Phil Tagami’s parents went on their first date in 1959 to Oakland’s Fox Theater, a gilded movie palace on Telegraph Avenue. In 1965, the venue closed, and for more than four decades it has been largely vacant, crumbling from neglect.
“It’s been shuttered for virtually my entire life,” said Tagami, a 40-year-old developer who owns several buildings nearby and never had the opportunity to attend an event at the theater.
But now Oakland, which hired Tagami as a consultant, is spending millions to resurrect the 1928 vintage Fox, a step the city sees as key to bringing new life to a neighborhood — and city — in need of revitalization.
Continue Reading
Download Article
