Esoteric Survey

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  and was a nationally-recognized success, both  commercially and  in terms of design. The mall includes a pedestrian-only linear shopping center and a series of great public gathering spaces.   This is a concept that municipalities and private shopping center developers all over the world are currently spending  millions on  to accomplish.   Save the Fulton Mall!!!  is doing a great job of sharing these sort of developments. The art at the Fulton Mall includes 20 sculptures by artists  found in major museum...

Happy 50 year anniversary to the Fulton Mall. ...on Wednesday, despite impassioned testimony by dozens of citizens to the contrary, the City of Fresno Planning Commission voted 6-0 to rip the heart and soul out of Downtown Fresno. The commission advised the City Council to accept an environmental impact report and recommended turning the historic Fulton Mall back into a street, versus the current open space/pedestrian mall designation. At the meeting, City staff was asked why the mall could not be restored. The response was that there are only grants to hand the mall back to cars, not for restoration  This lie is a testament  to the kind of sham process the City of Fresno is running.  The City has received a $16 million TIGER grant from the Federal Department of Transportation to add cars back into the mall.  That grant could have easily been written to support pedestrian improvements to the mall. There are a number of ...

Fresno County Courthouse.  There are so many great examples of mid-century modern architecture in the  Downtown Fresno area.  The government and business leaders of that era did a commendable job of investing in the infrastructure, art and  architecture of their city.  They were really ahead of the curve back then. Stan Bitters ceramic mural on the Midland Savings & Loan building by Architect Eugene E. Hougham Hey, what happened to that fountain?    The building is now a law office, figures. Bitters '66 I'm not sure what's going on with the const ruction at  the Pilibos Building at 830 Van Ness Ave. Stan Bitters /Hans Sumpf did the facade .   There is an image pre-plywood here .   Thankfully the building is on the Local Register of Historic Resources s o they can't mess with it too m uch. Here 's the pape r work and background data . Van Ness is the street adjacent to ...

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...