BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) – If you’ve been jonesing for a cheeseburger from Bakersfield’s historic Woolworth’s lunch counter, we have good news and bad news.
First the bad: Sorry, it’s not ready yet. Now the good: Hang on, because they’re making it for you right now.
The historic Woolworth’s building in downtown Bakersfield will be celebrating its 75th anniversary next year, 2025. Expect a party like none other in the building’s history. And, yes, it will have cheeseburgers.
Why? Because it won’t just be a birthday, it’ll be a rebirth. Bakersfield’s Woolworth’s building is transitioning from a bygone era of retail to a very different commercial use.
The Bakersfield Woolworth’s, built in 1950, is being rededicated under the stewardship of Sherod and Emily Waite.
It will serve none of the purposes that Frank Winfield Woolworth had in mind in 1879. No penny candy, no socks, underwear, or laundry detergent. Nothing of the old Woolworth’s except the early-century architecture, protected by official historic building status – and the original 1950s-vintage soda fountain.