Get into the Fox

After nearly 3 years of renovation -- and several years of planning -- downtown Riverside's Fox Theater is ready to make its debut as the Fox Performing Arts Center.

2010
Fox Performing Arts Center

1930s
Fox Riverside

Located at the intersection of Mission Inn Avenue and Market Street, the 1,642-seat Fox Center is the crown jewel of Riverside's 5-year, $1.6 billion "renaissance" public works plan. At just over $32 million, the complete renovation -- including Broadway-caliber staging -- of the 1929-era Fox is also one of the most expensive projects in the 5-year plan, which began in late 2006.

Friday evening Jan. 15 marks the official opening of the new center with the "Fox Foundation Inaugural Gala," a $150-ticket special event intended to show off the Fox as well as begin the process of establishing a community endowment to assist in maintaining and operating the new performance center.

(For those unable to attend the gala, free tours are scheduled for the weekend of Jan. 16-17.)

We're excited to see the completion of the Fox, which we see as an important catalyst in the overall revival -- and long-term success -- of downtown and Riverside in general. There's no doubt that within the past decade, downtown has finally established a relatively healthy critical mass of arts and entertainment offerings, to which the Fox will now be added.

However, as community leader Daniel Foster points out, it will certainly take more than just the Fox, the Mission Inn, local museums and the still emerging restaurant and arts scenes. It will take the synergy and richness of all these -- and those still on the horizon, including institutions from both UCR and RCC as well as higher density office/residential development -- to continue the successful turnaround of downtown.

But above all, it will take area residents, both of Riverside and the immediate region, to begin supporting our own local shops, restaurants, museums and arts institutions, many of which are indeed unique to Southern California.

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