By Kristi Casey Sanders
The castles that once lined Peachtree Street vanished long ago. So did the Loew’s Grand, where Gone With the Wind premiered. The Fox Theatre was scheduled for demolition in 1974, but an ardent civic campaign raised the funds to purchase the historic building and established Atlanta Landmarks Inc. to restore and manage the non-profit theater.
Unlike many non-profits, The Fox Theatre makes money. For the past 30 years, it has operated in the black. In 2007, Venues Today ranked it the No. 1 venue in America (2,001-5,000 seats) in terms of box office revenue and attendance. Pollstar Magazine ranked it No. 5 in the world for ticket sales.
Because it attracts up to 4,674 people per show, the Fox also has helped revitalize Midtown Atlanta, which was a ghost town in the mid 1970s. The audience needed places to eat and drink before and after the show besides the Varsity, so new restaurants opened and flourished. Major shows attracted people who lived far outside the metro area; their need for a place to stay helped support new hotels.
In this way, the Fox Theatre not only is an iconic landmark, it is an example of how historic preservation can transform a community and proves how vital the arts are to Atlanta. “It shows that [theaters] can be an economic driver in your neighborhood; it’s an asset to a community, not a liability,” says Molly Fortune, restoration director for the Fox Theatre’s Preservation Department. “When you tear something like the Fox down, you’ve torn down more than a historic building, you’ve torn down the soul of the community. It’s an event, coming to a historic building [for a show].”
Fortune sits on the board of the League of Historic American Theatres, which is holding its 32nd annual conference and theater tour at the Fox from July 16-19. Titled “Thinking Outside the Fox,” the conference will showcase and celebrate the salvation of the Fox and theaters like it throughout the U.S. and Canada, and examine their roles as catalysts for cultural and economic development in their communities.
Basing the conference at the Fox also gives attendees the chance to see the Fox’s Restoration Department firsthand and learn from it. “We’re the only theater in the country that has a full-time restoration staff,” Fortune explains. “By doing that, we keep the illusion alive. We’re not throwing $10 million at it and coming back in 10 years and letting it get a little tired. We’re throwing $1 million at it every year and keeping things updated.” Part of the funding for the department comes from its audience; a $2 restoration fee is paid by every ticketholder. A portion of the annual revenues also is invested back into maintaining and restoring the 79-year-old building.
Conference attendees also will journey to see some of Georgia’s other historic theaters, such as the Springer Opera House in Columbus, the Rylander Theatre in Americus, and the Douglas and Grand theaters in Macon, among others. Preserving historic theaters and repurposing them, Fortune says, is the original green initiative. “It’s basically recycling to use the building for what it’s originally designed for. And people want to come.
“I think the South is incredibly forgotten in the theater world,” Fortune continues. “Here’s [one of] your most profitable theaters in the world, and it’s in Atlanta. We have an incredible theater culture here; I just want to celebrate that. And we’re run by a not-for-profit, we’re not run by a management corporation … that’s huge.”
