ARTS
MAR 12, 2021
sfcc.derek.tresner@gmail.com
FOX THEATER
PAST AND PRESENT IT HAS UNDERGONE MANY CHANGES THROUGH THE YEARS BUT ITS CHARM REMAINS MARISA WEST
The Fox theater has been a home for entertainment for generations. It was built during the Great Depression and was one of the largest theaters in Spokane. It was known for having movie stars greeting fans from the balcony and at its grand opening of Sept. 3, 1931 it was celebrated with 30,000 people. “Architect Robert Reamer ... designed the Theater in the exuberant and modernistic Art Deco Style,” the Fox Theater website said. “Because the Theater was constructed during the transition between vaudeville and silent movies and the ‘talkies,’ the theater was equipped with [a] full-height stage house, orchestra pit, and dressing rooms to accommodate a range of movies and live performances.” As Spokane and interests changed with the decades so did the theater. By 1975 the balcony was divided and for the next 25 years it served as a triplex housing two
theaters for motion pictures. Robert West worked as manager for the later part of his time at the Fox Theater from 1991 until 1994. “The theater at the time was a tri-plex cinema,” he said. “ The main floor was one big auditorium, and the balcony had been converted into two smaller auditoriums.” Although the theater had been converted, the parts that made the Fox special stayed intact. The original staircases and decor stayed as a reminder of the elegance of the time it was built. “The original live play house was still there. Behind the screen on the main floor was still all of the mechanical fixtures for raising and lowering scenery, props and so on,” West said. “The orchestra pit was still there, [and] they had built a stage extension over it so they could have the screen and curtain closer to the seating
area.They also still had the light control room that they converted into the projection booth. There were also all of the dressing rooms where actors would get ready.” In the early 2000s the theater faced a possible demolition, but instead came back to life after a restoration to a performing arts theater and reopened in 2007 as the Martin Woldson Theater at The Fox. It is a home to the Spokane Symphony and centerplace for local to national events. The current pandemic has created a hardship on this cherished theater. While it normally would hold consistent events, especially on the weekends; however, it has decreased as state restrictions were put into place. It is unknown when they will have in person events. While the Theater is owned and operated by the Spokane Symphony, they accept donations to keep this historical building in the community.
PHOTO | DEREK TRESNER
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