:Fox California Theater
{{About|the theater in Stockton, California|the theatre in London|The Bob Hope Theatre}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2025}}
{{Infobox NRHP
| name = Fox California Theater
| nrhp_type = nrhp
| image = Fox_California_Theater_-_Stockton,_CA.jpg
| caption = Fox California Theater
| location= 242 E. Main St., Stockton, California
| coordinates = {{coord|37|57|09|N|121|17|12|W|region:US_type:landmark|name=Fox California Theater|display=inline,title}}
| locmapin = USA California Northern
| built = {{Start date|1930}}
| architect = Balch & Stanberry
| builder = Beller Construction Co.
| architecture = Colonial Revival, Spanish Colonial Revival
| added = June 27, 1979
| area = {{convert|0.7|acre}}
| refnum = 79000540{{NRISref|version=2013a}}
| website = http://bobhope.theatrestockton.org/
}}
Fox California Theater, renamed the Bob Hope Theatre in 2004, is a commercial building in Stockton, California built in 1930. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.{{cite report|type=none|url={{NRHP url|id=79000540}}|title=National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: Fox California Theater |publisher=National Park Service|author=Edward C. Merlo, Raymond W. Hillman |date=March 1979 |access-date=May 21, 2019}} With {{NRHP url|id=79000540|photos=y|title=12 accompanying pictures}}
History
The site originally hosted T&D Photoplay, the first theater in Stockton. Fox West Coast Theaters leased T&D Photoplay and renamed it The California in 1921.{{cite web |title=Bob Hope (Fox) Theatre |url=https://www.visitstockton.org/directory/bob-hope-fox-theatre/ |website=Visit Stockton |access-date=21 May 2019}} The building was demolished in 1929 and a new theater was built.
The theater has a two-story Rotunda with a circular mezzanine, a theater with mezzanine seating and a capacity for 2500 people, a {{convert|90x30|ft}} stage that is {{convert|70|ft}} high, and a lower level with choir rooms, band rooms, offices, and dressing rooms.
The theater opened on October 14, 1930, showing Spencer Tracy in Up the River.{{cite web |title=Bob Hope Theatre |url=http://cinematreasures.org/theaters/79 |website=Cinema Treasures |access-date=21 May 2019}} Approximately 20,000 people attended the opening celebration.
The Fox Theater closed in 1973, although the building was used for a few events after that date. In 1979, Madeleine Lawton and Edward C. Merlo purchased the building, and nominated it to the National Register of Historic Places. The building was donated to the city in 2000.
Renovation
Restoration of the Fox California Theater was partially funded by Alex G. Spanos who requested that it be renamed the Bob Hope Theatre in honor of his close friend Bob Hope.{{cite news |title=Alex Spanos, Stockton Native And LA Chargers Owner, Dies At 95 |url=https://sacramento.cbslocal.com/2018/10/09/alex-spanos-stockton-chargers-dies/ |access-date=21 May 2019 |agency=CBS Sacramento |issue=October 9, 2018}} Additional funds were provided by grants from the United States Congress and from the state's California Bob Hope Heritage Fund.{{cite news |title=Bob Hope Theatre: Historical gem in downtown Stockton |url=https://www.mantecabulletin.com/living-in-209/bob-hope-theatre-historical-gem-in-downtown-stockton/ |access-date=21 May 2019 |work=Manteca Bulletin |issue=July 27, 2012}}{{cite web |title=Art, Music and Theater |url=http://www.stocktongov.com/discover/amt.html |website=City of Stockton |access-date=21 May 2019}}
Renovations included a new sound system{{cite web |title=California Landmark Now Home to Hope’s Legacy |url=https://www.mixonline.com/news/california-landmark-now-home-hope-s-legacy-421601 |website=MIX Online |access-date=21 May 2019}} and a {{convert|1200|sqft}} Italian marble floor mosaic.{{cite web |title=Fox California Theater |url=https://www.downtownstockton.org/walking-tour/fox-california-theater/ |website=Downtown Stockton |access-date=21 May 2019}} The original chandelier and tile in the exterior lobby were preserved.
As part of the renovation, a 1928 Robert Morton theater organ which had been used to accompany silent movies in Seattle's Fox Theater was restored by Friends of the Fox, a volunteer organization for preserving the theater, and the Sierra Chapter of the American Theatre Organ Society.{{cite web |last1=Barkhurst |first1=Steve |title=Restoration of the Bob Hope Theatre Organ |url=http://www.sierrachapteratos.org/restoration.html |website=Sierra Chapter, American Theatre Organ Society |access-date=21 May 2019}}{{cite web |title=FOX CALIFORNIA THEATRE STOCKTON |url=http://www.parks.ca.gov/pages/1073/files/stockton%20fox%20theater.pdf |website=California Department of Parks and Recreation |access-date=21 May 2019}} The refurbished organ made its concert debut in the Bob Hope Theatre in 2005{{cite news |last1=Gilbert |first1=Lori |title=Gilbert: Stockton’s ‘Crown Jewel’ celebrates its 88th anniversary |url=https://www.recordnet.com/entertainmentlife/20181013/gilbert-stocktons-crown-jewel-celebrates-its-88th-anniversary |access-date=21 May 2019 |work=The Stockton Record |issue=October 13, 2018}} and is played during classic movie showings.
The refurbished theater reopened in September 2004 with a performance by Jerry Seinfeld.
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uauK8QQADFg Video tour by Visit Stockton]
- [https://foxfriends.org/ Friends of the Fox]
{{National Register of Historic Places}}
Category:National Register of Historic Places in San Joaquin County, California
Category:Colonial Revival architecture in California
Category:Spanish Colonial Revival cinemas and movie theaters
Category:Cinemas and movie theaters in California
Category:Theatres completed in 1930
Category:Theatres on the National Register of Historic Places in California