Fox gives other theaters ticket to restoration

Built in 1929, the DeSoto Theatre in Rome was the first movie palace in the South designed for "talkies."

It quickly became a success, ranking as one of the top entertainment destinations in North Georgia for the next half-century.

Today, the DeSoto still has its art deco marquee and ornate, mirrored entrance hall — although the building is badly in need of repair.

Enter Atlanta's Fox Theatre, with a new initiative to help other historic theaters in Georgia with restoration, programming, fund-raising and community development. The Fox plans to launch its Fox Theatre Institute on Friday at the League of American Historic Theatres conference in Atlanta.

In the case of the DeSoto, the same painters who work on the Fox Theatre will be arriving in Rome in the next few weeks to restore the barreled ceiling of the theater's arcade-like entrance hall, said Paul Griffin, president of Rome Little Theatre, the community theater that owns the building and puts on six shows a year there.

"Being a community theater, we're very low on funds," Griffin said. "It's great to have folks step up and help us."

The Fox is the only theater in the U.S. with a full-time restoration department, and naturally has been a resource for other historic theaters looking for advice, said Adina Alford, assistant general manager of the Fox.

"For at least the past five or six years, we've done this informally," she said. "Other theaters will call us with a variety of questions, and we've done consultations."

The Fox also is one of the most successful theaters in the country (booked 300 nights last year) and can afford to provide financial help as well.

Theaters will be able to join the new institute at no charge and get help funding their projects, if necessary, Alford said. Atlanta Landmarks, the nonprofit that owns the Fox, has set aside $500,000 for the next three years to help pay for the work, she said.

In the first year, the Fox will work with 15 theaters around Georgia, providing matching funds as well as expert advice.

The theaters were chosen because they're at least partially restored and have shown a commitment to improvement, Alford said. They range from the grand Rylander Theatre in Americus to the Strand Theater on Marietta Square.

The Fox has spent more than $22 million to date on its restoration. In 1975, a 25-cent surcharge was placed on all tickets as part of the "Save the Fox" campaign. That became a "Fix the Fox" fee 10 years later, said Fox spokeswoman Kristen Delaney.

And the work at the Peachtree Street palace is never done for the seven full-time restoration staffers. Among the projects on the plate of the Fox restoration team: furniture restoration and replacement of the auditorium carpet, Delaney said.

Unlike most performing arts centers around the country, the Fox Theatre doesn't conduct annual capital campaigns, she said. Under Atlanta Landmarks, there have been only two capital campaigns with regard to the Fox — "Save the Fox" and "Fix the Fox."

"It has been the direction of our board since that time for the theater to be self-sufficient," she said.

The Fox Institute is a way to share the Atlanta theater's success with others, Alford said.

"The Fox Theatre's story of survival and success is the catalyst for this movement," Alford said. "We want to share the knowledge the successful restoration of historic theaters have the potential to inspire communities and positively affect their cultural landscape."