When the lights go down, the curtain rises and the stars brighten, there is no more promising moment, no sweeter retreat. It is an instant of anticipation that transcends generations. A SHOW AT THE FOX IS ABOUT TO BEGIN! The Fox Theater of Bakersfield epitomizes an era of elegance, romance and big screen entertainment otherwise impossible to experience this side of Hollywood. She is a community treasure, a special gift from our past that must be preserved for posterity. The 1500-seat Fox was designed by famed Los Angeles architect S. Charles Lee. Known for his trademark "The Show Begins on the Sidewalk", his designs would later gain classic status as paragons of style and beauty. Opened on Christmas Day, 1930, the Fox was one of the last of its kind built in the gilded age of great theaters. The featured film was "Just Imagine", a sci-fi tale set 50 years into the future. 1980 has come and gone, as have other theaters, but the Fox has endured the better part of seven decades. The 1930s were the Fox's golden years. Its big silver screen featured the first "talkie" motion pictures, its stage was graced by live performers who, like the spotlight focused upon them, were rays of culture in a notoriously rough and tough Kern County. Among many were such prestigious artists as Bakersfield native Metropolitan Opera baritone Lawrence Tibbett (1933); world-renowned soprano Kirsten Flagstad (1939); the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra (1939); and the classic pianist Arthur Rubinstein (1940).

The Fox Theater's type I construction of poured concrete over steel would prove itself in the 1952 earthquake that ravaged lesser structures. 1953 saw the original Mediterranean Village interior replaced with a contemporary Art Deco motif inspired by Fox West Coast Theaters' Charles P. Skouras. A lavish concession area was added, along with a remodel of the marquee, box office and main entrance -- embellished with glitzy 50's bright metals, terrazzo and neon. The original screen was replaced with a super wide Cinemascope 20' x 45' format. The projectors were upgraded with 6000-watt carbon arc lamps and anamorphic lenses.

In 1977 the big screen went dark as the Fox's doors closed after 47 years in show business. Except for a brief period from 1983-84, the Fox sat silent until June 28, 1994, when the non-profit Fox Theater Foundation officially saved it from the wrecking ball. Funds were donated by over 380 "Save The Fox" donors for the down payment, with restoration beginning July 1st. The people of the community have been the true stars, whose contributions and visions are making the Fox blossom with her former glory. The Fox's goal is to complete a five star restoration with enhancements -- including the reinstallation of a pipe organ, The Mighty Wurlitzer.

Today, the Bakersfield Fox is recognized for its fine acoustics and as the only remaining Fox with its Skouras signature intact -- a now classic art form exuding a rare mystique. Beginning at the sidewalk on a rainbow of polished terrazzo and then inside amid towering gold leaf, she is the exquisite blend of Spanish Colonial and Art Deco. She beckons you away from reality into twilight enchantment -- a galaxy of star lights floating in the neon glow of an indigo sky -- a place where your dreams of romance can come true!!