Fox-Oakland Theater - Oakland, CA - U.S. National Register of Historic Places on Waymarking.com

"The Fox Oakland Theatre is a 3,800-seat movie theater, located at 1807 Telegraph Avenue in downtown Oakland, California. The theater was designed by Weeks and Day, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and reopened on February 5, 2009.

The Fox Oakland Theatre opened as a cinema on October 27, 1928 with the Fox Film Corporation movie The Air Circus. Originally intended to be named "The Bagdad" (sic) because of its Middle Eastern influenced architecture, it was instead given the name "West Coast Oakland". In 1929, it was renamed the "Fox Oakland" when William Fox bought the West Coast Theatres chain and merged it with his Fox Theatres chain. The theater housed a Wurlitzer theatre organ -- the organ was sold in 1960 and is now in a private home in Shingletown, California.

By the 1960's, the theater was in decline on account of the trend toward smaller multiplex theaters. It stopped showing first-run movies in 1962, dabbled briefly in softcore porn films, and permanently closed in 1970, after showing its final film, Let It Be with The Beatles.

After closing, the theater barely escaped destruction several times. It suffered an arson fire in 1973 but was not heavily damaged. The city considered tearing it down in 1975 to make room for a parking lot. The theater was spared when it was made an Oakland City Landmark in 1978. The following year it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

In 1996, the City of Oakland bought the building for $3 million. Some badly-needed restoration work began in 1999. By late 2001, the marquee and blade sign had been restored. In December 2004, the Oakland Redevelopment Agency received a $2.9 million grant for further restoration of the theater. There are plans for Oakland School for the Arts to move into the theater and construction began in September 2006. Bank of America provided the financing for the rehabilitation." (visit link)

Street address: 1807--1829 Telegraph Ave Oakland, CA USA County / Borough / Parish: Alameda Year listed: 1979 Historic (Areas of) Significance: Event, Architecture/Engineering Periods of significance: 1925-1949 Historic function: Commerce/Trade, Recreation And Culture Current function: Commerce/Trade, Recreation And Culture Privately owned?: yes Primary Web Site: [Web Link] Season start / Season finish: Not listed Hours of operation: Not listed Secondary Website 1: Not listed Secondary Website 2: Not listed National Historic Landmark Link: Not listed

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