as promised...the Fabulous Fox Theatre

I love the Fox Theatre. It is beautiful. The detail that was taken when it was built in the 1920s is amazing. It was originally built by the Shriners to look like a Moorish Mosque. Unfortunately the Depression hit and the financial backing for the undertaking fell through. The Shriners made a deal with William Fox, the mega millionaire who built the other FOX theatres in Detroit and St. Louis. I'm told he built theatres in Brooklyn and San Francisco as well but I'm not sure if those are still around.

This shot shows the auditorium from the stage. It seats roughly 4500 people when full. The "tent" over the balcony ceiling helps with the acoustics. The ceiling is painted ultramarine and has bulbs in it to look like stars. For a recent production of "White Christmas" the theatre renovated the old snow machines they had in the coves and made it "snow" for the finale.

The lobby is exquisite. This is a wall fountain (not running) behind one of the "buy some stuff to fund the renovation" display counters.

The bathroom lounges are bigger than my whole house and the stairwells are a bit over the top.

The lighting fixtures are great too.

This is one of the wall sconces in the back of the auditorium. The following is one of the chandeliers.

The Fox also has a huge organ that they play before the shows. The organist is hilarious and wears an assortment of Liberace style jackets. The organ has 4000 pipes! It is maintained in a room under the stage that still has the original sign. It has never been changed, probably because people would object to losing the photo op.

The exit signs and doors are amazing too.

A last thought: it would cost over $300 million to build the FOX today.