The Kress Building originally housed a Kress & Co. store. This national chain of discount retailers was known as five-and-dime stores, or simply "dime stores." Samuel Kress, the founder of Kress & Co., was known to hire talented architects to design unique building for his stores. This helped establish the brand, as Kress buildings became attractive fixtures in many U.S. cities. The Kress department store at this Bakersfield location closed in 1974. However, the historic building was preserved and renovated, reopening ten years later as office space. A historical marker was placed in 2015 by the Kern County Historical Society. The marker appears to the right of the entrance.
This historical marker notes that F.W. Woolworth retail stores arrived in Bakersfield as early as 1911. The F.W. Woolworth Company launched a successful chain of five-and-dime stores that shaped the commercial landscape in the early 20th century. Better known simply as Woolworth's, the company had storefronts across the U.S., as well as in Britain and Canada. Notably, Woolworth's featured a popular diner-style luncheonette counter inside its retail stores. By 1997, competition from other retailers forced the F.W Woolworth Company to close all of its Woolworth's retail stores. However, an original Woolworth's luncheonette counter is still open to the public at this Bakersfield location, now operating as part of the Five and Dime Antique Mall. Maintaining 1950s-style decor, it is located in the Historic Woolworth Building.
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This marker notes the location of the historic French Hotel, built in the 1870s when Bakersfield was still a frontier town, and also the historic Southern Hotel which followed it. The French Hotel was lost in the massive fire that destroyed almost the entire city of Bakersfield in 1889. The Southern Hotel was constructed in its place and was a much larger and grander hotel that quickly became a premier destination in the area. After the Southern Hotel closed in 1947, the building was demolished and the current Modern-style office building was constructed. The building features ribbon windows and a streamlined facade with a rounded corner on the exterior. The historical marker appears to the left of the entrance on Chester Avenue.
This marker notes the 1938 construction of the Vest Drug Store and Market Building, a business that continues to operate at this same location. The building was constructed to replace an earlier property, the Fish Building (1890), that was destroyed by a fire in 1936. The architect Charles H. Biggar designed the new building in the Public Works Administration Modern style. The structure features Ribbon windows and a rotating sign that reads, "Vests Market," and was restored in 2017. The historical marker at the site was dedicated by the Kern County Historical Society in 2015 and appears on one's right when traveling west on Chester Avenue.
This historical marker notes the location of the Bank of Bakersfield which was constructed in 1903 and is currently home to the Stars Theatre Restaurant. In addition to performances by the Bakersfield Music Theater, the building offers a cafe that serves lunch during the week. The historical marker appears to the right of the entrance to the building, near the corner of Chester Avenue and 20th Street. Also of significance, the historic Highway 99 (also known as U.S. Route 99, or the "Golden State Highway") ran directly in front of this building from the late 1920s until it was decommissioned in 1965.
This natural history museum offers educational displays related to the natural sciences. It also works to document and preserve the natural history of Kern County. The Museum is the repository of the largest collection of Shark Tooth Hill Miocene Fossils in the world. The museum offers plenty for adults, but proclaims that "the heart and soul of the Museum are the kids."
The Dolores Huerta Peace & Justice Cultural Center is scheduled to open at this location in 2022. It will serve as the new headquarters for the Dolores Huerta Foundation. Currently, the property houses the Self-Help Federal Credit Union, which is being incorporated into the design plan for the $20 million cultural center. Dolores Huerta is a legendary activist who was at the forefront of the farm workers movement to improve the lives and working conditions of farm laborers in the United States. Along with César Chávez, in 1962 Huerta co-founded the National Farm Workers Association (NFWA), which became the United Farm Workers Union (UFW). It was the first and largest union for farm workers in the nation.
Bakersfield Fire Station #1, located at 2101 H Street, serves as the city's fire department headquarters. It was designed by well-known Bakersfield architect Charles Howatt Biggar and built in 1939 with the New Deal's Public Works Administration funds. Today, Station #1 continues to serve the greater downtown area of Bakersfield.
Bakersfield's Fox Theater is a restored art deco movie theater that originally opened on December 25, 1930. The theater was one of very few buildings in the city that withstood Bakersfield's earthquake of 1952. The theater closed in 1977 and fell into disrepair despite several attempts to re-open the historic venue. Threatened with demolition, local activists raised funds to preserve the building which is now used to screen local and foreign films and a home for community activities and the performing arts.
Constructed in 1894 in the Second Renaissance Revival architectural style, this property was the site of the Bakersfield offices of the Kern County Land Company. It was built four years after the company was founded as a sign of the company's "Faith in the Future" of Bakersfield. However, the Kern County Land Company sold the property in 1959 after outgrowing the space. Today, it is known as the Tevis Block Building.
The Jastro Building was designed in the Second Renaissance Revival architectural style. Originally built in 1917, it was expanded in 1921, while owned by the Standard Oil Company. The Jastro Building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1983. It features a brick exterior with ornate terra cotta details on the second story balcony above the entrance.
