Last Saturday, the FresYes Realty | FresYes.com team was invited to go on a special tour of Fulton Street led by Downtown Fresno Partnership (and FresYes contributor) Craig Scharton.
Craig is of course no amateur at leading groups through downtown Fresno. He often leads the Partnership’s monthly Fulton Walking Tours.
The team met at Fulton and Inyo, across the street from the Tioga-Sequoia Brewing Co. Beer Garden. Craig took us down Fulton Street (which has not yet opened to auto traffic), stopping to explain … a lot, actually.
We learned that Fresno was the second city to put in a pedestrian mall (Fulton Mall), but the 176th city to remove its underperforming mall. We learned that of those 175 cities that removed their malls, 95% revitalized in fewer than four years.
We learned why the clock tower — the midpoint of the Central Valley — is being moved a few feet south. We learned about the importance of foot traffic and eyes on the street, and why there will be different levels of lighting on the sidewalks and street (mainly because of trees).
We learned why the sidewalks will be so wide (again, trees) and we learned about the optical illusion that will keep traffic moving slowly down the street once cars return.
At the end of our walk, we took the elevator up to the top of the Pacific Southwest Building. We climbed out onto the balcony for a look around Fresno, and were even invited into one of the residential lofts.
Join the Next Fulton Walking Tour
I couldn’t recommend more highly taking a tour of Fulton Street and downtown Fresno with Craig and the Downtown Fresno Partnership. It’s a great way to learn a lot about why and how the Fulton Mall came to be and why it was removed, and an even better way to get a new perspective on Fresno.
The next monthly Fulton Walking Tour is Saturday, June 24. This is a special one because — unlike previous tours — this one will take place in the evening. Details for the free tour can be found here.
[For more on these monthly walks, check out Natali Carrera’s post on the “Views” tour here]
I love where I live, and I also love what I do. I'm lucky to be able to work in a profession in which I get to build relationships; one that has me meeting new people each and every day and helping them to build new lives in my beloved city. I'm lucky enough to work in a profession in which I can marry cutting-edge technologies and marketing techniques to good, old-fashioned, nose-to-the-grindstone work. I am lucky enough to work in a profession that allows me to work as an advocate for my clients; to use every tool at my disposal to get a job done well for them, and with as little stress and expense as possible.
I love my city. I love my job. One inspires my excellence for the other.
Fresno? I say FresYES
Dope read!!
Thanks!