History
The Oakland Fox Theater, a 2,800 seat movie theater originally opened its doors on October 27, 1928 in downtown Oakland, California, after two years under construction. The opening was highly anticipated by the Bay Area residents.
Originally intended to be named "The Bagdad" because of its Middle Eastern influenced architecture, it was instead given the name "West Coast Oakland". The Fox Theater became the 251st theater to open in the West Coast Theater chain. 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 launch of the Fox was expected to earn high earnings in the downtown district. Reestablishing the movie industry, the Fox offered the opportunity to stray from the silent films and helped introduce the “talkies” by having a live stage show. As the Fox Theater made its debut, so did the Paramount Theater, it was also located in the downtown. At no point was there any hesitation of having two theaters nearby. If anything, the Fox provided a different appeal than the Paramount. The complexity of the Fox’s design portrayed a very lavish lifestyle. Reflecting luxury and class by its beautiful structure.
The Fox Oakland Theatre opened with the Fox Film Corporation movie The Air Circus. The theater housed a Wurlitzer theatre organ.
Attendance significantly dropped in the 1960s and the Oakland Fox officially closed its doors in 1966. The theater was in decline on account of the rise of television and 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.
During the years of closure,there were many plans for the theater to be restored; other possibilities included converting the Fox to a mall or into a vast parking lot. 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. After a long 3 year wait, the school finally moved into the theater. Bank of America provided the financing for the rehabilitation.
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