Word that an unidentified developer wants to buy and demolish Buck Owens’ Crystal Palace has prompted the launch of a petition calling for city officials and others to step in to preserve the shuttered venue.
By early Friday afternoon, 27 people had signed the petition that local resident Sarena Baker posted Thursday night on the website Change.org.
“The Crystal Palace is not just a building,” the petition states. “It is the physical heart of the Bakersfield Sound and a monument to Buck Owens’ lifelong dream.”
The 21,354-square-foot venue on 3.1 acres at 2800 Buck Owens Blvd. opened in 1996. Beset by increased food and labor costs, along with Owens family members’s desire to step back from management responsibilities, it closed about a year ago after being listed for sale for more than $7 million in 2024.
Purchase offers have come in but none has been accepted, said Jim Shaw, who serves as managing director and a board member of the Buck Owens Private Foundation that owns the property.
Shaw confirmed that the highest purchase offer came from an entity that proposes to demolish the building in favor of an undisclosed reuse. If that bid prevails, he said, the music memorabilia contained inside the property would be removed for storage elsewhere. Otherwise, the memorabilia would be sold along with the property.
The former Buckeroo said his preference would be that the building be preserved. But the sale can’t be put off indefinitely, Shaw emphasized, and if it must be torn down, he would plan to be out of town on vacation.
“It’s a big deal to me, that place,” he said.
He declined to identify the size of the offer but said, “It’s not terribly far off from the number we have in our mind.”
The online petition calls on city and Kern County officials, as well as local and state historical preservation organizations, to work toward enactment of historic zoning protections “and block any prospective demolition or destructive re-zoning permits.”
On Friday, the Bakersfield City Manager’s Office issued a statement in response to questions about the petition. It acknowledged the Crystal Palace is a “valuable community asset.”
“We remain optimistic about the next chapter of the Crystal Palace that will continue its long-term legacy,” it stated. “The City Council has directed staff to work with the property owners to explore incentives or partnerships that would facilitate purchase of the property by a private party.”
The statement put to rest the idea of spending taxpayer dollars to buy the property, as the city considered doing last year.
“The city is not in a financial position for an outright purchase of the property but remains open to public-private partnerships,” it said. “There is no specific proposal or outcome for the property that the city is aware of at this time.”