Detroit's Fox Theater is considered one of the premier entertainment venues in the Midwest. Over the years, the theater has played host to such famous names as Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley, Roy Orbison and Mariah Carey. It is also Detroit's top venue for Broadway shows and is the second largest theater in the country, after New York's Radio City Music Hall.
The theater was constructed in 1928; one of several built by the film pioneer William Fox and designed by local architect C. Howard Crane. The building was designed with a beautiful and lavish interior featuring motifs from Persia, India and China, as well as a six story high grand lobby and a huge 13 foot diameter chandelier. The Asian theme is used on the building's exterior as well; the fazade is illuminated at night and can be seen from several blocks away.
Much of the original decoration can still be seen today and behind the scene tours are available at the theater for groups of 15 or more. Another way to experience the grandeur of the building's interior is to be invited to one of the special events or conventions that are regularly held here. The Fox Theater can accommodate almost 4,000 guests at a time, including 500 in the huge lobby alone.
Since its opening day, the Fox Theater was Detroit's major movie venue for many decades, managing to remain open into the 1970s when other local theaters were closing. In 1988 the theater was purchased by local entrepreneur Mike Ilich, who undertook a huge restoration program, costing an estimated $12 million. His efforts helped revitalize the surrounding area, which is sometimes known as Foxtown.
The theater is owned by Olympia Entertainment, which itself is owned by Mike Ilitch. Olympia also owns several other of Detroit's well known entertainment venues, such as City Theater, the Masonic Temple Theater and the Joe Louis Arena. Ilitch Holdings has its headquarters in the Fox Theater office building and has been largely responsible for renovating many buildings in downtown Detroit.
Since it became a venue for live productions in the 1980s, the Fox Theater has put on an ever changing program of diverse shows. In addition to featuring many of the biggest names in the entertainment world, it has also hosted the World Wrestling Entertainment Hall of Fame, the cast of Sesame Street., and shown a selection of plays and movies. One of its most popular and successful ventures was the Radio City Christmas Spectacular which ran from 1997 until 2005.
Apart from the quality and range of its productions, the Fox Theater has several other distinctions. By using Fox's patented movietone sound system, it was the world's first movie theater to be constructed with equipment built in to enable it to show sound movies. Today, it is one of the most profitable theaters of its size in the country; it was also added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1985 and became a National Historic Landmark in 1989.
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