Fox Theatre
Visalia, CA
Photo courtesy Dave & Debra van Hulsteyn

Here’s the Fox Theatre in downtown Visalia, looking bright again after its big restoration. The theater opened on February 27, 1930, with The Lone Star Ranger on the screen and searchlights sweeping across the sky. High above the entrance was what was once billed as the largest three-faced clock in the Central Valley.

Behind the Spanish Mission exterior is a full-blown East Indian fantasy. The atmospheric auditorium features elephants, pagodas, a giant genie above the stage, and a deep-blue ceiling filled with twinkling stars. Moviegoers could sit inside and imagine watching a picture beneath an evening sky.

The Fox also advertised “refrigerated” comfort when it opened, quite a luxury in 1930. Its early cooling system reportedly circulated air across large blocks of ice stored in the basement, with Mill Creek flowing beneath the ticket booth.

UPDATE: The auditorium was divided into three smaller theaters in 1976 and closed in 1996. Friends of the Fox removed the partitions, restored the original auditorium, and reopened the theater on November 20, 1999. The Fox remains open for concerts, comedy, films, and community events. 09-26

Merced Theatre
Merced, CA
Photo courtesy Dave & Debra van Hulsteyn

The Merced Theatre still stands majestically over downtown Merced, with its glowing vertical letters visible from far down Main Street. Opened on October 30, 1931, the building combines Spanish Colonial Revival architecture with plenty of Art Deco showmanship. When the 100-foot neon tower is lit after dark, there is no mistaking which town you have reached.

The theater was designed by the Reid Brothers, the same architectural firm behind the Hotel del Coronado near San Diego. Its white stucco walls, clay tile roof, and ornamental ironwork give the exterior a Spanish flavor, while the tall illuminated tower adds a little big-city movie-palace drama.

Inside, the auditorium was designed to resemble an open-air Spanish castle courtyard beneath a deep-blue, star-filled sky. A special Brenograph projector once sent realistic clouds drifting across the ceiling. The lobby also contains a large mural depicting Spanish exploration in California.

UPDATE: After being divided into four smaller theaters during the 1980s, the Merced closed and later underwent an extensive restoration. The partitions were removed, the neon tower was restored, and the building reopened as the Art Kamangar Center at the Merced Theatre. It remains active with concerts, live theater, films, and community events. 09-26

Fox Theatre
Bakersfield, CA
Photo by RoadsidePeek.com

Built in 1930 by famed theater architect S. Charles Lee, the Fox Theatre remains one of downtown Bakersfield’s great landmarks. Its Spanish Colonial clock tower, sweeping marquee, and Art Deco details make it easy to see why local residents refused to let this old movie palace disappear.

The Fox closed in 1977 and spent years sitting mostly dark. By the early 1990s, demolition was a real possibility. Fortunately, the nonprofit Fox Theater Foundation stepped in, acquired the building in 1994, and began the long job of bringing the theater back to life.

UPDATE: The Fox remains open for concerts, comedy, community events, and its Cults & Classics film series. Restoration work has continued in stages, including a major repair and relighting of the tower’s neon letters in 2019. 09-26

Arlington Theatre
Santa Barbara, CA
Photo courtesy John King

Here’s the historic Arlington Theatre along State Street in Santa Barbara. Built for Fox West Coast Theatres, the Spanish Colonial landmark opened on May 22, 1931, with Daddy Long Legs on the screen. Its towering facade was modeled after Spain’s Alcázar of Segovia. 09-10

The theater rose on the site of the Arlington Hotel, which was destroyed by Santa Barbara’s 1925 earthquake. Inside, moviegoers sit beneath a twinkling night sky surrounded by balconies and Spanish-Moorish village facades. The theater also houses one of only five enormous “Wonder Morton” organs ever built.

UPDATE: Restored and still open, the Arlington remains Santa Barbara’s largest historic movie and performance house. It hosts films, concerts, community events, and major screenings during the Santa Barbara International Film Festival. 09-26

BeeKay Theatre
Tehachapi, CA
Photo courtesy John King

The BeeKay Theatre is one of Tehachapi’s downtown historical gems. Its simple Art Deco facade and BEE-KAY lettering recall the little movie house that originally opened in 1936. The unusual name combines the initials of founders Frank Baumgart and Louis Kanstein. 09-10

A fire gutted the theater in 1994, leaving little more than the concrete facade standing. The roofless shell remained empty for more than a decade, and at one point a tree was growing in the middle of the old auditorium. That is one way to turn a movie theater into an outdoor venue.

UPDATE: The City of Tehachapi preserved the surviving facade and constructed a new performance space behind it. The rebuilt BeeKay reopened on December 6, 2008, with a production of Oliver! It remains open as the home of Tehachapi Community Theatre. 09-26