Harvey Auditorium at Bakersfield High School
1241 G Street
Bakersfield
CA
93304
United States
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Venue Information
Harvey Auditorium, the iconic concert hall on the eastern side of the Bakersfield High School campus, was named after Norman Harvey, a well-liked lawyer, judge and champion for education. The school board member’s tenure coincided with great expansion throughout the Kern Union High School District.
Thomas Norman Harvey was born and raised in Ontario, Canada, in 1878. He moved to Northern California in 1904 and attended Hastings College of Law in San Francisco. Following law school, Harvey moved to Bakersfield and started his own law practice in 1910, specializing in oil and mining law. He became a superior court judge in 1918 and served on the bench until 1923 when he joined the firm of Wiley and Harvey. In 1927, he left and formed the law firm of Harvey and Johnson. That same year, Harvey was elected to serve on the Kern County Union High School Board of Education. Two years later, he was elected its president and held the position until his death in the fall of 1948. During Harvey’s time on the board, the school district expanded to include the construction of new high schools in outlying areas like McFarland, Shafter and east Bakersfield. Over the years, Harvey was also involved with the Kern County Bar Association, the national organization and served on the State Board of Prison.
The auditorium, which bears his name, was originally designed to be built where Elm Grove in the center of the BHS campus is located. Students protested and the Kern High School District purchased the property across the street. Construction of the auditorium was halted due to government restrictions on nonmilitary work during World War II. Construction didn’t resume until 1945. The building was dedicated to Harvey, a tireless advocate for education, on Nov. 8, 1948, not long after his death. The facility helped usher in a new era of cultural events for the community. For 24 years, it was home to the Kern Philharmonic Orchestra. Harvey Auditorium also contains the Little Harvey theater, a visual education area, a radio broadcast studio and control room, an instrumental music room, as well as music, speech, drama and choral rooms. – Bakersfield Life March, 2016