[Summer Guide] Fox Theater Pomona: Yet Another Reason Not to Go to LA for a Concert this Summer

Though it hasn’t always been a happy ending for the chain of historic Fox West Coast theaters. Built in 1925, the Fullerton Fox Theatre in downtown Fullerton was closed and abandoned just 62 years later—and it remains closed. The Fullerton Historic Theatre Foundation has been attempting to raise proper funding for a full restoration of the theater for three years now.

But now that the Fox has been restored to its full glory, it also means an equally hefty amount of apprehensiveness for the Tessier brothers on whether or not the venue can possibly stay afloat in this tough economy. The challenge from day one, says Tessier, was making the project work financially, but they and everyone involved remain more than hopeful.

Jennie Warren

Now: Brand-new plumbing accompanies the original tiles

Chandeliers in the welcoming lobby (left) are authentically eight-sided

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More About

• Ed Tessier
• Pomona
• Bob Hope
• London (England)
• Perry Tollett

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“My son is 5, and Perry’s daughter is 12 or 13 now. They’ll still be running this place and paying it off 30 years from now, but it was all worth it,” Tessier says with a laugh. “I was online the other night, and a real odd moment happened while looking at Wilco’s tour [dates]: They’re playing Barcelona, Madrid, London, Dublin, New York . . . and Pomona.”

He pauses.

“That really brought it home. We’ve re-created a building that’s really put our hometown back on the map in a great way. It’s going to be a complete treat for concert-goers for years and years to come,” he says. “It’s going to be a place for people to have phenomenal memories. They’ll remember performances there for the rest of their lives; they’ll meet their spouses for the first time. The way my dad’s generation talks about seeing Bob Hope or Spencer Tracy at the Fox, you know, my kids, my 5-year-old is going to be talking about that completely amazing Gogol Bordello show he saw.”

vchang@ocweekly.com

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