Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
This is the setting of Upton Sinclair's
Oil!
, which was adapted into the 2007 Academy
Award-winning film,
There Will Be Blood
. In the 1930s the oil attracted a stream of
'Okies' - farmers who migrated out of the dusty Great Plains - to work the derricks. The
children of these tough-as-nails roughnecks put the 'western' in country western by creat-
ing the 'Bakersfield Sound' in the mid-1950s, with heroes Buck Owens and Merle Hag-
gard waving a defiant middle finger at the silky Nashville establishment.
Bakersfield is making moves to fancy-up like some of its valley neighbors, but down-
town holds some real surprises in its upbeat mix of restored buildings and new restaurants,
theaters and clubs.
Sights
The Kern River flows along Bakersfield's northern edge, separating it from its blue-collar
neighbor, Oildale, and a host of oil fields. Truxtun and Chester Aves are the main down-
town thoroughfares. Though currently suffering from some neglect, Old Town Kern, loc-
ated east of downtown around Baker and Sumner Sts, still has character underneath the de-
ic
)
has downloadable maps of walking tours covering Old Town Kern and Bakersfield's
historic downtown.
Five & Dime Antique Mall
LANDMARK
( 661-321-0061; 1400 19th St, Woolworth bldg; 10am-5pm Mon-Sat, from noon Sun)
Three stories hold vintage wares that date back to at least the same era as the Woolworth
building they're housed in. Try to go when the
diner
is open.
Kern County Museum & Lori Brock Children's Discovery Center
MUSEUM
(
www.kcmuseum.org
; 3801 Chester Ave; adult/child $10/$7-9;
10am-5pm Tue-Sat, from noon Sun;
)
This museum covers black and yellow gold with a pioneer village of more than 50 restored
and replicated buildings. The musty main structure has a large (and fairly disturbing) dis-
play of taxidermied local wildlife. On the 2nd floor waits a collection of pristine memorab-
ilia from Bakersfield's musical heyday.
California Living Museum
ZOO
