Atlanta residents raised $3m to save Fox Theatre; it now hosts 250 shows a year

On a busy stretch of Peachtree Street, the Fox Theatre looks less like a cinema and more like a palace that somehow landed in the middle of the city. Gold details, towering domes, minarets and elaborate patterns transform its interiors into an extravagant fantasy, an effect that has made the building one of Atlanta's most recognisable landmarks.According to the Fox Theatre website, the theatre opened on Christmas Day in 1929, at the height of the grand movie-palace era. Its story, however, began slightly differently. The building was originally conceived as a headquarters for Atlanta's Shriners, who envisioned an elaborate structure inspired by architectural landmarks including Spain's Alhambra and Egypt's Temple of Karnak, explains the website.The resulting design proved far more expensive than anticipated.