The venue\u2019s future is unclear as new ownership is sought<\/p>\n
The future of a Bakersfield staple remains uncertain a year after its closure. Buck Owens\u2019 Crystal Palace has been for sale since it closed last August<\/a> 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\u2019s also where Buck played his final concert before passing away in March 2006.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n \u201cSince the listing and closing of the Crystal Palace last year, we\u2019ve had quite a bit of interest and several offers \u2014 including one still on the table that would be a tear-down!\u00a0 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,\u201d representative and former Buckaroo Jim Shaw says in a written statement.<\/p>\n As of this writing, nothing is definite about the venue\u2019s future. However, local musician Scotty Crabtree, who\u2019s played the venue countless times, started a Change.org<\/a> petition requesting that the property be preserved given its historic nature and influence.<\/p>\n \u201cThe music made history. The Crystal Palace tells its story. Let\u2019s make sure that story has a future,\u201d Crabtree writes. \u201cThe 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.\u201d<\/p>\n Crabtree also notes that the venue extends beyond nationally known entertainers.<\/p>\n \u201cIt 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,\u201d Crabtree states. \u201cMusicians 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.\u201d<\/p>\n