Bakersfield Fox Theater
The Bakersfield Fox Theater opened on Christmas Day, 1930. It was one of the last theaters of its kind built in the Gilded Age. Famed Los Angeles theater architect S. Charles Lee designed the 1500 seat theater in what would become known as his trademark “The Show Begins on the Sidewalk” style. The Fox Theater’s Type I construction of poured concrete over steel proved itself by withstanding the M7.3 Kern County earthquake in 1952. In 1953, the original Mediterranean Village interior was replaced with a contemporary Art Deco motif inspired by Fox West Coast Theaters’ Charles Skouras. In 1977 the big screen went dark as The Fox closed its doors after 47 years in show business. Except for a brief period from 1983-84, The Fox sat silent until June 28, 1994, when The Fox Theater Foundation, a non-profit organization, officially saved it from the wrecking ball.
Bakersfield, Kern County
Photographer: John Bare