• Fox was constructed from August of 1929-April 1930


• The original cost of construction & furnishings for the theatre was $300,000


• The Fox’s architect, Eugene Durfee, also designed the Grand Theatre in Douglas, Arizona


• Designed as a Vaudeville and movie theatre, the Fox was the largest capacity theatre, 1200 seats, in Tucson for many years


• “Acoustone”, the theatre’s acoustic treatment was only installed in two theatres in the United States before the company that sold it went bankrupt


• The Fox was built on the site of the former “Ratner’s Furniture”


• The Fox was originally to be called the “Tower Theatre”


• The Fox was originally built by the Lyric Amusement Company. Fox West Coast Theatres then negotiated a long-term lease and the theatre became a part of the Fox chain. The theatre was officially number 501 in the chain.


• Fox Theatre company designers altered the original décor of the theatre, mostly with the design for the decorative ceiling and proscenium


• The décor of the Fox was described as “Spanish Modernistic” by the newspaper, this style is now known as Southwestern Art Deco. The Fox Tucson Theatre is the only known example of this style


• The Fox’s original climate control was “swamp cooled”. In 1936, the system was converted to true “Air Conditioning”, the first commercial use of this technology in Tucson