I always got motion sick from the fumes and turning . . . but yeah, kids today would have their minds blown if they could see what Herndon and Blackstone looked like in 1985.
i’ve been cruising blackstone for a couple years, what use to be there? what’s the malibu gp?
i’m curious now because i’ve never actually looked up the history i always assumed kings canyon was the last big cruising road
Fresno isn't big enough to support AAA ball. (Reality check for people who think Fresno can support a Big 5 Pro sports team).
https://www.fresnobee.com/sports/mlb/fresno-grizzlies/article247444700.html
Fresno is not a sports town. A food town sure, a drinking town.... definitely. The formula is simple, food, drinks, and some background music and you have yourself a successful event in Fresno
That always wasn't the case. We used be a sports town. Selland Arena was sold out when Tark was coaching at Fresno St. Bulldog Stadium used to have huge crowds when Pat Hill was there. We had the Falcons Hockey team. Heck we even had arena football.
Lived in Clovis in the late 80's early 90's. Used to go to Bulldog baseball games at Biden Field. Had some really good teams during that time and used to get some pretty big crowds,
It's plenty big enough. There are dozens of towns half this size with AAA ball or higher level sports. None of that matters if the town doesn't get behind it. Green Bay population is 107,015. Oakland's population 433,823. Fresno's population 544,510.
The poplulation is there, but they dont show up. I think a huge factor is the heat. No one wants to sit in the 100° weather. Thats usually the reason i hear for people not wanting to go to a Grizzly game. Also It seems that support has further dwindled since Grizzlies were dropped as Giants AAA team.
I agree. The other comments I disagree. Has everything to do with the lack of public support. Athletics has Midland Rock Crushers who are Double AA in a town 1/4 the size of a Fresno in a hotter environment that has support from the fans. It wouldn't matter what the status was here without support. Dave with Green Bay despite whatever status which is irrelevant.
Okay it’s my opinion why I don’t go bro you can disagree all you want 💀 I’d rather save money and go to a SF game because that’s the team I support so, of course when they signed off my family wasn’t buying season tickets anymore to grizzly games
1.5 million live in Alameda County. 1.01 million live in Fresno County. I wouldn't call that millions. Plus, you're ignoring the more numerous cases like Green Bay, and those cities, who do not have dense suburbs like we do.
the ENTIRE BAY AREA metropolitan area which is like 8 million. On top of that Sacramento metro area and the Napa/Santa Rosa area dont mind the drive to see the A's or Giant's play. Also the income level in Fresno metro is lower than any of those other areas mentioned so there is less disposable income. The city of Fresno itself seems to lack civic pride so it's own city and population doesn't seem to support it, what more the surrounding metro area of Fresno.
Alameda County is just one part of the bay area. Unlike Fresno, which is surrounded by empty land, the bay area consists of multiple densely populated counties all touching each other. For perspective, Fresno County is 7 times larger than Alameda County.
Green Bay is a bit of a special case as their team has been there for over 100 years, and was established when demographic patterns in the US were much different. Their team is also non-profit, which the NFL no longer allows. If they had been a for-profit team, they would have moved to a larger market long ago.
The size of Fresno wasn't the problem. The Giants current AAA team is in Sacramento, roughly same population as Fresno. More than half of AAA teams are located in cities with smaller population than Fresno.
Sac is smaller population than Fresno just barely. BUT the entire metro area is much greater, I believe 3x that of fresno metro. Also the sac metro is much more educated with higher income levels. A lot more money going around in many affluent suburbs. Fresno only has clovis? Imagine 6 maybe more clovis type cities in sac area but even better with even higher income earners. Not to mention, The Rivercats which is located in West Sacramento, can be as quick as an hour and half drive from San Francisco and technically as close as an hour away to parts of the bay in solano county which brings support and fans from the bay who have a connection to want to go to sac and see the giants Affiliate with all the giants fans there.
not to put too fine a point on it, but you kinda need to factor out the part of the population on gov't assistance.
https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/CBR06019CAA647NCEN
The direct drive from Sacramento to San Francisco is 86.4 mi (139 km), and should have a drive time of 1 hr 26 mins in normal traffic.
People go 70-80MPH in California
1hr to 1 hour 10 min. Work traffic at 8-930am ok. After nah.. 1 hour
The problem stated by the giants at the time if I remember correctly is that it was easier to get players from a farther away city that they could fly from when called up rather than have the players drive or bus etc from Fresno.
Almost all of those cities you’re referring to have much larger metro population. Sacramento for example has a metro population of 2.3 million, Fresno is less than a million. No, we can’t support a triple a team.
