Symphony To Proceed With Fox Purchase Group Still Needs $833,500 To Complete Transaction

Wed., Aug. 23, 2000

By Amy Cannata amyc@spokesman.com

Four months ago the Fox Theater was a potential target for the wrecking ball. Today it’s a step closer to becoming the Spokane Symphony’s new home.

Following a report on the feasibility of turning the Fox Theater into a performing arts center, the Spokane Symphony Board of Trustees voted unanimously Tuesday to proceed with the project.

It is projected that restoration and modernization of the Fox will cost $12.5 million. That’s on top of the $1.2 million the symphony needs to raise by Sept. 10 to purchase the historic theater from Regal Cinemas.

With less than three weeks left to buy the Fox, the symphony has received donations totaling just over $366,500, including a $230,000 state Building for the Arts grant.

Executive Director John Hancock said he is optimistic that the remaining $833,500 can be raised in time.

“It’s a terrific opportunity for both the city and the symphony,” he said, “and we’re glad to be in a position to take advantage of it.”

The symphony is talking to potential donors ranging from individuals to foundations to corporations, said Hancock, who declined to reveal names. He did say it’s possible that the Fox performance center could be named after a large donor.

Over the past 60 days, experts have studied turning the Fox into a concert hall, looking at acoustics, theatrical capabilities and structural soundness.

Hancock said that every facet of the project was examined, from parking (there are 720 parking spaces within two blocks of the Fox) to bathrooms (the number needs to be quadrupled). All of the Fox’s decorative elements will be retained, he said.

The art deco Fox Theater was built in 1931 for $1 million. In 1975 it was converted into a triplex, and in 1989 it became a discount movie house.

The symphony began seriously investigating the possibility of using the building as a performance center this spring and entered into a contract to buy the building in June.

Local developer Ron Wells, who has completed other historic restoration projects in Spokane, will be the symphony’s Fox Theater project manager, leading a team that includes Spokane architects Ron Tan and Ritch Fenrich.

National experts Jaffee Holden Scarbrough Acoustics Inc. and Charles Cosler Theatre Design have also been hired to work on the Fox.

“Their assessment of what we could do for this building is so positive in the sense that we could take a building that is so beautiful and also have fabulous acoustics,” said Wells. “All that extra space that was built with retail space in mind can support the additional back-up needed for dressing rooms and a green room.”

Plans are to be completed by November.

This sidebar appeared with the story: DETAILS

Donations can be made to the Spokane Symphony’s Save the Fox fund by calling 458-5923.

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