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Fox
Theater
Marquee
gets a
high
tech
upgrade
with new
LED
signage
and neon
lit
Griffins
DETROIT
(Tell Us
Det) –
Olympia
Entertainment
held a
behind-the-scenes
look at
several
of the
large
new
elements
set to
be
installed
as part
of the
renovation
of the
marquee
at the
historic
Fox
Theatre.
The new
signs
were
built by
Fairmont
Sign
Company
in
Detroit
(3750
East
Outer
Drive).
Christopher
Ilitch,
president
and CEO
of
Ilitch
Holdings
Inc.,
said in
a news
release,
“We’re
excited
to
renovate
this
important
community
icon as
so many
other
exciting
developments
are
taking
place
throughout
Detroit
and its
main
street,
Woodward
Avenue.”
The
sneak
peek
allowed
Tell Us
Detroit
to see
one of
the new
LED
reader
boards,
measuring
8.4 feet
high by
20.4
feet
wide,
designed
to
provide
content
zoning
to show
one
large
image or
multiple
windows
for any
combination
of show
information,
graphics
or
sponsorship
messaging.
Also on
display
was the
14-foot
Griffins
equipped
with
custom-made
neon
lighting,
along
with the
large
neon lit
“Fox”
sign
measuring
81 feet
tall.
The LED
reader
boards,
standing
at
approximately
8 feet
high by
20 feet
wide,
will be
anchored
on both
sides of
the
horizontal
canopy.
"The
colors
are
going to
be
vibrant.
The neon
is going
to be
vibrant.
Everything
about it
is going
to be
new,
state-of-the
art, and
vibrant,"
said
Roger
Briddick,
project
manager
at
Detroit-based
Fairmont
Sign.
Photo by
HB
Meeks/Tell
Us
Detroit
Everything
will be
new on
the
marquee,
but the
only
thing
that
will be
notably
different
to
passersby
will be
the
LED-lit
reader
boards
to
advertise
current
and
upcoming
shows.
They
will no
longer
require
the
letter-by-letter
placement
of shows
and
times.
The new
digital
message
boards
will
allow
photos
to
advertise
upcoming
shows
and
intricate
light
displays,
Briddick
said.
The
renovation
began in
June
with the
removal
of the
existing
marquee,
which
has hung
above
the Fox
Theatre
since
1988.
Plans
for the
new
marquee
include
two LED
reader
boards,
new
animation
Griffins
on top
of the
marquee
allowing
the
venue’s
guardians
to flap
their
wings
along
with
improvements
to audio
and the
structural
foundation
of the
marquee.
The
large
pieces
are set
to be
installed
on the
front of
the Fox
Theatre
around
the
third
week in
July and
to be
fully
operational
by the
beginning
of
August.
In 1988
the
theater
was
acquired
by the
current
owners,
Mike and
Marian
Ilitch,
who
fully
restored
the Fox
at a
cost of
$12
million.
Their
company,
Ilitch
Holdings,
Inc., is
headquartered
in the
Fox
Theater
Office
Building.
The
downtown
area
near
Grand
Circus
Park
which
encompasses
Fox
Theatre
is
sometimes
referred
to as
Foxtown
after
the
theater.
Detroit’s
Fox
Theatre
was
originally
billed
as “the
most
magnificent
Temple
of
Amusement
in the
World.”
Ever
since
its
opening
night in
1928,
audiences
have
been
awed by
the
venue’s
grandeur
and
colossal
expanses.
The
imposing
ten
story
structure
was was
designed
by C.
Howard
Crane
and was
built as
part of
the
theater
empire
of film
mogul
William
Fox. The
upgrades
to the
marquee
are just
another
piece
put in
place in
the
development
of the
new
"District
Detroit".
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