Atlanta's Fox Theatre, originally the Yaarab Temple Shrine Mosque, was designed in the late 1920's as headquarters for the 5,000-member Shriner's organization. It was a beautifully outlandish, opulent, grandiose monument to the heady excesses of the pre-crash 1920's, a mosque-like structure complete with minarets, onion domes, and an interior decor which was even more lavish than its facade. Entering the huge auditorium, an early reviewer for the Atlanta Journal described "a picturesque and almost disturbing grandeur beyond imagination. Visitors encounter an indoor Arabian courtyard with a sky full of flickering stars and magically drifting clouds; a spectacular striped canopy overhanging the balcony; stage curtains depicting mosques and Moorish rulers in hand sewn sequins and rhinestones."
The interior was a masterpiece of trompe l'oeil; false beams, false balconies, false tents, ornate grillwork hiding air conditioning and heating ducts. Virtually every practical feature was disguised with artistic fantasy. Detailing and furnishing were equally ornate. Nothing - no space, no furniture, no hardware - escaped the gilt, the tile, the geometric design. Men's and Ladies' Lounges, broom closets, telephone booths were all emblazoned with intricate plaster, bronze and painted detail.
Yet for all this seeming excess, The Fox retained a sense of tastefulness. As rich as it was in ornamentation, it never appeared overstated. Its history has been as dramatic as its decor. Surviving the economy has always been a way of life for the building. Cost overruns threatened the Yaarab Temple mosque from the outset. To generate additional funding, the Shriners worked out a deal with movie mogul William Fox, who at that time was building movie "palaces" in Detroit, St. Louis, Brooklyn and San Francisco. He made this his Southeastern jewel with minor alterations in the original blueprints.
The Fox opened as the Great Depression began. After 125 weeks of talking pictures and elaborate stage entertainment, it declared bankruptcy. Revived after temporary city ownership, it scraped by during the 1930's. Under strong management The Fox prospered as one of Atlanta's finest movie houses from the 1940's through the 1960's. Occasional live entertainment by name artists and the Metropolitan Opera Company's 20-year annual spring performances brought The Fox some of its greatest moments of glory.