Fox Oakland Theatre, Oakland CA
BACKGROUND
Opened in 1928, the opulent Fox Oakland Theatre delighted crowds with its exotic interior, live Vaudeville shows, and later, the “talkies” – movies with sound. Hard times closed the Fox in 1966 and decades of vacancy were unkind: rain damaged walls and ceilings and mushrooms sprouted from the carpeted floor. A cast of City and nonprofit partners persevered and $80 million later, the theatre made a stunning comeback in 2009. The performing arts center has enlivened downtown – its capacity crowds and public charter school for the arts attracted new shops, restaurants and services and ushered in a promising new act for Oakland with the theatre in the starring role.
THE PROJECT
The property was rehabilitated for use as a 3,800-seat performing arts theater and the home of the Oakland School for the Arts, a public performing arts charter high school with classroom, studio and administrative office space. The art deco design and interior architecture of the theatre is distinguished by Indian and Hinduartistic motifs, making it one of the few remaining structures of its kind from that era. Renovations included new state-of-the-art sound and lighting systems and a seismic retrofitting of the historic structure.
COMMUNITY IMPACT
This project returns a beloved historic theatre to a productive use and anchors the economic revitalization of Oakland’s Uptown District. The Preservation Economic Impact Model (PEIM), developed by Rutgers University, projects the rehabilitation to generate 430 construction jobs and 684 permanent jobs within a one-to-two block radius of the theatre.
