"Phantom of the Fox" Can Stay in Theatre Home for Now
Atlanta's "Phantom of the Fox Theatre," Joe Patten, will be able to stay in his Fabulous Fox Theatre apartment until a new lease is negotiated, according to a Fulton County Court.
On Wednesday, Judge Jerry Baxter granted an injunction preventing Patten's eviction from his home of 31 years, an apartment inside the Fabulous Fox Theatre, the Peachtree Street movie palace and entertainment venue.
"[I'm] delighted for this day to come and end up like this. It is an experience I never thought I would have to go through," Patten, 83, told WABE news.
Patten had been given until Dec. 1 to vacate the apartment he has called home since his days as the technical director of the Fox. Atlanta Landmarks, the organization that operates the Fox, sought to terminate his lifetime lease after Patten was hospitalized this summer.
A group of Patten's friends formed Save the Phantom of the Fox and now has close to 11,000 Facebook supporters.
Patten is credited with saving the Fox Theatre on at least two occasions. First, in the 1970s, when the run-down movie theatre was purchased by neighboring corporation Southern Bell which planned to demolish the structure. Patten and friends organized Atlanta Landmarks and raised funds to purchase the theatre, eventually restoring it and see it come into its glory as Atlanta’s, and one of the country’s, premier concert venues. In 1979, Patten was offered a lifetime lease on an unused portion of the theatre in exchange for his serving as caretaker of the building. He sold his home and spent his own money to create the apartment, filling it with family antiques and articles acquired in his travels.
###
Sources:
www.savethephantomofthefox.org
www.facebook.com/keepjoeinthefox
www.publicbroadcastingnews.net/wabe/TIP:
Enter the amount, and click "Tip" to submit!
Max Rivlin-Nadler
Tom Cordle
Mary Stanik
keri h
Ande Bliss
Jersey Girl at Heart
Salon.com
Comments
Is English your native language?
How's them new rules going? ROTFLMAO at the idiot.