A friend recommended that I take the monthly tour of the revitalized and restored Fox Tucson Theatre downtown. It was well worth the 2 hours.
Held at noon on the first Tuesday of each month, the tour is led by a staffer knowledgeable in the history of the place. I learned today that the Fox opened April 11, 1930, or almost 90 years ago. In the block on Congress between Stone to the east and Church on the west, the building and theatre were rescued from a certain demise in the 1970s.
There really are four lives for this theatre, which, really, has been a community gathering place since it opened.
- Those grand days in the 1930s and 1940s of movie premieres and Saturday date night.
- The 1950s and 60s with the Mickey Mouse Club and Saturday serials and matinees.
- Closure and near death from 1974 to 1998.
- Revitalization and restoration in the first two decades of this century.
Their displays and the tour is well mapped out. Starting in the lobby you work your way into the main auditorium from balcony to main floor. Then onto the stage and through the dressing rooms. It is a site to behold and brought back some memories.
While others in our group of 20 or so visitors had been in the venue for music shows as recently as last week, I hadn’t been to the place since the 1960s. I recall seeing “The Guns of Navarone,” (1961) and “Shenandoah” (1965) as a kid with my brother and dad. Since the Fox, the Catalina and Paramount were about the only indoor screens in town, besides watching a flickering black-and-white TV in our living room, these movie houses were where you saw first-run flicks on the big screen.
This theatre is truly an icon in the city and an historic gathering place, brought back to life. Another example of a city in tune with it’s multi-cultural heritage and history. A tour well worth taking.
Relentless
