Fox Tucson Theatre

Take a step closer to this dazzling piece of Tucson’s history and imagine downtown buzzing just like it did in 1930. Picture warm desert air, the slick shine on Congress Street reflecting festival lights, and a crowd so excited they could barely stand still—because on April 11th, 1930, the Fox Tucson Theatre opened its doors for the very first time. No kidding, it was the biggest party Tucson had ever seen: four live bands ringing out across the street, a live radio broadcast capturing the excitement, and folks doing the Charleston thanks to the freshly waxed street! They even handed out free trolley rides. I guess nobody was worrying about stepping on toes that night! But, let’s rewind just a little. The Fox was originally going to be called “The Tower” and was cooked up by Tucson’s theater-loving Diamos family as part of their Lyric Amusement chain. Well, along came the Fox company with a deal the Diamos family just couldn’t refuse—you know, like when you’re trying to hang on to the last piece of cake at a party and someone offers you a whole bakery instead. So, the Fox folks bought it, hired the former owners to manage it, and raised the bar for movie palaces in the whole Southwest. In fact, the Fox Tucson Theatre is the only Southwestern Art Deco movie palace of its kind—so take an extra look at the details, especially that stunning marquee. From its earliest days, the Fox was a dual-purpose venue, built for both vaudeville and those brand-new “talkie” movies. There were plans for a massive stage and dressing rooms, but the Great Depression had other ideas. In the scramble to finish, the budget ballooned and some spaces, like the dressing rooms under the stage, never got completed. Even so, the Fox stage still became the heart of Tucson’s entertainment scene, packed to its 1,200-seat limit for movies, community events, and even the ever-popular Mickey Mouse Club. Imagine the giggles, the hush when the lights fell, and, yes, the cheers for those early cartoons. But, just as in the movies, there’s always a twist. Despite the joy inside, not everyone got to sit where they wanted—the sad truth is the rest of programming was segregated and African American moviegoers were limited to the back balcony. It’s a somber reminder of our history, echoed by longtime Tucsonians like Flyod Thompson. For forty lively years, this theater dazzled the city, but a new reel started spinning: competition from other theaters and televisions flickering to life in living rooms meant fewer ticket stubs. The grand Fox closed its doors in 1974. Then came a long, dusty silence. The building fell into disrepair, unused and unloved for 25 years—a ghostly shell of its former glory, even housing more than 40 homeless people at its lowest point. But Tucson loves a comeback story! After long negotiations, a community group, the Fox Tucson Theatre Foundation, bought the building in 1999 for a quarter of a million dollars and rolled up their sleeves for a top-to-bottom rescue mission. Water damage, vandalism, peeling decorative plaster, missing lights—you name it, they fixed it. With public and private funding, plus a very creative use of historic tax credits, the Fox was restored piece by piece over six years, including that one-of-a-kind “Acoustone” sound treatment that makes the acoustics here so special.