Save Buck Owens’ Crystal Palace
Preserve a Home of the Bakersfield Sound

The music made history. The Crystal Palace tells its story. Let’s make sure that story has a future.

We, the undersigned, respectfully ask Bakersfield’s elected leaders, historic-preservation officials, the property owner, and our community to work together to explore historic and cultural recognition and reasonable preservation options for Buck Owens’ Crystal Palace in Bakersfield, California.

More Than a Building

Buck Owens’ Crystal Palace is more than a former restaurant, museum, and concert venue.

It is a physical connection to Buck Owens, the Buckaroos, generations of Bakersfield musicians, country music fans, and the Bakersfield Sound.

Buck opened the Crystal Palace in 1996. For more than 28 years, the venue brought local and national entertainment to Bakersfield while celebrating Buck’s career and Bakersfield’s musical heritage.

People could experience memorabilia and history while musicians continued making music on its stage.

The Crystal Palace didn’t simply display Bakersfield music history. Music history continued happening inside it.

The Stage Where Buck Gave His Final Performance

The Crystal Palace also holds an extraordinary place in Buck Owens’ personal history.

On March 24, 2006, Buck gave what became his final performance at the Crystal Palace.

Although he had not been feeling well, Buck learned that fans had traveled from Oregon hoping to see him perform. He took the stage.

Buck closed his portion of the show with “Big in Vegas.”

It became the final song he performed publicly.

Buck died in his sleep the following day, March 25, 2006.

Buck built the Crystal Palace. Buck performed there. And it was there that he took the stage for the final time.

A Home for the Continuing Bakersfield Sound

The Bakersfield Sound existed long before the Crystal Palace opened. This petition does not claim that the Bakersfield Sound began at the Palace.

Instead, the Crystal Palace became an important later place where its history could be celebrated and its musical traditions could continue.

The significance of the Bakersfield Sound has been recognized far beyond our community. The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville devoted a major exhibition to The Bakersfield Sound: Buck Owens, Merle Haggard, and California Country.

The exhibition was originally scheduled for 21 months but was extended because of its popularity and ultimately remained open for nearly three years.

The Bakersfield Sound belongs to Bakersfield, but its influence belongs to country music history.

Generations of Musicians

The Crystal Palace’s history extends beyond nationally known entertainers.

It was also a working stage for local musicians, members of the Buckaroos, house-band musicians, opening acts, guest performers, and later generations of Bakersfield artists.

Musicians associated with the Crystal Palace and the Buckaroos over the years included people such as Jim Shaw, Kim McAbee-Carter, Rudy Parris, Monty Byrom, and many others.

Those names are not intended to be a complete list. They illustrate something much larger:

The Crystal Palace connected generations of musicians.

Buck Helped Preserve Bakersfield History

There is another reason preserving the Crystal Palace carries special meaning.

When Bakersfield’s famous historic sign faced demolition in the late 1990s, Buck Owens participated in the effort to preserve it.

Historic letters from the earlier sign were incorporated into the replacement erected near the Crystal Palace.

Today, that history gives this campaign a message we believe is especially appropriate:

Buck helped preserve Bakersfield history. Now it’s our turn to help preserve his.

Its Future Is Uncertain

The future of Buck Owens’ Crystal Palace remains uncertain.

We want to be completely clear:

This petition does not claim that demolition has been approved, scheduled, or will definitely occur.

We will not present rumors or speculation about potential purchasers as established facts.

Our position is much simpler:

Bakersfield should not have to wait until demolition is certain before deciding whether the Crystal Palace deserves serious consideration for preservation.

Once an important original building is gone, its authentic connection to the people and events associated with it cannot simply be recreated somewhere else.

The time to discuss preservation is before an irreversible decision is made.

This Is About Preservation — Not Blame

This campaign is not an attack on the Owens family, the property owner, prospective purchasers, or responsible development.

We recognize that the Crystal Palace is privately owned and that decisions concerning its future involve legitimate financial, legal, business, and practical considerations.

We aren’t demanding that the City purchase the property.

We aren’t insisting that the Crystal Palace must operate forever exactly as it did before.

We’re asking that preservation remain one of the options on the table.

What We Are Asking For

We respectfully ask the City of Bakersfield, appropriate preservation officials, the property owner, and other interested parties to work together to:

Evaluate the historical and cultural significance of Buck Owens’ Crystal Palace;
Encourage exploration of appropriate recognition through Bakersfield’s historic-preservation program;
Explore appropriate local, California, and national historic-recognition opportunities;
Identify historically and culturally significant portions of the property worthy of preservation;
Explore preservation incentives, partnerships, adaptive reuse, and financially sustainable future possibilities;
Encourage constructive discussions among the property owner, potential future owners, City officials, musicians, historians, preservation organizations, and the community; and
Give reasonable preservation alternatives serious consideration before historically or culturally significant features of the property are irreversibly lost.
Why This Matters to Me

For me, this campaign is personal.

As a Bakersfield country music singer, I had opportunities to sing at the Crystal Palace and, after Buck’s passing, perform with its house band. I also had opportunities to introduce local bands before they performed there.

Those experiences showed me what the Crystal Palace could mean to a local musician.

It wasn’t simply somewhere my generation could learn about Bakersfield music history.

It was somewhere we could become connected to that history ourselves.

I was one of those musicians.

I’m not asking that the Crystal Palace be preserved for me.

I’m asking that we seriously consider preserving it for our community, our musical heritage, and generations still to come.

Please Add Your Name

If you believe Buck Owens’ Crystal Palace deserves the opportunity to remain part of Bakersfield’s story, please sign this petition.

You don’t have to live in Bakersfield to care about the Bakersfield Sound.

Whether you’re a Bakersfield resident, musician, former employee, Crystal Palace visitor, country-music fan, historian, preservation supporter, or someone elsewhere who believes important pieces of music history deserve protection, your support is welcome.

And after signing, please answer one question:

Why does the Crystal Palace matter to you?

Maybe you performed there. Maybe you worked there. Maybe you saw Buck Owens perform. Maybe you attended a concert, celebrated a special occasion, visited the museum, or traveled to Bakersfield because of its musical history.

Your story matters too.

Please sign the petition, leave your story, and share this campaign with another person who cares about Bakersfield history or country music.

SAVE BUCK OWENS’ CRYSTAL PALACE

The music made history.
The Crystal Palace tells its story.
Let’s make sure that story has a future.

Buck helped preserve Bakersfield history. Now it’s our turn to help preserve his.

Preserve the Palace. Protect the Bakersfield Sound. Preserve Bakersfield History.