The Fox Theater and the end of Downtown Anaheim

 Today's photos come from reader Dave Mason and show the demolition of Anaheim's Fox Theater "around 1979." It stood on the north side of W. Lincoln Ave., near Lemon Street, in the area that was Downtown Anaheim before the bulldozers arrived. The theater was opened in 1920 as part of the West Coast Theatres chain, and included a backstage area and dressing rooms for vaudeville shows. It initially operated as the California Theatre but soon became the Fox Theater.
A 1978 L.A. Times article about Downtown Anaheim began, "A move to get 24 downtown buildings listed in the National Register of Historical (sic) Places is politically motivated and aimed at hobbling downtown renewal, the Community Redevelopment Commission said... Chairman James Morris said the move to get the buildings listed for historical recognition is contrived solely to jeopardize or halt redevelopment.

Those 24 sites included Martinet Hardware, the SQR Store, the Rosemarie Apartments, the California Building, the Marietta Court  Apartments, the Fox Theater block, Zion Lutheran Church, the Kraemer Garage, the Carnegie Library, the Pickwick Hotel, the Masonic Temple, the Angelina Kraemer Hotel, City Hall, the Samuel Kraemer Building, the German Methodist Church, the Church of His Holy Presence, First Presbyterian Church, the Ferdinand Baxhaus House, the Richard Melrose House, the Union Pacific Depot, and Pearson Park. Essentially, it was the heart of historic Downtown Anaheim.
 In the article, I'm particularly amused (in a "black humor" sort of way) by Morris' indignation that anyone would try to stand in the way of ripping out the heart of their town in order to replace it with soon-to-be-vacant office buildings and a Von's shopping center. It's like a tiger complaining that a mother is trying to prevent a child from becoming a snack. The impertinence! 
 I only wish that Diann Marsh and her band of preservationists had prevailed. In fact, is there anyone today who DOESN'T wish that Downtown Anaheim had been saved? Which would you prefer: A historic downtown like Orange, or the mess that stands on the site of old Downtown Anaheim today?
 Luckily, at least a few token bits of Downtown were saved, including the Carnegie Library (now part of the "Muzeo") and the Kraemer Building. Also, the community's anger over the destruction lead to a movement that lashed out against the bureaucrats with PAC money and lawyers and succeeded in saving some of the city's historic neighborhoods. I know many people who live in those neighborhoods today, and the area is both unique and charming. Unfortunately, so much is already gone forever.
Let Downtown Anaheim's fate be a lesson to other communities that see wholesale destruction of their history as the path to glory. It isn't. You end up trading your soul for a strip mall and your individuality for a Jiffy Lube. And future generations will blame you for ripping their inheritance away from them.
Hopefully, the death of the redevelopment agencies will prevent this from happening again, but I presume it will only be a matter of time before the same old scam artists find a new scam.