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...

Joseph Yamada helped design many of the most well known landmarks in his hometown of San Diego. He studied landscape architecture at the University of California Berkeley, where he was guided by three legendary modernists; Thomas Church, Garrett Eckbo, and Lawrence Halprin. He graduated in 1954 and returned home to San Diego where he joined landscape architect Harriet Wimmer, San Diego's first woman landscape architect in commercial practice. A woman and a former Japanese-American internment camp prisoner would become the most sought-after landscape architects in Southern California.  In 1960 they became partners and renamed the firm Wimmer Yamada & Associates, a name they kept even after Wimmer retired.  For more than 50 years Yamada was instrumental in providing landscape design.   Wimmer Yamada and Caughey  is still in business and is the longest-running landscape architecture firm in San Diego. Source:  Cultural Landscape Foundation Joseph Yamada and Eli...

Stan Bitters quote from back in the day. It still holds true.  Time is running out to show your support for modern art, architecture, and historic preservation.  The City's plan is not only a waste of tax dollars, but is also based on outdated planning principles.  Please donate to put a stop to the destruction of  The Fulton Mall in Downtown Fresno . The 1000 Friends of Fresno is filing a lawsuit against the City of Fresno. For this to happen, they need to raise $25,000. They are more than halfway to their goal, but they need your help. Donate   here . Stan is leading the charge to save The Fulton Mall.  He says... " If we don't act fast, the mall is kaput." Source:  Environmental Ceramics If he were still around, Peter Voulkos would be opening up a can of whoop-ass on the City of Fresno. Big A , Peter Voulkos  Under the City's preferred option,17 of the 20 existing sculptures would be relocated. There ...