugs Life
Tea With Mussolini
Antz
Matrix
Scream
Elizabeth
Pulp Fiction
Prince Of Egypt
Mummy
Wizard Of Oz 1.85 mat to 1.33
Shy Who Shagged Me
Tarzan
Notting Hill
Wild Wild West

70th Aniversary 12/99
Jingle All The Way SRD
It's A Wonderful Life 1.33 mono
White Christmas 1.66 Vista Vision

2000:
American Beauty
Perfect Storm
Psycho mono
Erin Brockovich
Toy Story 2
Green Mile
Stuart Little
My Dog Skip
U-571
Road To El Dorado
Gladiator
Sound Of Music 35MM Dolby
Scream 3 / Scary Movie
Raiders of the Lost Ark 35MM Dolby
Mission Impossible 2
Dinosaur
Patriot
Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon

2001:
Castaway
O Brother Where Art Thou
Chocolat
Spy Kids
Bridget Jones Diary
Best In Show
Dr. Strangelove / Clockwork Orange
Ciltizen Kane
Billy Elliot
Emperous New Clothes
Mummy Returns
Moulin Rouge
Shrek
Pearl Harbor

2002:

1/25/02 LaBelle et Le Bete (Beauty and the Beast) Silent w/ Phillip Glass Orch.
1/26/02 Koyaanisqatsi (Life Out Of Balance)

Beautiful Mind
Lord of the Rings
Ice Age
Amelie
Ali
We Were Soldiers
ET
Some Like It Hot / Apartment
The Women
Mommie Dearest
The Majestic
Gone With The Wind
2001 70MM mag
Last Waltz 35MM / Lets Spend The Night Together 70MM
Rookie
Spiderman
Men In Black II
Star Wars 2 (Clones)

Here are some interior photos from Life Magazine. Year given is 1971. Click on "Related images" to view the other photos. Thanks to CT member "misterboo" for the link.

To whom it may concern,

My name is Robert Napier. I am doing a documentary about Atlanta theaters. I am in search of locating an abandoned theatre and using the documentary as a catalyst to support renovations to the existing theatre. We are also looking for Atlanta locals who are between the ages of 40 & 70 who have exciting stories about their cinema experience at the time.

For more information, please visit:
http://segregatedseats.ning.com/
or e-mail me at themexsays@aim.com

Film Schedule 2003-2009:

2003

Adventures of Ocee Nash
Chicago
Lord of the Rings / 2 Towers
Spirited Away
Lawrence of Arabia 70MM DTS (Last 70 to date)
Gangs of New York
Bringing Down The House
Rug Rats Go Wild
Gods and Generals
Wizard of Oz 1.85 matted to 1.33
Hairspray / Polyester
Phantom of the Opera Silent with Lee Irwin on the organ
Frida
Patriot
Funny Girl
Roman Holiday 1.33
Mighty Wind
Spy Kids
Hulk
Matrix Reloaded


2004

Stroke of Genius (Screening)
Metropolis (Silent with Organ)
Big Ain't Bad
Master and Commander
Lord of the Rings: Fellowship / Return of the King
Cold Mountain
Gone With The Wind
Ben-Hur 35MM Dolby A
Passion of the Christ
Casablanca
My Fair Lady 35MM mono
Godfather
Raiders of the Lost Ark 35MM Dolby A
Titanic 35MM
Stroke of Genius
Shrek 2
Kill Bill 1 and 2
Van Helsing


2005

Doctor Zhivago 35MM Dolby A
Finding Neverland
Rebel Without A Cause / East of Eden 35MM Dolby A
Phantom of the Opera DTS
Aviator DTS
Robots DTS
Beauty Shop / Barber Shop DTS
Shinning SRD
West Side Story 35MM Dolby A
Sahara DTS
Sin City
Seat Filler
Batman Begins
Star Wars 3
Metal: A Headbangers Journey


2006

Crash
Walk The Line
Raiders of the Lost Ark 35MM Dolby A
Miracle Worker 1.33 mono
Narnia: (6/26/06 First Digital Presentation)
Brokeback Mountain
Coachella
Madea Family Reunion
Good, Bad, and Ugly
King Kong
V For Vendetta
Maltese Falcon / Key Largo 1.33
Pride and Prejudice
X Men: Last Stand
DaVinci Code
Cars (Digital)
Some Like It Hot Dolby A


2007

Sound Of Music 35MM Dolby A
Casino Royale (Digital)
An Affair To Remember mono
300 (Digital)
Pan's Labyrinth
Saturday Night Fever Dolby A
Meet The Robinsons (Digital)
Wizard of Oz 1.85 matted to 1.33
Dreamgirls (Digital)
Departed
Spiderman 3 (Digital)
Shrek (Digital)
Pirates (Digital)


2008

Shine A Light (digital)
Horton Hears A Who (digital)
Atonement (digital)
Casablanca 1.33
No Country For Old Men (digital)
Enchanted (digital)
Ben-Hur 35MM Dolby A
Sex And The City (digital)
Ironman (digital)
Kung Fu Panda (digital)
Hancock (digital)
Mama Mia (digital)
Wall.E (digital)
Indiana Jones 4 (digital)


2009

Quantum of Solace (digital)
Bolt (digital)
Twilight (digital)
Cleopatra 35mm mono
Gone With The Wind

On February 27, 2009, comedian Robin Williams gave a single performance at the Fox Theatre, attracting a "sell-out" crowd of 4,626 and grossing $392,287, according to a report in the 3/21/09 issue of Billboard. Tickets were priced from $99.50 to $59.50. I guess that $99.50 seems more of a bargain than $100, even though there's only a difference of 50 cents.

