Address | 660 Peachtree Street NE Atlanta, Georgia United States |
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Owner | Fox Theatre Inc. |
Type | Movie palace |
Capacity | 4,665 |
Screens | 1 |
Opened | 1929 |
Tenants | |
Broadway Across America | |
Website | |
Fox Theatre
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Coordinates | 33°46′21″N 84°23′8″W / 33.77250°N 84.38556°WCoordinates: 33°46′21″N 84°23′8″W / 33.77250°N 84.38556°W |
Architect | Olivier J. Vinour, Et al. |
Architectural style | Other |
Part of | Fox Theatre Historic District (#78003178) |
NRHP Reference # | 74002230 |
Significant dates | |
Added to NRHP | May 17, 1974 |
Designated NHL | May 11, 1976 |
The Fox Theatre (often marketed as the Fabulous Fox), a former movie palace, is a performing arts venue located at 660 Peachtree Street NE in Midtown Atlanta, Georgia, and is the centerpiece of the Fox Theatre Historic District.
The theater was originally planned as part of a large Shrine Temple as evidenced by its Moorish design. The 4,665 seat auditorium was ultimately developed as a lavish movie theater in the Fox Theatres chain and opened in 1929. It hosts a variety of cultural and artistic events including the Atlanta Ballet, a summer film series, and performances by national touring companies of Broadway shows. The venue also hosts occasional concerts by popular artists.
When the Fox Theatre first opened, the local newspaper described it as having, “a picturesque and almost disturbing grandeur beyond imagination”. It remains a showplace that impresses theatre-goers to this day. The principal architect of the project was Olivier Vinour of the firm Marye, Alger and Vinour.
The original architecture and décor of the Fox can be roughly divided into two architectural styles: Islamic architecture (building exterior, auditorium, Grand Salon, mezzanine Gentlemen’s Lounge and lower Ladies Lounge) and Egyptian architecture (Egyptian Ballroom, mezzanine Ladies Lounge and lower Gentlemen’s Lounge).
The 4,678-seat auditorium, which was designed for movies and live performances, replicates an Arabian courtyard complete with a night sky of 96 embedded crystal "stars" (a third of which flicker) and a projection of clouds that slowly drift across the "sky." A longstanding rumor that one of the stars was a piece of a Coca-Cola bottle was confirmed in June 2010 when two members of the theater's restoration staff conducted a search from within the attic above the auditorium ceiling.