BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KBAK/KBFX) — A year after Buck Owens’ Crystal Palace closed its doors, its future remains uncertain, prompting some community members and musicians to push for the iconic Bakersfield venue to be preserved.
The Buck Owens Private Foundation says it has received several offers for the property, including one still on the table that would involve tearing down the building.
However, the foundation clarified that it has not accepted any offers and says its preferred outcome is to find someone who will give the venue another life.
“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!!),” the foundation said in a statement. “Our hope is 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.”
Statement from the Buck Owens Private Foundation
The foundation said that while its ideal scenario would keep the venue connected to Buck Owens and the Bakersfield Sound, it recognizes that its future could look different.
“Although in our perfect world the theme would remain Buck and the Bakersfield Sound, we accept that the new iteration might not resemble the version that we all remember,” the statement continued. “There are numerous ways that the venue could be reimagined, but what’s important is that in its next life it’s still a wonderful asset for the Bakersfield community.”
The uncertainty surrounding the property has sparked efforts from people who want to ensure the building remains standing.
A personal connection to the Crystal Palace
Country music singer Scotty Crabtree is behind another effort calling for the Crystal Palace to be preserved.
For Crabtree, the effort is personal.
“My music career started in 2007 from the Crystal Palace,” Crabtree said. “I performed with the house band in Bakersfield at the Crystal Palace. So that was absolutely a dream for me.”
Crabtree said he was also mentored by Buck Owens.
Scotty Crabtree, country music singer, performing at the Buck Owens’ Crystal Palace. Courtesy: Scotty Crabtree
“The Crystal Palace has extreme meaning, not just for everybody around the world and in Bakersfield, but especially for me,” Crabtree said.
He believes preserving the physical building is an important part of preserving the history associated with it.
“You can’t just pick up the Bakersfield Sound and go start it somewhere else,” Crabtree said. “There’s so much in those walls that are memories for other people. So just to pick up and start somewhere else is not a possibility in my opinion.”
Scotty Crabtree, country music singer, performing at the Buck Owens’ Crystal Palace. Courtesy: Scotty Crabtree
Crabtree said his goal is not to criticize the foundation or prospective buyers, but to find a way to preserve the venue.
“We just want this to be preserved to still be able to make Bakersfield history,” Crabtree said.
He hopes the Crystal Palace can eventually reopen, even if its business model needs to change.
“It’s a home for not only famous musicians, but it’s also a home for local musicians in Bakersfield, California,” Crabtree said.
Preserving a physical piece of Bakersfield’s music history
The push to preserve the Crystal Palace is also resonating with two sisters who have spent years working to preserve Kern County history.
Glenda Rankin and Dianne Sharman lead Citizens Preserving History, a local nonprofit. Rankin serves as president and Sharman as vice president.
“The Crystal Palace, Buck Owens are synonymous,” Sharman said. “They represent our history here in Bakersfield. And we are so proud of it, and we will do everything that we can to help preserve the iconic building that became his legacy.”
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The venue announced its closure in August 2025 after 28 years, with the Owens family citing a challenging business climate and family members stepping back from management responsibilities.
The Bakersfield Sound itself dates back decades before the Crystal Palace. It grew from the country music scene that developed in and around Bakersfield and became internationally associated with artists including Owens and Merle Haggard.
For Rankin and Sharman, however, the Crystal Palace became an important physical connection to that history.
“The Bakersfield Sound’s home is here in Bakersfield,” Rankin said. “This is the place that it originated. This is where they all came, and this is where it began, and this is where it needs to stay.”
The sisters recalled going to the Crystal Palace themselves.
“We loved going, we loved dancing, and Bakersfield Sound music was music that was made to dance to,” they said. “You couldn’t keep from tapping your toe.”
They said the music represents more than the artists who became household names.
“It tells a story, and I think that is what is so important about our Bakersfield Sound music,” Sharman said.
‘We have to save the Crystal Palace’
Rankin and Sharman said they are saddened by the uncertainty surrounding the venue.
“All of Bakersfield is buzzing with what’s gonna happen to the Crystal Palace,” they said. “And we believe that it is going to be saved.”
Their hope is that the building continues operating as a music venue.
“It is our hope and prayer that it will continue as a music venue, and hopefully still continue as Buck Owens’ Crystal Palace, because it truly is his legacy,” Sharman said. “It was his dream. He built it, they came, and it was successful.”
Dancing and dining takes place at the Crystal Palace.
The sisters said they would also like to see future generations of Bakersfield musicians become part of whatever comes next for the property.
“We are excited for the next generation,” they said. “We have young people in bands here in Bakersfield, playing the old music.”
For them, preserving the Crystal Palace is tied to keeping the story of the Bakersfield Sound accessible to people who did not grow up with it.
“We have to save the Crystal Palace, because that is the iconic part of Bakersfield Sound that everybody comes to Bakersfield for,” they said. “It hasn’t disappeared. And we’re gonna do everything in our power to keep it from disappearing.”
Citizens Preserving History has taken on preservation projects before. Rankin and Sharman said the organization helped lead efforts to save Merle Haggard’s childhood boxcar home and move it to the Kern County Museum.
The sisters said that experience showed them the value of preserving physical pieces of local history.
“We just have to keep it alive,” they said. “And the Kern County Museum, along with the Crystal Palace, are keeping the history alive.”
They said they hope to speak with the Buck Owens Private Foundation about ways their nonprofit could assist with preservation efforts.
What comes next?
The foundation said it understands that a future Crystal Palace may not look exactly as it did before it closed.
“There are numerous ways that the venue could be reimagined,” the foundation said, adding that what matters is that the property remains “a wonderful asset for the Bakersfield community.”
For Rankin and Sharman, the stakes go beyond the future of a single building.
Buck Owens Crystal Palace provided by Buck Owens Production Co{ }
Bakersfield has grown, they said, and many newer residents may not know the history behind the music that carries the city’s name. They believe places like the Crystal Palace give future generations an opportunity to experience that history rather than simply read about it.
“By keeping the Crystal Palace alive, we are going to be able to share that history with all the people that move here, live here,” they said.
They fear losing the venue could make preserving that history more difficult.
“If the Crystal Palace dies, we are so afraid that that could be kind of the beginning of the end,” they said. “The beginning of the end of the Bakersfield Sound, and it’s just too important.”
For now, the Buck Owens Private Foundation says it has not accepted any of the offers it has received and is still waiting for what it considers the right offer.