Fullerton Fox Theatre turns 100, plans to celebrate in Roaring Twenties style
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The Fullerton Fox Theatre officially opened its doors on May 28, 1925 with a gala and dedication by silent movie icon Mary Pickford. This Memorial Day weekend, the historic theater celebrates its centennial with a Roaring Twenties-themed party full of live actors, live music, tours and more.
“People were still getting around on horse and carriage [in 1925], which is hard to believe,” said Brian Newell, current president of the Fullerton Historic Theatre Foundation, which is spearheading renovation efforts for the theater and is also putting on the celebration. “There was nothing down in our neck of the woods. … So the theater served two purposes: One, bringing vaudeville shows and silent pictures to our area. And also having a place for local communities to gather.”
The theater shut down in 1987 and was deserted until 2005. While saving and restoring the location hasn’t been without its challenges, the foundation now opens the theater for special events, including the 100th anniversary celebration on Saturday, May 24 from noon to 10 p.m.
“I did the 90th celebration and called it Speakeasy Days and it was not only to celebrate the Fox’s 90th, but also an opportunity to have the community visit this historic landmark while it continues to be renovated,” Newell said.
At this year’s free, public event, there will be vintage cars, photo opportunities with actors dressed from the era, live music themed from the 1920s and a beer garden and food (available for purchase), all in the Fox Theatre’s parking lot from noon to 6 p.m. Every 20 minutes, there will also be tours inside the theater.
“[Visitors] can check out the work that’s been done, find out what’s left to complete on the project and [learn] the theater’s history. Then we will turn the lights out and turn the projector on,” Newell said. “And they will sit back and watch a 10-minute section of a silent picture accompanied by live organists, just like audiences experienced a 100 years ago in the Fox.”
From 7 to 10 p.m. the day’s events will transform into a Speakeasy Party with dancing, mingling and even a birthday cake to celebrate the theater’s 100 years.
“We want it to feel very home-style,” Newell said. “Hey, come on down, bring your family, your friends, enjoy the thematic surroundings and visit your theater.”
One of the foundation’s goals for these public events is to give locals a chance to see the progress of the theater’s renovation efforts, which have been years in the making.
Todd Huffman, who serves on the Fox Theatre board of directors and is a past president, has been involved with the theater since December 2003. The building was saved from demolition on Nov. 17, 2004. They were $700,000 short of their goal and in the 25th hour of the 25th hour, he said.
“That’s when the anonymous donor walked in and handed us a million dollars,” Huffman said.
But that was only the beginning of the long process of restoring the theater. Phase two of construction, which included new restrooms, an air handling system and lobby restoration, has been completed. Newell said over the past 20 years, they’ve spent close to $14 million in restoring the Fox and need approximately another $18 million just to finish the theater portion — not including other sections like the tea room.
They received many in-kind donations that have made a big impact, he said. Ganahl Lumber was one of them.
“Ganahl built us six doors for the lobby. … That’s quite a savings,” Newell said. “We’ve had in-kind donations on the scaffolding, which is thousands of dollars we don’t have to worry about.”
Newell said this has been a big community effort.
“Most buildings like this only get saved by a wealthy individual, a corporation or maybe a city,” he said. “None of those are the players in the story. It’s the public that wanted to save the Fox Theatre — and they did.”
Huffman said the board is made up of volunteers working on keeping the theater alive because “we love it, love the building.”
“Mary Pickford came to the grand opening at the Fox Theatre,” Huffman said. “It was the original home of ‘The Mickey Mouse Club.’ And Judy Garland danced on the stage at the Fox Fullerton.”
Fullerton Mayor Fred Jung said he’s lived in Fullerton for almost 40 years and remembers knowing about the Fox when he was in high school.
“There aren’t many original places in Orange County that can take us back a full 100 years of our history,” Jung said. “It is one of the few things that you immediately note when you move in here.”
It’s not just important to Fullerton locals.
“You know it is not just famous citywide, I think there’s a lot of consensus around Orange County that there is a historical importance to it,” he said.
The Fox Theatre is located at 510 N. Harbor Blvd., Fullerton. To learn more, visit foxfullerton.org.
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