The Bakersfield Register of Historic Places and Areas of Historic Interest consist of buildings and sites designated by the City of Bakersfield, California, as significant historic resources.
Bakersfield's historic preservation program operates on a voluntary basis. The city may not designate a property on its register without being affirmatively petitioned by the property owner requesting inclusion. The program is overseen by a Historic Preservation Commission made up of citizens appointed by the City Council with special expertise and interest in historic preservation.
In the first five years of the city's historic preservation program (1992-1997), 12 buildings were listed on the Bakersfield Register of Historic Places. In the more than 20 years thereafter, only three buildings and a cemetery have been added. With only 16 sites on its local register (compared to more than 300 sites designated by the City of Fresno), Bakersfield has been criticized for its lack of focus on historic preservation.
These listings represent local designations by the City of Bakersfield. In addition, five buildings in Bakersfield have been listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) and are also listed below. Of the five buildings listed on the NRHP, only the Jastro Building (also known as the Standard Oil Building) has been cross-designated on the Bakersfield Register of Historic Places. There are also four sites within the city that have been designated as California Historical Landmarks; two of these buildings no longer exist, and none of the state landmarks have been cross-designated on the Bakersfield Register of Historic Places.
A map displaying the locations of Bakersfield's designated historic places and areas of historic interest, as well as the four buildings listed on the NRHP and four sites listed as California Historical Landmarks, can be viewed by clicking "OpenStreetMap" in the template found to the right below.
Bakersfield Register of Historic Places
#Numbers are as designated by the City of Bakersfield. Blue color notes properties listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Name Image Location Designated Description 1The Hayden Building1622 19th Street2/12/92Second Renaissance Revival building built in 1904 by the Kern County Land Company; occupants have included the Hayden Furniture Company, the Ancient Order of United Workmen, Mrs. Andrews Dancing Hall, the Continental Hotel, and the Valley Office Supply Company, and the Spotlight Theatre and Cafe2Woman's Club of Bakersfield2030 18th Street2/12/92Colonial style building opened in 19213Frank Munzer House1701 F Street2/12/92Craftsman home built c. 1903 for Frank G. Munzer, Office Superintendent for the Kern County Land Company and a partner in the Breckenridge Lumber Company4The Guild House1905 18th Street4/8/92Craftsman house built in 19085Colonial Apartments1701 B Street5/20/926The McGill Building1821-29 B Street9/16/927China AlleyAlley between L & M and 21st & 22nd Streets9/16/92The historic center of Bakersfield's original Chinatown, occupied in the late 1800s by approximately 3,000 Chinese nationals brought to California for railroad construction8Curran House222 Eureka Street2/1/939Standard Oil Building, aka the Jastro Building1800 19th Street2/23/94Second Renaissance Revival office building built in 1917; also listed in 1983 on the National Register of Historic Places10Fox Theater2001 H Street8/24/94Spanish Colonial Revival theater designed by S. Charles Lee, opened in 1930, rebuilt 1953; remodeled after a 1952 earthquake with Art Moderne interior11Spencer House1321 N Street11/8/95Queen Anne/Eastlake house built in 1890 at corner of 14th and Chester; moved to present location in 192812Hugh Curran home1910 Alta Vista Drive7/16/9713Jastro House1811 20th Street3/9/05Two-story Gothic Victorian Cottage owned by Henry Jastro, head of the Kern County Land Company and Chairman for 24 years of the Kern County Board of Supervisors14Kern County Chamber of Commerce Building3801 Chester Avenue3/12/08Built 1927-28 with Beaux Arts, Mission Revival, and Arts and Crafts influences; now part of the Kern County Museum15Union CemeteryKing and Potomac Streets10/27/12Pioneers Section; burial place of local historic figures and Bakersfield's founding fathers16Mt. Zion Missionary Baptist Church825 California Avenue3/8/17African-American Baptist church built c. 1926; congregation active in Bakersfield since 1886
Bakersfield Areas of Historic Interest
Name Image Location Designated Description James McKamy House2124 E Street3/16/10Single-story wood frame houseR.L. Brown House2128 E Street5/18/10
NRHP listings in Bakersfield
Name Image Location Designated Description First Baptist Church1200 Truxtun Avenue1/2/79Mission/Spanish Revival, Romanesque church built in 1931Kern Branch, Beale Memorial Library, aka Baker Street Library1400 Baker Street4/1/81Classical Revival, Beaux-Arts library built 1913-15Bakersfield Californian Building1707 Eye Street3/10/83Italian Renaissance Revival built 1926 as home of the newspaper, The Bakersfield CalifornianJastro Building, aka Standard Oil Building1800 19th Street9/22/83Second Renaissance Revival office building built in two sections in 1917 and 1921Tevis Block, aka Kern County Land Company Building1712 19th Street3/29/84Second Renaissance Revival office building built in 1893; built by the Kern County Land Company
California Historical Landmarks in Bakersfield
Number Name Image Location Description 277Garces Memorial CircleChester Ave & 30th St.A traffic circle featuring a 1939 sculpture of Father Francisco Garces by John Palo-Kangas; it is located at the approximate site where in 1776 the Spanish Franciscan friar Francisco Garcés visited a Native American rancheria; Garcés named the location, San Miguel de los Noches por el Santa Príncipe; listed as a California Historical Landmark in 1937382Colonel Thomas Baker MemorialBakersfield City Hall, 1501 Truxtun Ave.Memorial statue and marker in front of the Bakersfield City Hall South honoring Col. Thomas Baker who founded Bakersfield in 1863; listed as a California Historical Landmark in 1944690Site of the last home of Alexis Godey414 19th St. W.Home of Alexis Godey from 1883 to 1889; Godey was a guide for John C. Frémont's expedition through the area in 1843-44 and was honored for his services at the Battle of San Pasqual in 1846; listed as a California Historical Landmark in 1959732Site of the home of Elisha StevensW. Columbus & Isle Verde Sts.Home of Elisha Stevens who in 1844 led the Murphy-Townsend wagon train from Iowa to Sutter's Fort; he became the first permanent European settler in the Bakersfield district, living there until his death 1887; listed as a California Historical Landmark in 1960
See also National Register of Historic Places listings in Kern County, California California Historical Landmarks in Kern County, California
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