In Symphony Hall, San Diego has been witness to a spectacular metamorphosis that transformed what was once a flamboyant vaudeville/movie house of the 1920s into an elegant cultural landmark for the San Diego Symphony. The old Fox Theater was given a new lease on life when it was chosen to serve as the centerpiece for a new hotel/office high rise. Representing one of the most challenging and acclaimed architectural projects in the city's downtown redevelopment, its former glory was painstakingly recaptured and even surpassed through collaboration with the firm that originally designed the theater's interiors.

A treasure of ornate plaster castings and carefully crafted details were repaired, cleaned and restored. A richer, more subdued palette was used throughout, creating a sophisticated ambiance that takes the theater from the flapper to black tie. To accommodate a new generation of artists and audiences, all functional aspects of the theater were dramatically modernized. Special acoustical needs of the symphony were met. Electrical, mechanical and plumbing capabilities were greatly increased. And new box offices and administrative areas were created. The result is the preservation of a building from San Diego's past that now assumes a new, vital role in the city's future.