Economic Engine

I forget how beautiful it is, the Fox Theater. The first time I stepped foot into it was 19 years ago at the 50th Anniversary of Gone with the Wind celebration. I was working at Turner (which owns the movie), about to be married, had just relocated. My soon-to-be-husband and I had snagged a ride, along with some other coworkers, in an extra limo that my sales department had secured for clients. When we pulled up to the red carpet, an orchestra set up on one side of the street started to play the familiar Gone with the Wind theme song. Da daaaaaaa, da da. Da daaaaaaa, da da. The paparazzi gathered around to see who the famous people were in the limo. Oh goodness. My husband, God bless him, stuck out his arm and said, "Let's go." We sauntered down the aisle like we were someone, instead of a couple of shleps who just blew in on the last Delta flight. Less than a month later, when we walked down our wedding aisle, it was suddenly clear. We were someone. To each other.

And so I found myself back there again last night, this time with the two daughters that these years in Atlanta have brought us (and no, there was no limo, no orchestra, no paparazzi this time, or any of the other times I've been there over the years). Imagine my shock to read the program and see these words, "economic engine." Didn't we just talk about that yesterday in regards to the business and shopping communities in Dunwoody?

Well, here it is referring to the arts. First of all, in 1950, there were 350 of these gorgeous old theaters in the state of Georgia. Half of them were demolished. The Fox now has a foundation that funds its Restoration Department's efforts to help the remaining theaters renovate themselves and find grants, and help them become the "economic engines" within their communities that the Fox has proven to be in Atlanta. The arts in Atlanta, by the way, is a $274 million industry and has an economic impact of more than $700 million.

There is a lovely theater in Brook Run Park in desperate need of renovation. I saw a fantastic jazz dance performance there this year put on by Dan and Company, a dance studio right here in Dunwoody. I hear that there are "barriers" to renovating and utilizing that theater for a full schedule of arts performances for the citizens of Dunwoody, and beyond. I don't know the details--I just see the potential. If we have a City Vision that specifically states a commitment to economic engines, this is one we should definitely not overlook.