Atlanta’s Fox Theatre’s Joe Patten Died

His nephew said Patten recently had a major stroke, fell into a coma and never woke up.

It was Patten’s love of theatres and pipe organs that led him to the Fox. He lived at the theatre as a caretaker and became the technical director until he retired in 2001. 

Patten grew enchanted with the Fox during a visit in 1946 but was disappointed that its pipe organ, “Mighty Mo,” did not work. In 1963, he and some friends persuaded the GM to allow them to restore it. By the time they were done, the group had restored the building to its 1920s splendor with minarets, arched doorways, terrazzo floors and twinkling stars in the ceiling.

Patten and a group called Atlanta Landmarks helped save the venue from demolition in the 1970s. 

His intimate knowledge of the theatre helped firefighters locate a fire that threatened to destroy the Fox in the ‘90s. His nickname grew out of his knowledge of the venue, having been known to walk through one door only to magically appear in another part of the building.