7/51 Fox Theater.
The “Fabulous Fox,” Atlanta’s only remaining movie palace, opened on Christmas Day, 1929.
Located on Peachtree Street at Ponce de Leon Avenue, the Fox Theatre was commissioned by Atlanta’s Shriner’s Temple, but the elaborately ornate Moorish design proved too expensive for their budget and the Shriner’s leased the building to movie mogul William Fox.
Atlanta almost lost this opulent theater when the owners closed it in 1974 and Southern Bell planned to construct their headquarters on the site. A grass roots campaign to save the Fox raised $3 million to purchase the theater. The new, nonprofit organization, Atlanta Landmarks, took over management and led the restoration effort to return the building to its former glory.
Not only the most magnificent piece of architecture in Atlanta, it also represents the willingness of the general public to band together and save the building from the wrecking ball. The “Save the Fox” story is a compelling one.
Save the Fox T-shirt, 1974.
Object:
Atlanta History Center, Gift of Atlanta Landmarks
Image:
Courtesy of Fox Theatre, Jonathan Phillips, photographer
Next: 8 Rich's.
Founded by Hungarian-born immigrant Morris Rich in 1867, Rich’s department store grew to become a beloved Southern institution.