“Acoustone”

The Fox’s unique acoustic treatment, called “Acoustone” was designed due to the advent of “Talkie” motion pictures. This change in the movies required a change in the facilities which exhibited them. Rather than dealing with a room of live musicians, or a theatre organ accompanying a silent movie, these new films had speakers placed behind the screen projecting sound out at the audience. This change led to many different treatments from wall curtains to special plaster treatments. “Acoustone”, manufactured by the Acoustone Company of Los Angeles (ad graphic) was placed in only two theatres in the United States, the Fox in Tucson and the Grand in Douglas, Arizona. “Acoustone” is a mixture of  plaster, gypsum, mica and baking soda which, when combined, “cooks” and creates voids to absorb the sound in a room. It acts like a sponge to soak up about 52% of amplified sound. According to acoustic engineers who tested the Fox acoustics, they declared it to be more like a European opera house than a movie theatre. “Acoustone” is ideal for most users of the Fox except an unamplified attraction like the Symphony, in those cases, an acoustic shell will be utilized to focus the sound from the stage to the audience.

The Fox’s “Acoustone”, following 26 years of abuse from a leaking roof, was in dire condition. Approximately 50% of the material needed to be repaired or replaced. EverGreene Painting Studios of New York were hired by the Fox to recreate the original “Acoustone”. Following a patent search to confirm the formula, many experiments were undertaken to get the mix correct. Once the formula was finalized, molds were made and a detailed map of each piece of “Acoustone” in the auditorium was made. Some pieces of  “Acoustone” were in need of new backing material, some needed small repairs while other pieces crumbled to the touch.

The final element of the “Acoustone” in need of repair is the color. The original color, a rose-like hue, was over-painted in the ‘50’s. The original color will be brought back to the walls either by a surface stain to the remaining panels, or by “integral color”, a method of mixing the final color directly into the “Acoustone” as it is curing.