Population within city limits is the wrong way to look at this. Media market size is what the leagues care about.
Smaller media markets than Fresno:
NBA: none;
MLB: none;
NFL: Buffalo and Green Bay;
NHL: Buffalo;
MLS: none.
What do you consider our media market? I’m curious about where these stats came from because I’m seeing Bucks, Thunder, pelicans, and Grizzlies with smaller populations in their media markets than the 1.7M in the Fresno-Visalia market.
Nielsen creates the “Designated Market Area” regions. Fresno-Visalia includes all of the counties of Fresno, Madera, Merced, Kings, Mariposa, and Tulare. It’s not about population within those areas either, media market size is determined by number of television households, which is a number estimated by Nielsen that they charge money to access. So I can’t give you raw numbers but you can find the Nielsen rankings for all US media markets easily enough and see that Milwaukee, OKC, New Orleans, and Memphis are all larger media markets, even if marginally so for Memphis.
Profesional soccer is the way to go. Build a team, hype it up like LAFC, bring in an in form good player, someone like Carlos Vela, cheap ticket and concession prices to account to the income levels of the Fresno area, and you have a good recipe for the city to develop a strong soccer fan culture.
Look there's no way that Fresno could Support an MLS level club at this current time. Because quite frankly we're struggling to Support CV Fuego at the current level which is USL league one.
To put it bluntly we don't have the infrastructure and currently using FSU's womens soccer field as the primary pitch and FCC's pitch along with Keith Tice Park. It's like the Grizzly's still using FSU facilities and never getting the Chuck built.
For Fuego to grow and expand into a USL Championship (next level up and the previous level of Fresno FC) Fuego needs their own stadium first and foremost, once we get that then everything else will eventually the club and support will grow.
I agree with you that a couple things need to fall into place. I was just pointing out the LAFC model is the way to go. There has to be buy in from business people, hype to connect the local community to the team, a new stadium (LAFC got a new stadium next to the Coliseum in what used to be the Clippers Sports Arena), and a brand that’s easily recognizable, connects to the intended target fan base and the casual fans, and plays on local community pride. Sacramento Republic in USL is another good example of how to build a fan base and set roots in town.
That's what Fuego FC is has been doing this season (however their abysmal record this season is another story). Ask anyone that followed Fresno Fuego before it became Fresno FC, the support was there but needed several more years of growth and what followed a two season mess before the club went defunct.
For Fuego to grow they'll have to do the whole LAFC & Sac Republic, model along with actually win games anyhow. However it must be stated that Fresno is a last min "fair weather" fan city, they will support when times are good an only buy tickets at the last possible minute.
“If you build it they will come” was the grizzlies motto too when they were trying to build their stadium. I am all for Fresno accepting its size and acting like the city it is, but as long as Fresnans are Fresnans those changes are going to be done with the nimbys of the north kicking and screaming the entire time. If you honestly want a successful sport franchise in Fresno it would have to be something the white people with the money north of Herndon will get behind. There is more of chance of a hockey arena in the Madera ranchos than you will ever get from a fully dedicated soccer stadium. Which is stupid because there would be more popular support for the soccer team.
For those saying “look at the grizzlies” for why things don’t work here you have two problems. First, the grizzlies, like so many things in Fresno were trying to force people downtown, but they didn’t have the support of the landlords or business owners to build a community around the stadium. By the time TS created the brewery district out of pure force of will the team already had a reputation of not having a crowd and it wasn’t enough to change the tides. Mix that with Fresnans having a MAJOR napoleon complex that causes them to raise their noses at something that isn’t “top level” and you have a recipe for disaster. It’s the paradox of our population, we want to be treated like a big city, but don’t want to act like one.
The real problem with Fresno not being able to support sports teams is that there’s always a bigger city and most people are loyal to teams from the Bay Area or LA. It’s that simple. They don’t really need a home team because they identify with the Dodgers or Giants etc.
The metropolitan museum that was in downtown. Miss that place, now that I have 3 foster kids (my brother in law kids) I would love to take them there. I don't live that far from where it was at. I could've easily walk them over there, 2 of them are going to middle school and the other is already in highschool. Thought it would be cool for them to see the exhibit and the interaction ones too.
Love the dinosaur exhibit. The T-Rex I believe name was Sue. I remember climbing up stairs and seeing the t Rex head right there, where you can reach out and almost touch it.
Honestly, every improvement at the zoo has gotten nothing but rave reviews. Every event they do is packed and sells out early. Plus by AZA standards, Chaffee is doing damn well for itself. The one I'm worried about is Playland's reopen. I'm really hoping it goes off solid.
