Teatro Fox Delicias
6963 Calle Isabel,
Ponce
00728
6963 Calle Isabel,
Ponce
00728
1 person
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The Fox Delicias Teatro opened in 1931 and stopped showing movies in 1980.
Today, the former theatre houses a hotel.
Contributed by
Charles J. Kropke
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Recent comments (view all 15 comments)
In October I stayed with Annie, my companion, at the hotel. It’s a lovely no frills litttle hotel but the rooms are small and have no windows. And beware: watch out for the “hanky panky”, the noises can be heard from room to room. The staff is terrific, very friendly. We had a full free breakfast in the package which was delivered promptly everyday at the room == the omelette with country ham is excellent. Room service was terrific. The restaurant is excellent and the appetizers feed two. It’s a shame it is not doing much busimess and before I returned to NY I read in a local paper that it was up for sale. Another problem is that downtown Ponce is dead, there is nothing to do in the evenings. Unless you have friends or relatives in Ponce == which luckily I had == forget about it. However, if you happen to go by Ponce, if the hotel is still open, by all means try the restaurant. Best, Andres.
This is a 02/28/1991 article about the former Fox Delicias.
“Legendary Fox Delicias to be shopping mall. (Fox Delicias, motion picture theater building, Ponce, Puerto Rico)
Source: Caribbean Business
Author: Schell, Mari Carmen
What used to be a movie theater in the heart of downtown Ponce will open as a mall by the end of March. The renovated Fox Delicias will have 26 commercial spaces ranging from 300 square feet to 1,200 square feet as well as a cafe-theater.
According to Eduardo Ruberte Huertas, president of Fox Delicias Mall Inc., the 30,000-square-foot Fox Delicias is currently in the last stage of a $3 million renovation, which began a year ago.
Ruberte said that 50% of the locales in the mall have been leased and that the company is presently negotiating to lease the remaining spaces. Although Ruberte did not want to disclose rent rates for the commercial spaces, he said that they included maintenance and security personnel fees.
The 14 commercial spaces on the ground floor of the Fox Delicias are being leased to restaurants and food businesses. Ruberte said that several restaurants have already signed leases to begin operating at the Fox Delicias, including Chinese, Italian and Puerto Rican cuisine.
At present Ruberte is negotiating with four major U.S mainland fast food franchises to begin operating in the downtown location.
On the second floor of the renovated building there are 12 spaces which are being leased to stores targeting the middle income market. Two stores, one specializing in ladies' accessories and the other in women’s wear, have already leased spaces at the mall. Ruberte said that the remaining locations will be leased once the negotiations are completed.
Ruberte is still negotiating with potential operators for the 2,200 square-foot cafe-theater, which has a seating capacity of 150 people. He said that, because the theater is located in historic Ponce, operators of the cafe-theater have to comply with Institute of Culture requirements which call for the occasional presentation of cultural events.
Although the municipality of Ponce has not put money toward financing the project, Ruberte said that he has been working closely with government officials. Financing for the project was obtained from First Federal Bank.
Traditional Construction is in charge of the renovation. In turn, the structural design was done by Axel Bonilla, an engineer from the firm of Jose Luiz Irizarry & Associates.
The Fox Delicias theater has been a landmark in Ponce since it began operating in 1931. The theater was built by Pedro Juan Serralles to show silent movies. The Fox Delicias, which was named after the Twentieth Century Fox firm and the Las Delicias Park in Ponce, was designed by architect Francisco Porrata Doria".
I’m not sure where else to post this so i am using the Fox page. I just returned from a wonderful trip to Puerto Rico and visited the beautiful city of Ponce. While I was driving around heading towrds the central Plaza I came across the “ruins” of a movie theater called The Victoria. Alas, I do not have the street names and was not able to get a closer look. Once again, I assumed that the theater would already be on this site and I was mistaken.
The theater was about 2-3 blocks west of the main plaza and was on the northeast corner of the intersection. It had a prominent marquee and looks as though it had been closed for many years.
Ponce has restored so many of its fantastical buildings over the last few years and it does not have a working single screen cinema though I assume that would not work economically in Ponce. It appears that virtually all of the movie theaters in Puerto Rico are multiplexes housed in shopping centers and operated by Caribbean Cinemas.
I hope to return to Puerto Rico within the next year and if I do I will stop back and take photos and get the address. Does anyone else have any additional information? I’m most curious about whether any of the original ornamentation survives and how large the theater was.
I love the combination of Art Deco and Spanish Colonial on the facade of this theater. It’s truly a very unique and beautiful design. Does anyone know if there any other examples of this mix in styles in the US? What a shame that there do not appear to be any existing interior photographs of ths theater when it was operating as a cinema. I would have loved to have seen what they did to carry this design to the auditorium.
Luis V,
Saw your posting on the Paramount regarding Ponce. I am not very familiar with the Victoria, although it does ring a bell. My guess is that it was second-fare theatre, probably playing double bills. I am not from Ponce, but my mother’s side of the family is. I will ask her this week for any recollections.
I do remember once during the mid 70’s we were in Ponce visiting relatives, when someone proposed to go to the movies. We all went to the Fox, but they were playing “Hitler: The Last 10 Days” with Alec Guinness. Since my mother didn’t like war movies, we didn’t go in.
JSA
Thanks JSA! I have submitted the Victoria as a new theater based solely on my sighting of it. Unfortunately, all I had to provide was the name and approximate location. Any information from your family would be greatly appreciated.
LuisV,
Sorry it took me a while, but I finally spoke with my mother this past weekend regarding the Victoria. According to her, it was located in Calle Comercio, and it was similar to the Teatro Riviera, which was located at Calle Loiza in Santurce. She thinks they showed double features, but was not sure. Now I’m intrigued, and will try to find more information. Stay tuned!
JSA
Hi JSA, if the theater your mother refers to was located on Calle Comerico then it was not the theater I saw. It was defintely about two blocks West of Plaza Las Delicias. I just looked on google maps and there actually is a Calle Victoria so it is possible that this theater borders that street. Oh how I wish I had paid beter attention to where I was! I’m hoping that someone who knows Ponce will eventualy read this and provide us with the missing info.
The theater is absolutely there! It is on the North East corner of the intersection with a big marquee with the word Victoria on it. The marquee has some broken glass in it. I have no idea of the interior condition. It looks like it’s been closed for a few years.
Renewing link.
For a list of all of Ponce Theaters, with names and locations, of the bygone eras of the 1930s-1970s, see my posting under Teatro Victoria, Ponce, Puerto Rico.