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Fox Theater , originally uploaded by Lucky † 13 .

More at SFGate.com : “(12-25) 16:54 PST -- It's difficult to say what is more remarkable about the hallucinogenic interior of the Fox Oakland Theater: the Moorish details that flood the ceilings and walls, or the fact it survived decades of neglect. "It's a wonderful glimpse of the past," said Kurt Schindler, a principal of the Berkeley architecture firm ELS. "These picture palaces were about glitz. They were designed to take you into another era, offering fantasy and escape." Schindler's firm is one of many consultants that had a hand in bringing the Fox back to life. It reopens Feb. 5 - a little more than 80 years after its premiere and 43 years after the theater last was used with any sort of regularity.”

Patricia Dedekian of the Friends Of The Oakland Fox talks about how the effort to revive the Fox Theater took shape and the basic problems she hopes to solve, namely bring the building to code standards and how the very reopening of the facility will help raise money for it.  She also talks about moving the Oakland School for The Arts into the Oakland Fox Theater.  This video was created in January, but with just over 300 views as of this writing, has not been seen by many.  Give it a look because it's very informative.  

As the day of February 5th -- the day the Oakland Fox Theater is to reopen -- moves closer, some Oaklanders are not as excited about that day as others.  Some long time residents are upset that the actual 3,000 seat theater will be no more -- that's right. The Fox will not be the large theater playhouse some have wanted.   "It's not what I expected it to be" said one long time Oakland community insider "and some wonder if it will take business away from the Paramount Theater."  Well, one consideration here is that the Fox will be managed by the same group of people that control the Paramount now.  But that doesn't automatically take away from the economic issue at all.  It seems that with the Fox's overall size potential, the foundation for building live theater in Oakland again was set, but with only a 500 person capacity,  one would think the Fox' long-held size advantage was taken away.   Which really leads to the question: is that part of...

The Oakland Fox Theater has rested dormant for over 30 years until California Commericial Investments and Phil Tagami worked with the City of Oakland to restore this architectural gem.   All of the work will come to an end when the Fox Theater opens on February 5th 2009.  You can be part of the party with a contribution of anywhere from $35 to $25,000, which you can do starting with a click here:   Contribute to the Oakland Fox .  

Click To Play This interview was conducted in 2003, just as the effort to restore the Oakland Fox Theater had embarked anew. Here, Phil talks about the importance of the involvement of minority contractors in the restoration of the Fox Theater. He also talks about how he and others have worked to draw more retail, and how now-former Mayor Jerry Brown helped in drawing institutional dollars to Oakand. Chauncey Bailey was murdered earlier this year.

Although it's one year -- actually less than that -- away, the website for the Fox Theater is now live and operational. It's an informative publication at http://www.oaklandfox.com and shows how the "Fox Theater Restoration Project", under the direction of California Commercial Group and Phil Tagami, is coming along toward its October 2008 completion. Visit the site, and donate to the construction effort . When you do, this is what you get... $250 Friend of the Oakland Fox: 2 Grand Opening Gala Tickets $500 First Nighter: 4 Grand Opening Gala Tickets $1,000 Key Grip: 8 Grand Opening Gala Tickets, Lobby Recognition Plaque and more! $2,500 Best Boy: 8 Grand Opening Gala Tickets, Tile on the Fox Walkway of Stars and more! $5,000 Stage Manager: Reserved Table at Opening Night Gala, VIP Access for 4 guests and more! $10,000 Promoter: Your Name or Logo on the Promoter Banner, 2 Tickets to exclusive Green Room Reception and more! $25,000 Headliner: Your ...