By Liam O'Donoghue, Oakland columnist Dec 24, 2024 - SFGATE
While leading a recent tour of the Fox Oakland Theater, architectural historian J.M. Marriner pointed to the flashing marquee floating above Telegraph Avenue and declared it “as much of an Oakland landmark as the Tribune Tower.” The theater was the largest on the West Coast when it opened in 1928, and this towering sign was designed as an attention-grabbing beacon. Having lived on Telegraph for a decade and attended dozens of concerts at the Fox, I was already familiar with the iconic structure. What I didn’t know until attending Marriner’s tour is that the building’s history is filled with unsolved mysteries.
Did the Black Panthers really try to burn down the Fox, or were they framed for the arson that closed the theater in the 1970s? Was a massive painting by famed artist Maynard Dixon that once hung in the lounge really sold on the black market to pay off a drug debt? What inspired the giant carved figures looming above the audience on either side of the stage? And what’s up with all the hidden elephants?
Marriner started digging into these mysteries earlier this year, after he showed up to the Fox expecting to take a tour, only to realize that he’d accidentally booked tickets to take a tour of a different Fox Theater in Atlanta. The Fox Theater chain was launched in the 1920s by silent era Hollywood mogul William Fox. Although ownership has changed, and many of the locations have been demolished, several Fox Theaters are still operating throughout the country. When Marriner eventually realized that Oakland’s Fox didn’t offer tours, he decided to create one. He had no idea how many historical rabbit holes this would lead him down.
1 of Oakland's most recognizable landmarks is also its most mysterious
Greg