In the 1970s, Atlanta rallied around a campaign to “Save the Fox Theater” from imminent destruction. It rescued the building, preserving an iconic piece of the city’s landscape and a hub for the arts. Now the theater wants to pay it back.
On May 6, National Historic Preservation Month, Fox Gives awarded $1 million in two multi-year grants to the historic DeSoto Theatre in Rome and the Thomasville Municipal Auditorium to support the long-term preservation of the two Georgia spaces.
“These historic spaces matter to their communities, Fox Theatre President and CEO Allan Vella said. “We know firsthand the impact when a community comes together to save a local landmark. This is our way of paying that forward.”
Since its inception in 2008, the philanthropic arm of the theater has invested more than $5.7 million in historic theaters and cultural landmarks across the Southeast.
To “pay it forward,” each theater will receive $500,000 across two to four years, and bring a 10% match to the table. The dollars will “embody a project that’s going to take them to the next level,” according to Community Partnerships Director Leigh Burns.
It’s the type of money that can keep a theater in operation. After the Fox Theatre was famously saved from demolition, it dealt with water damage, fires and a global pandemic that shut it down for over a year.
“There’s not anything on our journey that we have not gone through,” Burns said. “I think that’s what makes it special; the board really wanted to pay back the gifts of what the Atlanta and Georgia community has given to the Fox, and return it out to the state.”
In Thomasville, the grant will help a nearly 100-year-old municipal auditorium reopen for business. The city and Fox Gives will partner on life, safety and accessibility upgrades, like fire suppression, system improvements, accessibility and structural repairs.
“I think what’s exciting about Thomasville is you see the city investing their own funding in this project and their own community saying, this is valid to us, this is a place where everyone can gather,” Burns said.
Fox Gives also sees theaters as an “integral part of downtown,” and restoration as a form of economic development. With a building like the 1,000-seat auditorium in Thomasville, open seats can draw conferences, concerts and major events.
Burns said it’s “going to return to that use of being a gathering space for all.”
The DeSoto Theatre in Rome, the first theater to display sound film in the Southeast, is set for some major backstage upgrades to dressing rooms, accessibility and essential core infrastructure. Burns said it will help “support the staff and performers.” (The theater is also a venue for the star-studded Rome International Film Festival.
With those funds, Burns hopes the organizations will be able to recruit even more grant dollars. The 2024 multi-year grant recipient, the Hart County Community Theatre in Hartwell, drew in two other grants at the SouthFace Institute and Appalachian Regional Commission.
Fox Gives also granted a total of $500,000 to eight other theaters across Georgia. The Ritz Theater and Cultural Center in Albany and Memorial Auditorium and Brunswick will both be rehabilitated and reopened using the Fox Gives funds.
The awarded theaters include:
- Springer Opera House, Columbus: $58,500
- Sautee Nacooche Historic Gymnasium, Sautee Nacooche: $100,000
- Colored Memorial Building Auditorium, Brunswick: $45,000
- DeSoto Theatre, Rome: $62,500
- Morton Theatre, Athens: $57,000
- Ritz Theatre, Toccoa: $65,000
- Ritz Theater and Cultural Center, Albany: $47,000
