Smith’s Bakery
Union Avenue
Bakersfield, California ·
For generations of Bakersfield families, Smith’s Bakeries has been more than a place to buy bread, pastries, and something sweet. It has been part of the rhythm of everyday life.
Founded in 1945, Smith’s began as a small local bakery and grew into one of Bakersfield’s enduring institutions. The Union Avenue location became a familiar landmark as well as a place where generations stopped for donuts, cakes, pastries, and the bakery’s beloved smiley-face cookies.
This painting depicts that original Union Avenue location as a celebration of old Bakersfield: the brick façade, the striped awnings, the American flag, the broad Central Valley sky, and a well-loved Ford parked out front. These are the ordinary details that become extraordinary with time.
Smith’s is still here. The building still stands. The ovens still run.
And for those of us who grew up in Bakersfield, places like this carry something a little harder to put into words: the taste, warmth, and feeling of home. I could definitely go for some smiley faces, the pink champagne cake or my favorite a big box of Alliogs.
This is Bakersfield as I remember it—and as I hope we never forget it.
