Esoteric Survey

I took a trip up Highway 99 and stopped in Fresno again.  This is a sore topic around here. Although I drive down Fulton Street every time I'm in Fresno,  I haven't posted about it since  2016 .  Over the years  I've done many posts about the mall. The first was in  2010 .  The Fulton Mall in 1967 For a recap, in the mid-1950s Downtown Fresno merchants and city officials were looking for ways to revitalize the central business district. They hired Victor Gruen to create a visionary plan. With the help of legendary landscape architect Garrett Eckbo, they  created a grand pedestrian orientated design that linked the six-block business district to the civic center.  The Fulton Mall opened in 1964 (Happy 60th Anniversary) and was a nationally-recognized success, both commercially and in terms of design. The art at the Fulton Mall included 20 sculptures by artists  found in major museum collections. This includes large sculptures by Claire Fa...

The Fulton Pedestrian Mall is no more. The backwards plan to turn the mall back over to the automobile is being implemented.  The George Tsutakawa sculptural fountain and Garrett Eckbo designed pool are gone. The Jan de Swart clock tower will be removed from the center of the mall and pushed to the corner. No More Claire Falkenstein. Stan Bitters, in jail. This Bitters is gone. Not that they were being taken care of when they were still there. Peter Voulkos, caged and gone.  Gordon Newell, suffocating

Jane Jacobs (1916-2006) would have been 100 today.  The candy factory secretary and mother, turned journalist and activist didn't have a college degree or any formal training in urban planning--although she continues to be a major influence on the urban planning field. Her 1961 book, The Death and Life of Great American Cities, was an attack on modernist planning principles in favor of an appreciation for organic urban vibrancy.  Photo:  Philosophers' Mail Robert Moses was a leading planner in New York City. His plans for "urban renewal" included leveling much of Greenwich Village to make way for high rises and a ten lane highway that would have run right through Washington Square Park. Jacobs lived in Greenwich village and her children played in Washington Square park. She led a grassroots effort to stop the plan from moving forward.  The 1950s plan Jacobs was fighting against. Source: Ephemeral New York "There is nobody against th...

A Cinco de Mayo celebration was held this past weekend at the Fulton Mall in Fresno.   This comes as the City of Fresno is going ahead with plans to rip up the art-filled pedestrian mall. According to an article in the Fresno Bee , "A general contractor to oversee the $20 million project should be selected by late summer. The first chunks of mall concrete could be flying by the fall." See the City's anti-environmental and backwards thinking plan here . Read more here: http://www.fresnobee.com/2015/04/25/4494432_city-hall-officials-full-speed.html?rh=1#storylink=cpy It's bittersweet to see so many people enjoying the mall. Cars could be taking over soon. The vacant  Luftenburg's Bridal  has now been replaced with 3 Hermanos furniture. Still no Falkenstein Peter Voulkos bench Stan Bitters jungle gym See past posts here . Visit  Save the Fulton Mall  for more information.