Marquee Renovation: Fox Theater

This is the result of some research into what other historic theaters have done with their marquees. The intent is to give some perspective to the proposals made to repair and upgrade the historic marquee of the Miracle Theater.

In most cases, clicking on the picture will show you a larger view of the image.

The historic Fox Theater is a landmark building located in Atlanta, Georgia. Its renovation is widely lauded, but it appears that their marquee has undergone a greater change than the current proposal for the Miracle Theater Marquee.

From WikiPedia:
Originally intended as the Yaarab Temple Shrine Mosque, a headquarters for a 5000-member Shriners organization, the $2.75 million project was completed only with funding and a twenty-one year lease by movie mogul William Fox, who was building theatres around the country at the time. The theatre opened on December 25, 1929, just two months after the stock market crash.

During the 1960s several elements collided to bring about the Fox’s decline; white flight, television, and changes in how films were distributed. By the 1970s the Fox could only show second-run movies to an ever dwindling audience.

A group was formed to save the theatre and it was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in May 1974. The ensuing public outcry and massive campaign (including Liberace, Lynyrd Skynyrd and other celebrities) resulted in the city refusing to issue a demolition permit and ultimately, a complicated deal was brokered that prevented the Fox's demolition. The Southern Bell headquarters were built on land adjacent to the theatre. The U.S. Department of the Interior subsequently named the Fox a National Historic Landmark on May 26, 1976.

After the Fox was saved from the demolition, a lengthy and expensive restoration process began. Luckily much of the original décor had survived and new pieces were created with the help of old photographs. Today, the Fox appearance looks much like it did when it opened, with some additions that were in the original plans but scrapped in the 1920’s because of financial constraints, and other changes that had to be made to bring the building up to current safety codes.

This 1956 photo shows that the Fox had a Wagner Slotted letter system. A banner has been hung UNDER the marquee to provide more information about the current show, and
presumably some color.


The Fox Theater's Marquee front has replaced the Slotted system with a chasing matrix light display. A second tier of signage echoes the banner seen in the 1956 shot.

A closer shot of the old marquee during a 1975 protest shows the Wagner Slotted system on the end of the marquee.

The original Wagner Slotted system has been replaced with LCD or Plasma screens on the sides.

Links of interest:

• Fox Theatre website
• The Fox as Historic Landmark
• History of the Fox (entry in the New Georgia Encyclopedia)
• Then/Now photos of Atlanta' Fox Theatre: #1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6
• Vintage postard #1 of Atlanta's Fox Theatre, boasting of having the world's largest stage!
• Vintage postcard #2 of Atlanta's Fox Theatre
• Atlanta Preservation Center