The Bob Hope (Fox) Theatre

242 East Main Street

Stockton, California 

The Ticket Kios

This theatre is an historic, ornate movie palace designed by Bach & Stanbery as the Fox California Theater opened October 14, 1930 showing Spencer Tracy in Up the River.  Approximately 20,000 people attended the opening celebration.  The Fox was built by Beller Construction Company though renamed in honor of comedian Bob Hope after a major $8.5 million restoration completed in September 2004, funded in part by local developer, Alex Spanos who was a close friend of Bob Hope.  The Fox was added to the National Register of Historic Places June 27, 1979.

The Bob Hope (Fox) Theatre features a grand lobby with an Italian marble mosaic floor that encompasses a 1,200 square foot space in the center of the lobby.  The theatre houses a restored 1928 Robert Morton theater organ donated by the volunteer group, Friends of the Fox and the Sierra Chapter of the American Theatre Organ Society which were  instrumental in preserving the theatre. 

The organ was last played in the Seattle Fox Theatre and used to accompany silent movies before being restored.

The theatre capacity holds 2,030 completely refurbished red velvet seats in a Spanish Renaissance and Baroque-style auditorium. The original chandelier and tile in the exterior lobby were preserved. 

The theatre was constructed in only 9 months time for $500,000.  The original seating capacity was 2,250. With its carved ceiling beams, gold leaf proscenium arches covered in gold, the theatre is definitely one of the most beautiful interiors in all of Stockton.  There are thousands of gargoyle faces throughout the theater and were traditionally crafted by individual artisans as the craftsman's signature. The floor mosaic is made up of 80,000 Italian marble pieces and evokes Neptune, God of the Seas.  The floor mosaic replaces a beautiful fountain that was removed in 1950.  The chandelier was taken apart and refurbished.

Today, the Bob Hope (Fox) Theatre is the most requested site for historical walking tours.