Bakersfield was the 21st city in California to receive its own federal post office. This United States Post Office Building was constructed in 1924 in the Mission architectural style. Built using masonry and concrete, it was reinforced with steel. By the time that it was completed, it cost a total of $130,000 to construct. In 2015, a historical marker was placed by the Kern County Historical Society. Notably, in 2018, this post office was named in honor of the late country music legend, Merle Haggard, who lived in Bakersfield.
The Padre Hotel first opened on April 12, 1928. Los Angeles architectural firm John M. Cooper designed the eight-story Spanish Renaissance building. The Padre Hotel gained notoriety after Milton "Spartacus" Miller purchased it in 1954. His numerous disagreements with City Hall over codes and enforcement were manifested in several protest signs that adorned the building over the years. After his death, the fate of the building was uncertain, with it changing hands several times before it was finally renovated and put back into use in 2010 as a 112-room boutique hotel featuring several establishments for dining, drinks, and dancing.
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The Hayden Building is a two-story property that was constructed in 1904 and has remained almost entirely unchanged since that time. Throughout its history, the Hayden Building has housed numerous businesses and organizations including a furniture store, a dance school, a fraternal organization, a hotel, a supply company, a radio station, and a theater. A historical marker was placed at the site in 2015 by the Kern County Historical Society.
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The Hay Building once housed a "Store of Fashionable Merchandise" that was owned and operated by the Dinkelspiel Brothers, Louis and Emile. In 1894, the Dinkelspiel Brothers commissioned this building to be designed and built in the Victorian architectural style. It remains the oldest building in Bakersfield to have survived the 1952 earthquakes. In the 21st century, the Hay Building was remodeled and rebranded as the 1612 City Lofts, a mixed-use retail and living space.
The Crites Building was originally built in 1900 as a retail space. Thereafter, the second floor was converted into the Savoy Hotel from 1912 to 1936. In the late 1920s, Arthur S. Crites acquired the building. The lettering "Arthur S. Crites Building, 1927" can still be seen at the top of the building on the rounded corner. The Crites Building is now home to the Bakersfield Art Association.
Guthrie's Alley Cat was established in 1940 and is the oldest bar in Bakersfield. The establishment was originally called Oscar's Alley Cat. Located in an alley and between two restaurants, there is a neon sign with a blinking cat out front. Inside, there are murals throughout the interior, including a mural of a famous drawing by the celebrity caricaturist Al Hirschfeld.
The Bakersfield Californian building is a historic office building that was designed by architect Charles Howatt Biggar and built in 1926. It was originally built to house the offices of the Bakersfield Californian, a newspaper that is a direct descendant of the first newspaper in the county, the Havilah Courier, which was first established in 1866. The newspaper officially moved out of the building to 3700 Pegasus Drive at the end of 2018.
On October 18, 1942, a statue of Colonel Thomas Baker was placed in front of Bakersfield City Hall. Made possible through public contributions, the statue serves as a memorial to the city's namesake. Colonel Thomas Baker was a visionary pioneer who founded the city of Bakersfield in California. Established in 1863 on swamp land surrounded by wilderness and trees, Colonel Baker and Harvey Brown built levees and canals to help drain the land and make it usable. It was finally accomplished with the help of the 1864 drought, and the construction of the city began. Baker was known for welcoming travelers to his home and providing food for them and their animals without asking for pay; thus, his farm became known as Baker’s field, and people started settling in the area which in 1869 was officially named Bakersfield. The statue in Baker's honor was registered as a California State Registered Landmark on January 3, 1944.
The Kern County Hall of Records is the oldest continuously-operated government building in downtown Bakersfield. The building was designed by the Los Angeles architects Robert Train and Robert Williams in the Beaux-Arts architectural style and completed in 1909. The structure was redesigned in the Public Works Administration (PWA) Moderne architectural style in 1939. A historical marker was added by the Kern County Historical Society in 2015.
The Kern County Vietnam War Memorial honors the more than 14,000 men and women from Kern County who served in Vietnam. It includes the names of each of the residents from Kern County who lost their lives while in service. The memorial also includes an image of a bird in flight. Below this is an inscription that reads, "Wind Beneath My Wings." There are benches on either side of the memorial where people can sit and reflect.
First Baptist Church of Bakersfield was built in 1931 with reinforced concrete and a brick facade that provides a Romaneque character. The building, designed by architect Charles Howatt Biggar, survived the earthquake of 1952. The structure is now home to offices and known as the Bell Tower. The building is a prominent landmark in Bakersfield, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
In 1924, George Carl Haberfelde hired the local architect Charles H. Biggar to design this five story building for office use and retail space. At the time of its construction, it was one of the tallest buildings in the San Joaquin Valley. Today, it houses several popular restaurants and shops on the street level.
This Tour is a Walking Tour.
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This walk through downtown Bakersfield begins at the Kress Building, the former site of the F. W. Woolworth store, and the former home of the Southern Hotel. The tour includes a variety of historic downtown buildings, museums, and other landmarks in a relatively short loop through the heart of the downtown area.
