Bond stars Maud Adams and Richard Kiel to attend ceremony in California, USA on June 15

10-Jun-2004 • Event

Hollywood will come to Oakdale to witness the ribbon cutting ceremony for the historic 1909 clock tower on June 15 at 11:45 a.m. as celebrity members of the company Historic Properties Inc. arrive to mark the start of $600,000 in renovations that will transform the former First National Bank building into viable business space for Oakdale, reports Manteca Bulletin.

Two actors of 007 fame, Maud Adams and Richard Kiel, will be in attendance, as well as Jamie Farr, better known as the loveable "Klinger" from the television series M.A.S.H. Other notable names include the Countess of Sweden, Anna Wachtmeister, who is a noted home restorer, and the grandson of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, David Roosevelt, author and professional philanthropist.

The Oakdale Redevelopment Agency sold the clock tower to Historic Properties Inc., a Georgia-based developer, for the sum of $1 in exchange for doing more than $600,000 in renovations and for finding a tenant.

According to Ray Willey, chief executive officer of Historic Properties Inc., the renovations will be Class A, top-notch, yet will retain the classic look of the building.

Built by the Rodden brothers in 1909, the first floor of the two-story building housed the bank, while the second floor was home to the city's attorney and a dentist's office. The clock tower wasn't added until 1923.

Over the years, the building has housed numerous different types of business, from a baseball museum to a saddle shop, but the 10,000-square-foot building has mostly stood vacant since it was donated to the city five years ago by Irving Symons, a Sonora businessman.

The building is registered on the National Register of Historic Places, but in the past plans for renovations has fallen through with private developers when it was discovered that the rents might not justify the cost of restoring the building.

This time around, there is already a prospective tenant waiting eagerly to take residence.

Oak Valley Community Bank wants to move into the building by the end of the year.

Thanks to `Bobby` for the alert.