Tucson, AZ

My friend Nikki is a devout fan of the 1993 Tim Burton film The Nightmare Before Christmas and even has a tatoos of the characters.  So when she saw that the film would be screened at the historic Fox Tucson Theatre just before Christmas, she recruited me to attend the film with her.  I had never seen a movie at the restored downtown venue, although I had been there for live theater, so I was excited to see what their big screen had to offer.

The movie screening was scheduled for 8:00 p.m., so we headed downtown to arrive around 7:30 p.m.  to be sure to have enough time to find a parking spot near the theatre, located 17 W. Congress, just west of Stone Avenue.  We fortunately found a spot in a small lot located just south of Congress off of Stone and since it was after normal business hours, their was no parking cost.

We headed to the ticket office and I noticed that the original box office located right in front of the theater was being staffed by an inflatable snowman.  We picked up our tickets, which were cheaper than regular movie tickets, at $8.00 for each adult admission.  We also noted that they offered student discounts, though both of us are long past the days of possessing student IDs.

We walked into the main lobby and were greeted by very friendly ticket-takers.  Something about this movie-going experience felt different the second we entered the old theater, with richly-colored carpet and soft lighting.  The decor the of the establishment has been restored closely to its original 1930s-era splendor. This theater was once a pillar of the downtown community and home to film screenings and the Mickey Mouse Club, which my father remembers attending in the 1950s.

However, the changing landscape of downtown Tucson meant that the theater sat forgotten, with a boarded up front, since the mid 1970s.  In recent years, a non-profit, the Fox Tucson Theatre Foundation, formed to renovate and revive the venue.  Thanks to the devotion of many volunteers and fundraising efforts, the Fox reopened and now boasts a variety of events, including live theater, musical performances, and film screenings.

We made our way up the carpeted stairs, to find seats in the balcony.  Fortunately, we found one of the last loveseats available in the balcony.  There were families and couples in the balcony, which offered a great view of the screen.  While we waited for the movie to start, old photos of the theater and its patrons from decades ago were projected on the screen. The theater was filled with the aroma of freshly-popped corn served in vintage-looking red and white striped boxes.

Unlike the usual movie experience, ushers made their way through the theater to ask rowdy children to settle in the their seats. The movie was great and it was a novelty to watch a film without fancy surround-sound which was projected from an old film reel.

After the movie, I was little curious to explore the rest of the theater and poked around a bit, just to get a sense of the layout.  The upstairs lobby area does include a display case of relics discovered during the renovation, everything from old popcorn boxes and movie tickets to vintage usher uniforms.

Spending an evening at the Fox was like stepping back in time.  I will definitely keep any of their future performances on my radar, as it is a way to reinhabit the downtown area and support the efforts of those concerned with preserving Tucson’s history.

For more information on showtimes and tickets, visit: http://www.foxtucsontheatre.org/.  If you are interested in volunteering or making donations to the non-profit, there are many ways to get involved!