Your eyes are about to meet one of the most magnificent movie palaces in the United States, the building Atlanta almost lost. The Fox opened on December 25, 1929, conceived as the national headquarters of the Shriners fraternal organization and designed in an extravagant Moorish-Egyptian style that covers every surface with arabesques, minarets, and fantastical ornamentation. The main auditorium is designed to resemble an Arabian courtyard open to the sky — the ceiling is painted deep blue with twinkling electric stars and moving clouds, and the walls rise in elaborate Islamic architectural pastiche.
The Mighty Mo, the theater's massive Möller pipe organ, remains one of the largest theater organs in the world. The Fox nearly fell to the wrecking ball in 1974 when its owner announced plans to demolish it for an Atlanta Gas Light Company office building. A citizen campaign called Save the Fox raised the money to purchase and restore it, and the theater has been in continuous operation since.
It remains one of the busiest touring venues in the country, hosting Broadway shows, rock concerts, comedy specials, and film screenings in a setting of almost hallucinatory splendor. If you can see a show here, do.