The Fox Theater is having its "A Taste of the Fox" event tonight at 6:00PM, April 30th. It is at the Fox Theater on Telegraph avenue in Oakland. The event is a benefit for the "Friends of the Oakland Fox Theater," and features Livermore Valley wineries and food from restaurants in uptown Oakland. The event will be located in the Mezzanine inside the historic Fox Theater. This will be the first event to be held in the Mezzanine since the theater reopened.
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Historical Perspective (including from the Fox site):
The Fox first opened its doors in October 1928. At the time, the San Francisco Chronicle even called it, "different, novel, and mystic."
For more than three decades, the Fox theater was a first-run movie house, and the area around it was a bustling entertainment and movie district.
The Fox Theater closed its doors in 1966. The downtown lost its theaters, its department stores, and (some would say) its vitality.
The Fox survived an arson fire in 1973, and its increasing shabby condition let it to be derided as "the largest outdoor urinal in the world." The theater avoided an attempt to destroy it to create a parking lot in 1975, and was finally named a city landmark in 1978. Here's a photo circa 2002 (from Wikipedia):
In 1996, the Oakland native Phil Tagami, whose parents had their first date at the Fox theater, first approached the city officials about restoring the theater, but as he said, "I felt laughed at." Tagami, 42, was a high school drop out who cut his teeth working as a laborer in the construction business before starting to buy and fix up old buildings, mostly in Oakland, California.
Here's a great photo (taken by "vision63" and reposted under creative commons):
Here's a great photo (taken by "vision63" and reposted under creative commons):
Finally, after 40 silent years, the Fox Theater is open again. I began thinking more about the return of the Fox Theater when my nephew, who was visiting from out of state, recently went to a show there. He told me it was packed! My husband gave him advice on taking BART there from San Francisco, and we were both proud of this Oakland landmark being reborn! You can never underestimate the power of a woman to reinvent herself, even if she is a building!
The first Friday of the month is so much fun in downtown Oakland now. The restaurants, bars, and galleries are open, and we once again have a burgeoning arts district.
Resources:
Fox Oakland
April 30, "A Taste of the Fox"
6:00PM, Fox Theater
$75. General Admission
$100. Tasting package, plus includes Friend of the Oakland Fox Membership.
*proceeds benefit the friends of the Oakland Fox theater, a 501c3 public charitable non-profit corporation.
Oakland first Fridays- www.OaklandfirstFridays.com
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