Off Shore Muse

The Fox Theatre Marquee

2211 Woodward Avenue

The marquee while not original to the building has become one of Detroit's most recognizable landmarks!

Detroit's Finest Entertainment

Take one of the 16 doors leading into the lobby that opens to high ceilings and beautiful black and white marble floors. The lobby is just the appetizer to the auditorium. The oval-shaped, main auditoriium is surrounded by intricate arches that conceal pipes from the original organ, massive columns and decorative gilded plaster of elephants, griffins, dragons and birds. What looks like drapery is solid, painted plaster that spills out from the center of the auditorium.

The elephant that heads the proscenium arch.

The proscenium is 70' x 30' and is adorned

with animals, human figures, starbursts and flowers.

Views of the auditorium from the stage.

The "Green Room" behind the stage is signed by hundreds of performers who have taken the stage at the Fox!

The Fox Theatre was the first to include escalators and elevators for patrons and the first in the world to have custom, built-in equipment for presenting talking movies. Detroit's Fox Theatre was originally billed as "the most magnificent Temple of Amusement in the World". Built to replace the outdated Fox Washington Theatre near Grand Circus Park which was deemed too outdated and small at 1,862 seats. Since opening in 1928 countless audiences have taken in films and performances at the Fox. The imposing ten-story structure was designed by C. Howard Crane and was built as part of the theatre empire of film mogul William Fox. He owned hundreds of movie houses nationwide and many of which were named "Fox". The Detroit location was particularly lavish. The original "house staff" of doormen, ushers, designers and matrons numbered more than 400.

Leather-lined elevator located in a small elevator lobby just north of the main lobby.

Made by Otis

After entering through a bank of elegant brass doors and an outer foyer, guests pass into an ornate 3,600 square feet and a six-story high lobby decorated with butterflies, lions and peacocks. Beyond this is the elaborate main auditorium and is ringed by a pillared promenade. The best seating at the Fox are the so-called dinner suites.

Throughout the interior, ornamentation and decorations designed by Eve Leo, Fox's wife feature Egyptian, Indian and Oriental motifs. The theatre also boasts a 36-rank Wurlitzer pipe organ in the auditorium and a 3-manual 13-rank Moller organ in the lobby.

The Wurlitzer Organ

Between featured films, the Fox's troupe of chorus girls would entertain the audience. Live shows ranged from the Benny Goodman Big Band to Berry Gordy's annual Motown Revue.

Its opening show was the film, Street Angel which premiered on September 21, 1928. The theatre routinely grossed $75,000 a week when admission was 35 cents. The Fox remained open through the 1940s and showed a variety of newsreels and movies from World War II. In 1956, the theatre hosted three performances by Elvis Presley. Elvis is known for bringing in an audience of over 12,000 screaming fans in a theatre that could only held 5,048 seats. In 1953, the theatre was the first in Michigan equipped for CinemaScope and premiered the epic picture The Robe.

Mike and Marian Ilitch purchased the Fox in 1987 and went through an 18-month, $12 million restoration to return it to its original grandeur. Ilitch headquartered their various business enterprises in the building's extensive office space. They also undertook a full renovation of the theatre's neglected splendor. In 2006, Atanas Ilitch Holdings announced the construction and addition of the iconic Fox Theatre blade sign featuring LED lights in 18-foot letters spelling "FOX". The new multi-storied marquee was made to replace the badly altered original. It reopened on November 19, 1988 with a performance by Motown legend, Smokey Robinson with the Count Basie Orchestra.

The colors are going to be vibrant. The neon is going to be vibrant. Everything about it is going to be new, state-of-the-art and vibrant. It will have the warm glow of real neon that will continue to protect the aesthetic soul of the historic structure that began with Vaudeville shows and 35-cent talkies.

Roger Briddick, Detroit-based Fairmont Sign Project Manager

Today, Detroit's Fox Theatre ranks as one of the most magnificent and profitable entertainment destinations in the country. The opulence of this theatre is something to experience, in person! The Fox holds concerts and special events including "Sesame Street Live" and the Rockettes.

The Fox Theatre is a beautiful theatre opening as the flagship movie palace for the Fox Theatre Chain. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on February 14, 1985 and designated a National Historic Landmark on June 29, 1989.