Bakersfield musician creates petition to preserve Buck Owens’ Crystal Palace

The venue’s future is unclear as new ownership is sought

The future of a Bakersfield staple remains uncertain a year after its closure. Buck Owens’ Crystal Palace has been for sale since it closed last August after 28 years. The former restaurant, museum, and concert venue has hosted the likes of Garth Brooks, Taylor Swift, Luke Combs, and countless others since it opened in 1996. It’s also where Buck played his final concert before passing away in March 2006.

The Buck Owens Private Foundation, which manages the property, confirms receiving multiple offers for the iconic venue. One active proposal still under consideration would involve demolishing the historic building.

“Since the listing and closing of the Crystal Palace last year, we’ve had quite a bit of interest and several offers — including one still on the table that would be a tear-down!  We hope that sooner rather than later the right person will step forward with a plan to reopen the venue in a manner that will bring our beautiful building back to life,” representative and former Buckaroo Jim Shaw says in a written statement.

As of this writing, nothing is definite about the venue’s future. However, local musician Scotty Crabtree, who’s played the venue countless times, started a Change.org petition requesting that the property be preserved given its historic nature and influence.

“The music made history. The Crystal Palace tells its story. Let’s make sure that story has a future,” Crabtree writes. “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.”

Crabtree also notes that the venue 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,” Crabtree states. “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.”

ABC 23 reports that the city cannot afford to purchase the venue, but has directed its staff to explore incentives or partnerships that could attract the right private buyer.

The Crystal Palace also houses the Buck Owens Museum, showcasing memorabilia from throughout the legend’s career. His son, Johnny Owens—who has performed on the iconic venue’s stage countless times with his band, The Bakersfield Sound—confirmed that this entire collection is included in the sale.

“Nothing’s been touched with the Palace,” Johnny tells us. “They have to figure out what’s going to happen to it and who’s going to take it over and things like that. There’s still interest in a few areas and stuff, but it has to work out, not just for the building, but for the property and for all of my dad’s things that are in there and stuff like that. I know that that’s what everybody’s looking for is to be able to keep a bunch of his stuff. It might not be all of his stuff. They might have other things they want to bring in and stuff like that, which is fine. But for right now, it’s all in the showcases, all sitting there. It’s been all inventoried just to make sure we know exactly every little thing that’s there.”

The iconic Bakersfield sign, which spans over Sillect Avenue, directly in front of the Crystal Palace, is also part of the sale. Buck played a key role in preserving the landmark. The archway, featuring bold yellow metal casing with blue letters, was erected downtown in 1949 as part of a gateway project for the city. When Caltrans wanted to widen Chester Avenue and realign state routes in 1996, Buck paid for its restoration and relocation, which now symbolizes both Bakersfield’s agricultural and oil roots, as well as its historic role as the capital of the Bakersfield Sound country music genre.