Pomona Fox Theatre

 theatre, NRHP - National Register of Historic Places, Art Deco (architecture), 1931_construction

114 W. Third St.
Pomona, CA 91766
www.pomonafox.org/

The Pomona Fox Theater is a former movie palace, now owned by Gerald Investments Inc. and located in downtown Pomona, California.
Grand opening and first screening was at 12:00 noon on an unseasonably cold and rainy Friday, 24 April 1931, (see photo above).
Part of the Fox-West Coast theater chain, it was designed in the popular art deco style by architect Clifford A. Balch.

Operated as a first-run theater for many years, it went into decline along with other large, single screen theaters in the late 1960\'s as a result of the increasing popularity of multiplex theaters. It survived for a few years showing Spanish language movies, then closed in 1977. It was reopened in 1998 and used as a venue for live music events and raves, but the city withdrew the operation\'s permit after several violent incidents took place. The theater\'s interior was damaged during this period.

Partly as a result of citizen activism, the city bought the building. In 2002 the non-profit Pomona Fox Corporation was founded to explore means of preserving and reusing the theater, but they were not able to secure enough funding for their restoration efforts. The building was sold to its current owner, Gerald Investments, on February 7, 2007, who plan to have it restored and open for business in January 2008.