The Fox Theatre is a performing arts center located at 2211 Woodward Avenue in Downtown Detroit, Michigan, near the Grand Circus Park Historic District.

Opened in 1928 as a flagship movie palace in the Fox Theatres chain, it was at over 5,000 seats the largest theater in the city.

Designed by theater architect C. Howard Crane, it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1985.

Architect C. Howard Crane designed the Fox with an "exotic" interior appropriating Burmese, Chinese, Indian and Persian motifs.

The exterior of the attached 10-story office building features a façade with Asian motifs which, when illuminated at night, can be seen for several blocks.

The downtown area near Grand Circus Park which encompasses Fox Theatre is sometimes referred to as Foxtown after the theater.

In 2000, Comerica Park opened and helped to revitalize the neighborhood along with the construction of Ford Field in 2002, and Little Caesars Arena in 2017.

The gala opening took place September 21, 1928, and featured the silent film Street Angel starring Janet Gaynor.

Productions included feature-length movies, shorts and newsreels, and performances by the 60-piece Fox Theatre Grand Orchestra, a 50-voice choir and a 32-member chorus line called the Tillerettes.

During World War II, like many theaters in the area, the Fox operated 24 hours a day to accommodate defense plant workers on afternoon and evening shifts.

Unlike other downtown Detroit theaters in the 1970s, such as the Michigan and United Artists, the Fox was able to remain open by programming Blaxploitation and martial arts films.

[4] Since then, notable performances include a concert with Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr. and Liza Minnelli which was recorded and broadcast on the Showtime cable network in 1989 and a 1990 performance by Victor Borge which was recorded for broadcast on PBS and later incorporated into his DVD Victor Borge: Then and Now.

The theater hosted the WWE Hall of Fame ceremony on March 31, 2007, the night before WrestleMania 23 was held at nearby Ford Field.

Detroit's Fox Theatre has hosted the following Michigan musicians: Aretha Franklin in 1994 and 2012, The Temptations in 1988, Stevie Wonder in 1969, The Spinners in 1977, Smokey Robinson in 1988, Al Green in 1989, Diana Ross in 1990, Alice Cooper in 1990, Iggy Pop and The Stooges in 2007, Kid Rock in 2012, Jack White in 2014, and Greta Van Fleet in 2018.

On July 30 and 31, 2019, the theatre was the site of a two-night primary debate among the announced candidates seeking the Democratic nomination for the 2020 presidential race.

Many of these features remained when the 1987 restoration began with the exception of the seventh floor which was altered in the 1970s to accommodate a Social Security Administration office.

The columns rise from black octagonal bases and are adorned with eagles, flowers, glass jewels highlighted by silver leaf to a height of approximately 12 ft (3.7 m).

The walls of the auditorium are shades of beige and are adorned with molded plaster plants, human faces, geometric designs, birds and animals.

The columns support decorated arches and behind the first three are grilles that conceal the bays containing the 2,700 pipes and other effects for the organ.

The walls are topped with a cornice decorated with lion and human faces set among geometric designs and sunbursts.

The ceiling of the oculus is blue with a globe chandelier of colored glass suspended from a starburst design.

The projection booth was one of the largest of its day and originally housed four projectors, three spotlights and a Brenograph Machine to produce special effects.