The Fox Theater Foundation lost one of its brightest stars this month with the passing of Peggy Cole Darling.

Mrs. Darling joined the Board of Directors in 1995 during a time when the theater was only just re-emerging from its shuttered slumber. She had only lived in Bakersfield for a few years, moving from Los Angeles to be with her new husband, local attorney Curtis Darling, but her special affection and investment in our community’s downtown arts district made her a key figure in the revitalization of the area.

To protect the theater from undesirable neighbors, she purchased the old Miracle Auto paint shop behind the theater in 1998 and granted the Foundation access to it for the theater’s needs. The warehouse was recently donated to the Bakersfield Firefighters Historical Society to make a home for their museum and will soon house new dressing rooms and catering space for The Historic Bakersfield Fox Theater.

Thank you Peggy for serving on our board for 27 years; we couldn’t have realized our projects without you!”