The Diamos family planned to call it The Tower. They were building it for their Southern Arizona Lyric Amusement theater chain, adding to their collection that included the Plaza Theater in Tucson and the Grand Theatre in Douglas. But Fox came calling with a threat: sell, or we'll build something bigger and keep all our films exclusive. The Diamos family sold but negotiated a contract to manage what became the Fox Tucson Theatre. The 1,200-seat structure was designed for both vaudeville and movies, with a stage, full fly loft, and planned dressing rooms beneath the stage. The Great Depression killed the vaudeville plans. The dressing rooms were never completed. Construction costs ballooned from $200,000 to $300,000. But the building earned its place on the National Register of Historic Places as a Nationally Significant Structure, the only known example of its architectural style.

Original programming at the Fox included the Tucson chapter of the Mickey Mouse Club, open to all children. All other programming was segregated. African American theatergoers sat in the back balcony. For four decades, the Fox defined entertainment in Southern Arizona, until competition from drive-ins and television eroded its audience. Downtown retail and housing vanished. The Fox closed on June 18, 1974. Partial remodels had preserved most original details, and the building avoided the wrecking ball through various failed revival efforts. But after sitting empty for 25 years, the theater had become home to over 40 homeless people. Water damage, vandalism, and neglect consumed the interior. The owners planned to let it decay until they could justify demolition for an office building.

The Fox Tucson Theatre Foundation spent two years negotiating before purchasing the building in 1999 for $250,000. They installed a new roof immediately to stop the bleeding. Small projects like relighting the original chandeliers kept the community engaged through open houses and fundraisers. The foundation raised just under $1 million annually for five years while construction costs escalated by $500,000 each year. Over 200 volunteers contributed. The all-volunteer Board of Directors worked alongside just three paid staff members. The project became only the second historic theater in the country to combine Historic Preservation Tax Credits with New Markets Tax Credits. A final City of Tucson bond package, approved unanimously by the Mayor and Council, completed the funding. The $13 million rehabilitation reopened the Fox on New Year's Eve 2005.

The restoration team rebuilt decorative plaster and murals throughout the building. They repaired the unique Acoustone acoustic material, recreated original seat fabric and carpet patterns from surviving examples and photographs, and installed new theatrical systems for modern performances. The Fox now hosts over 100 events annually for more than 100,000 patrons each year. Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano proclaimed Labor Day Weekend 2005 as Club Congress Weekend, recognizing the Fox as the longest-running venue of its kind west of the Mississippi. The building that nearly became parking lot rubble now anchors downtown Tucson's revival, its Art Deco interior preserved exactly as those first audiences saw it when Congress Street was still sticky with dance wax.