Today's photos come from reader
Dave Mason and show the demolition of
Anaheim's
Fox Theater "around 1979." It stood on the north side of W. Lincoln Ave., near Lemon Street, in the area that was
Downtown Anaheim before the bulldozers arrived. The theater was opened in 1920 as part of the
West Coast Theatres chain, and included a backstage area and dressing rooms for vaudeville shows. It initially operated as the
California Theatre but soon became the Fox Theater.
A 1978
L.A. Times article about Downtown Anaheim began, "A move to get 24 downtown buildings listed in the
National Register of Historical (sic)
Places is politically motivated and aimed at hobbling downtown renewal, the
Community Redevelopment Commission said... Chairman
James Morris said the move to get the buildings listed for historical recognition is contrived solely to jeopardize or halt redevelopment.
Those 24 sites included
Martinet Hardware, the
SQR Store, the
Rosemarie Apartments, the
California Building, the
Marietta Court Apartments, the
Fox Theater block,
Zion Lutheran Church, the
Kraemer Garage, the
Carnegie Library, the
Pickwick Hotel, the
Masonic Temple, the
Angelina Kraemer Hotel,
City Hall, the
Samuel Kraemer Building, the
German Methodist Church, the
Church of His Holy Presence,
First Presbyterian Church, the
Ferdinand Baxhaus House, the
Richard Melrose House, the
Union Pacific Depot, and
Pearson Park. Essentially, it was the heart of historic Downtown Anaheim.
In the article, I'm particularly amused (in a "black humor" sort of way) by Morris' indignation that anyone would try to stand in the way of ripping out the heart of their town in order to replace it with soon-to-be-vacant office buildings and a Von's shopping center. It's like a tiger complaining that a mother is trying to prevent a child from becoming a snack. The impertinence!
I only wish that
Diann Marsh and her band of preservationists had prevailed. In fact, is there
anyone today who DOESN'T wish that Downtown Anaheim had been saved? Which would you prefer: A historic downtown like
Orange, or the mess that stands on the site of old Downtown Anaheim today?
Luckily, at least a few token bits of Downtown were saved, including the Carnegie Library (now part of the "
Muzeo") and the Kraemer Building. Also, the community's anger over the destruction lead to a movement that lashed out against the bureaucrats with PAC money and lawyers and succeeded in saving some of the city's historic neighborhoods. I know many people who live in those neighborhoods today, and the area is both unique and charming. Unfortunately, so much is already gone forever.
Let Downtown Anaheim's fate be a lesson to other communities that see wholesale destruction of their history as the path to glory. It isn't. You end up trading your soul for a strip mall and your individuality for a Jiffy Lube. And future generations will blame you for ripping their inheritance away from them.
Hopefully, the death of the redevelopment agencies will prevent this from happening again, but I presume it will only be a matter of time before the same old scam artists find a new scam.
