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Hidden : 1/21/2013
Difficulty:
3.5 out of 5
Terrain:
2 out of 5

Size: Size: micro (micro)

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Geocache Description:

The Visalia Fox Theatre is a landmark movie palace and theater in downtown Visalia, California. Opened in 1930 as a part of the Fox Theatre chain, it was converted to a three screen multiplex in 1976. After a brief closure in the late 1990's, it was restored by a community group and reopened in 1999 as a live performance auditorium with a seating capacity of 1,275. THIS IS A LOG-ONLY CACHE, BUT LOG RETRIEVAL TOOL AND PENCIL ARE PROVIDED
 



This particular cache is dedicated to the Fox Theater's projectionist for 42 years, Al Cox.

One 
of 
the 
most 
important 
yet 
little‐seen
 individuals 
involved 
with 
the
 early
 Fox 
Theatre 
was 
Al 
Cox, 
who was 
head
 projectionist 
on 
opening 
day 
in 
1930 
and
 for 
the
 next 
42 years. 
Despite
 spending 
most
 of 
his
 time in
 the 
projection 
booth,
 thus 
out
 of
 sight
 of
 most
 theater
 patrons,
 Al
 was
 always
 impeccably
 dressed
 and 
distinguished 
looking
 with 
his 
carefully‐combed
 steel‐gray 
hair.
 His 
career 
spanned
 some
 six 
decades, 
a period 
during 
which 
the 
motion 
picture 
industry 
evolved
 from 
the
 honky‐tonk
 nickelodeon 
of 
the 
early 
1900s to 
the 
multiplexes 
of 
the
 1970s.
 
Born
 in
 Arkansas,
 Al
 started
 work
 as
 a
 motion
 picture
 projectionist
 in
 1907,
 operating
 a
 primitive
 hand‐cranked
 Edison
 projector.
 He
 then 
worked
 for
 a
 chain 
of 
eight
 "storeroom" 
theaters 
throughout
 Iowa. By
 1915,
 he 
had 
settled 
in 
Visalia 
where 
he
 was 
hired 
by 
owners 
of 
the 
old 
Visalia
 Theater 
located 
in
 the Armory
 on 
Acequia 
Street. 
By
 the
 20s,
 movie 
mogul 
William
 Fox
 had
 purchased
 the
 Visalia
 Theater,
 making 
it
 part
 of
 his
 West
 Coast
 Theater
 chain.
 As
 a
 consequence,
 the
 Visalia
 Theater
 became
 known
 as
 the
 "old" 
Visalia 
Fox 
to 
distinguish 
it 
from 
the “new” 
Fox 
Theatre 
on 
Main
 Street.
 
According
 to 
Phyllis 
Gott-
Ferreira, 
who 
was 
an 
usherette 
at 
the
 Fox 
in 
the 
late
 50s
 and 
early 
60s,
 it 
was 
Al who 
insisted 
that 
management 
install 
a 
little-
bitty 
window 
high 
on 
the 
Encina 
Street 
side 
of
 the 
Fox (When you’re done with the cache, take a look at Al’s window).
 That window
 allowed 
light
 and 
air 
into 
the 
little 
projection 
booth 
at 
the 
top 
of 
the 
balcony. 
Al 
spent 
many 
hours in 
the
 booth
 and
 wanted 
fresh 
air 
and
 light 
to 
the 
outside 
world.
 
At 
age 
81, 
Cox, 
still 
working
 for 
the 
Fox, 
told 
a
 reporter,
 "To
 this 
day 
I
 never
 dread 
coming 
to 
work…I’ve never 
tired 
of 
the 
job; 
the 
only 
thing 
I 
dread
 is 
retiring." He
 finally 
retired 
two 
years 
later 
and 
died 
in 
1977
 at
 the
 age
 of
 87.
 
 
The Visalia Fox Theatre
 
Background
 
Designed and constructed from 1929-30 by Los Angeles-based architect Clifford Balch and engineer Floyd E. Stanbery, the Visalia Fox Theatre was erected at the end of the Silent Film era at a cost of $225,000 (2.9 million in 2010 dollars). It is one of many such theaters throughout the United States and Canada built by William Fox and his Fox Film Corporation, later to become 20th Century Fox.
 
The Fox Theatre opened on February 27, 1930. Opening night featured a talkie western, a newsreel, a Mickey Mouse cartoon and a Laurel and Hardy comedy. The theatre and the streets around it were packed for the premiere—quite a feat in a town of 7,000—an indication of the central role it would play in the community for decades to come.
 
Description
 
The Fox is an atmospheric theatre designed to evoke the feeling of being outside in a far-away place. This style of movie theatre was common during the roaring twenties and into the Great Depression, when they were particularly popular as a fantastical escape from harsh realities outside.

Atmospheric theatres were created to be unique experiences. Each was made with a different theme in mind, and the interior of the Visalia Fox emulates a temple garden in India or South Asia. The ceiling is dotted with stars which flicker and glow during movies and performances to give the appearance of a clear night sky. There are elaborate "temples" or "pagodas" flanked by murals on either side of the stage, and a hand-sculpted genie—a fearsome face between two elephants—above the proscenium arch.
 
The decadently lavish ambiance of the theater is the result of an artistic technique called trompe-l'œil, a French phrase indicating an object that appears to be something it is not. Common at the beginning of the culture industry and the Golden Age of Hollywood, this kitsch approach to construction was a simple function of finances and practicability. As the studios stepped-up competition for the attention and admiration of their audiences, hundreds upon thousands of elaborate environments were erected across the world. Architects and contractors eschewed prohibitively expensive materials like high-quality wood, gold leaf, and marble for more reasonably-priced ingredients like plaster and paint.
 
Restoration
 
The Fox was shuttered in November 1996 and remained closed until a group of nostalgic community members known as "Friends of the Fox" took up the task of acquiring and restoring the decaying theatre.
 
The clock tower, long neglected, was filled with years of pigeon filth; the giant six-foot clock—a nuisance to keep on-time even in its heyday—was meticulously reassembled by a local engineer and the clock's former keeper. Much of the intricate interior of the building was destroyed in 1976 by the hasty conversion to a three-screen multiplex. The genie above the stage was delicately and painstakingly re-sculpted by a local volunteer using old pictures as a template. Most of the murals needed repainting, and countless flourishes and decorations needed replacing.
 
After three years and an outpouring of support from Visalia and surrounding communities, the restoration was complete. Marvin Hamlisch played the Grand Re-Opening to a sold-out house on November 20, 1999.

The theater remains a vibrant performing arts center and defining feature of the community. .

Additional Hints (Decrypt)

Rkvg fgntr yrsg

Decryption Key

A|B|C|D|E|F|G|H|I|J|K|L|M
-------------------------
N|O|P|Q|R|S|T|U|V|W|X|Y|Z

(letter above equals below, and vice versa)


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