FIRST - Air Conditioned Building in Spokane County - Fox Theatre - Spokane, WA
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T0SHEA
N 47° 39.427 W 117° 25.628
11T E 467927 N 5278279
An Art Deco building, The Fox was probably the largest theatre built in Spokane. It is now home to the Spokane Symphony.
Tally=14
Waymark Code: WMQCFG
Location: Washington, United States
Date Posted: 02/04/2016
Views: 1
This theatre/concert hall has a beautiful neon sign/marquee out front. As well as the lettering it has red and yellow neon strips which criss-cross over each other at both top and bottom of the sign for the full length of all three sides of the sign. There is further decorative neon framing the lettering on all sides.
Opened on September 3, 1931, this Robert Chambers Reamer design is a large art deco building, not atypical of the time, which had seating for 2,350. The theatre was built by Fox West Coast Theaters as a venue for movies produced by Fox.
Architecturally, the interior spaces of the theatre have been referred to as "flat and boxy". It operated continuously as a movie theatre until its closure on September 21, 2000. Saved from demolition by the Spokane Symphony, they launched a fund raising campaign to restore the building. Having been multiplexed in 1975, partitions were removed and seating capacity reduced to 1,700 as part of the $31 million renovations that were completed in November of 2007.
When reopened on November 17, 2007 it was renamed the Martin Woldson Theater at The Fox and serves as the home of the Spokane Symphony. As a result of the renovation, the theatre has been returned to essentially its original appearance, both inside and out.
Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra and Katharine Hepburn have all performed here, and now one can rent the building for occasions, such as weddings. The building is capable of handling parties of 2 to 1,600 persons for ceremonies and 50 to 450 for receptions. That would be a BIG wedding, in our estimation. The theatre produces seasonal events, symphonies and concerts throughout the year.