Here is a nice recent close-up view.

When "Gone With The Wind" debuted at the Fox Theater in Atlanta in 1939 Hattie McDaniel could not attend because she was black. In 1940 McDaniel became the first black to win an Oscar (for Best Supporting Actress) but at the Awards ceremony in the Cocoanut Grove ballroom at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles "Mammy" and her escort were seated at their own table - apart from the rest of the audience.

When I was a student at Morehouse College in Atlanta from 1962 to 1966 I caught the Fair Street trolley bus and ventured across town to the Fox whenever my meager allowance would permit. Theaters and other public facilities in Atlanta desegregated during this volatile period of sit-ins, jail-ins, demonstrations, marches, and racial violence. The Fox was the ultimate escape and I marveled at the elegant surroundings like "Sam in Wonderland" as I roamed the hushed backlit Holywood cathedral.

I rarely get to Atlanta these days, but I am grateful the Fox has been preserved and recycled. Mid-town was always a vibrant area bustling with energy and remains one of my favorite neighborhoods, thanks to Atlanta's gays who have done a lot to rejuvenate this southern oasis. I hope it is still alive and well.

GONE WITH THE WIND premiered at the LOEWS GRAND, not THE FOX.

1970 Photo

1979 Photo

1983 Photo

1983 Night Photo

1983 Interior

1983 Interior

A past, present, and probably future projectionist at the Fox offers these comments on the recent Gone With The Wind screenings:

http://www.mikedurrett.com/

Scan down to the entries for May 7, May 1, and April 25, 2009.

Well, gee, um, thanks, Stan. Here are the specific, permanent links to my trilogy of articles on working the projection booth at the Fox.

"100 Things About Me #170: Fabulous Fun"
http://mikedurrett.blogspot.com/2009/04/100-things-about-me-170.html

"Fox: In the Box"
http://mikedurrett.blogspot.com/2009/05/fox-in-box.html

"Back to the Fab: Bygones With 'The Wind'"
http://mikedurrett.blogspot.com/2009/05/back-to-fab-bygone-with-wind.html

Looking at your impressive research, it would appear the last movie I projected to the general public at the Fox before my recent comeback for "Gone With the Wind" was -- ta da! -- "Gone With the Wind" in 1998. I did show a private function screening of the original "War of the Worlds" in 35mm around that time, however.

Of course, you and I and others showed the English translation "supertitles" slides alongside the live Atlanta Opera performances for years to come.

Oh, that employees' 10 cents per cup coffee machine you mentioned (above) was 35 cents a couple of weeks ago. So much for historic preservation at the Fox!

Write up on the Fox attraction from August 1964 along with a picture of the newspaper ad:

http://mikedurrett.blogspot.com/2009/05/what-way-to-beau.html

First film I ever saw at the FOX was SNOW WHITE AND THE SEVEN DWARFS. I remember it like it was yesterday. What a movie going experience that was for a kid. We always sat in the balcony.

Other films I remember seeing there are:

THE WIZARD OF OZ (children's matinee run)
THE HAPPIEST MILLIONAIRE
THE ONE AND ONLY GENUINE ORIGINAL FAMILY BAND
THE ADVENTURES OF TOM SAWYER (another MGM children's matinee)
PAINT YOUR WAGON
PINOCCHIO
HELLO DOLLY
SONG OF THE SOUTH
A BOY NAMED CHARLIE BROWN

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JWXjFHqc7gc&feature=channel_page

This is a July 2009 photo.

These 1971 photos comes courtesy of LIFE,
http://images.google.com/images?q=atlanta+fox+theatre&q=source%3Alife&safe=active

This is a 1953 ad for "Here Come the Girls" at the Fabulous Fox.

A view of the Fox Theatre in Atlanta, Georgia.

Here is a 2005 night photo:
http://tinyurl.com/m87hsp

The year given for this photo is 1984.

Uniquely beautiful! I am so glad this theatre has survived.

Here is a recent photo of the Fox from a different angle.

Easily the best theater experience in Atlanta, what a beautifully designed building. I saw a number of films there in the sixties and early seventies, and many concerts there later on.
The last movie I saw there was the Rolling Stones' Shine A Light, on my 47th birthday. The keyboard player for the Stones, Chuck Leavell, was there. Before the movie, he talked some and gave a slideshow, and then performed a couple of songs, playing piano and singing (he wrapped up with a Bo Diddle medley, who had just passed away). The Stones love playing the Fox, and Keith Richards kicked off his 1988 solo tour there. Great theater, I hope they continue showing films ther forever!

LAST REGULAR movie to play at this ABC SOUTHEASTERN THEATRE was Richard Burton in the lousy THE KLANSMAN rated R. This might have been posted up the line,but i never noticed it when reading all these great experiences.