Bakersfield punches above its weight for a Central Valley city. The Bakersfield Sound legacy is well preserved at Buck Owens' Crystal Palace, and the Kern County Museum offers one of the better outdoor history collections in California. For wildlife, the California Living Museum focuses specifically on California species — a refreshing antidote to generic zoos.
The downtown has a walkable core centered on Chester Avenue and the reviving Padre Hotel district. The Beale Memorial Clock Tower and the 1920s commercial buildings around it give the city centre more architectural substance than most people expect. Mill Creek Park threads through the east side of downtown as a narrow greenway — not dramatic, but a decent place to stretch your legs between museum visits.
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