Bakersfield in Kern County, California — The American West (Pacific Coastal)
The Fox Theater
Photographed By Denise Boose, March 16, 2018
1. The Fox Theater Marker
Inscription.
The Fox Theater was designed by Los Angeles-based motion picture theater architect S. Charles Lee (1899-1990), built by Beller Construction, and supervised by local architect Charles H. Biggar (1882-1946). The three-story Spanish Colonial Revival architectural style building opened on December 25, 1930 as the only air-conditioned movie theater in the San Joaquin Valley. In 1953, its original Mediterranean Village interior was replaced by a contemporary Art Deco motif created by Fox-West Coast designer Carl G. Moeller (1893-1975) under the direction of Charles P. Skouras (1889-1954). The Fox closed to the public in 1977 but was rescued from demolition by community efforts and reopened on June 28, 1994 as movie theater, center for performing arts, and venue for community events.
The Fox Theater was designed by Los Angeles-based motion picture theater architect S. Charles Lee (1899-1990), built by Beller Construction, and supervised by local architect Charles H. Biggar (1882-1946). The three-story Spanish Colonial Revival architectural style building opened on December 25, 1930 as the only air-conditioned movie theater in the San Joaquin Valley. In 1953, its original Mediterranean Village interior was replaced by a contemporary Art Deco motif created by Fox-West Coast designer Carl G. Moeller (1893-1975) under the direction of Charles P. Skouras (1889-1954). The Fox closed to the public in 1977 but was rescued from demolition by community efforts and reopened on June 28, 1994 as movie theater, center for performing arts, and venue for community events.
Erected by Kern County Historical Society. (Marker Number 2015.)
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Arts, Letters, Music • Entertainment. In addition, it is included in the Art Deco series list. A significant historical date for this entry is December 25, 1930.
Location. 35° 22.653′ N, 119° 1.293′ W. Marker is in Bakersfield, California, in Kern County. Marker is at the intersection of 20th Street and H Street, on the right when traveling
Click or scan to see this page online
west on 20th Street. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 1700 20th Street, Bakersfield CA 93301, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Credits. This page was last revised on June 30, 2018. It was originally submitted on March 16, 2018, by Denise Boose of Tehachapi, California. This page has been viewed 209 times since then and 9 times this year. Photos:1, 2, 3, 4, 5. submitted on March 16, 2018, by Denise Boose of Tehachapi, California. • Andrew Ruppenstein was the editor who published this page.