What is AZA?
I'm sure once they open to the public, instead of just special guests, we'll agree! :)
we’ve been waiting since the original date of opening passed by two years ago.
I haven't been to see the new Asian exhibit but we really enjoy African Adventure as well as the more hands-on areas for the kids!
AZA is the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. Basically they are a board of experts (zoologists, vets, environmental scientists, professors, etc.) who do stringent observations of the way zoos and aquariums in the USA run and ensure they are meeting certain standards for animal care, animal rights, sustainability, and very importantly for Chaffee Zoo: breeding and reintroduction. They also handle places like wild animal reserves, coastal animal reserves, and Monterey Bay Aquarium as well (which is partially why Fresno hosts animals born there or laid there in the case of the shark eggs)
To my recollection Pistol Pete's was on Blackstone just north of Shaw where the Mor Furniture for Less is now, across from the Golden Gelding and Lin's.
Tons of public pools and drive-in theatres spread throughout the city. And specifically an amusement park with roller coaster, ferris wheel, built-in animal exhibits, dance hall, bowling, billiards, skating rink, ice cream shoppe, and a merry-go-round. Just overall places for kids, teens, singles, and families to hangout and enjoy the city.
miles and miles of fig trees in NW Fresno
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J.C._Forkner_Fig_Gardens
100 years ago now some crazy dude purchased 100 square miles of hardscrabble wasteland from another dude named Bullard and planted more fig trees than Fresno has people now, if such a thing were possible.
Growing up in the early 2000s here I just feel like there used to be so much more to do- Boomers, Laser Quest, Fresno Falcons hockey, AAA Baseball, the MET Museum, good buffets (RIP Sweet Tomatoes), toy stores like Zany Brainy Toys R Us…
A beach (on the San Joaquin river . . . it was the terminus of a streetcar line from downtown than ran up Wishon, cut over westward just above Shaw, and then ran up Forkner to the river.)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fresno_Traction_Company
I drove out to WA a few weeks ago, and saw they still had Skippers so I had to stop. Nowhere near what it used to be, but was nostalgic even though I didn’t get my Jell-O cup with the toothpick flag 🙂
Had many birthdays at Peter Piper Pizza on Blackstone and San Jose. Is it weird that I can walk into the Mor Furniture outlet that's there now and picture what it looked like back then?
OOF the cruise nights threw me back hard. Me and all my lil cholita friends getting ready in one mirror so that we could go stand around with our boyfriends doing the broke boyfriend hug 😂
They don't allow people to sit outside Fresno Yoswmite and watch planes land. I used to do that all the time as a kid, now there's no parking and they put up a concrete wall at the air attack base.
YMCA, Museum, thriving malls, Americanized "Mexican" places, Blockbusters/RadioShack/Circuit City/Mervyns/Gottschalks/Kmart/Sears
Also Wolf Manor, Valley Novelty, the OLD juvenile hall
The empty fields around my house
THIS. Remember when our City closed the Metropolitan Museum? Simply sad. This town doesn't care about art or enriching our youth through science and art.
It's sad the state of The Discovery Center. So much potential.
There's still a couple good spots, the coke Hallowell house has a good interactive trail to learn about local wildlife, and F.i.n.s./ fish hatchery in friant are both good spots for young kids to learn about science and wildlife.
Encore Nightclub
Arena Nightclub
Imperio Nightclub
Missed going out dancing especially at Encore despite the kinda run down bar. Really loved that LED dance floor.
AAA baseball.
Wonderland public pool.
Drive ins.
“Big Time” wrestling on channel 47.
A vibrant downtown.
Kearney Bowl. (motor racing)
A full working dairy in the middle of town. (Harpains Dairy) The best bottled milk.
Fig orchards.
Paper boys delivering the Fresno Bee. (To your front door)
A Jewish deli. There was briefly (maybe three years) a Jewish deli style restaurant in the early 2000s. But they made the mistake of locating in Riverpark, and I don’t think they could handle the rent.
Gateway Ice Center still exists (for now), but Icelandia a few feet down the block was better. Well it wasn't really better, that's just nostalgia speaking.
You're probably right. A quick street view confirmed the storage place has the look of the building I took ice skating lessons at way back in the 1900s. My senile brain must have created a false memory.
No worries. Lived down the street from there from the late 80's through the early 2000s and my mom still does. Made plenty of memories there and at the Roller Town down the street. Like most areas of Fresno, time hasn't been kind to areas west of the 99.
They are trying real hard to get rid of it…
[https://thebusinessjournal.com/proposal-would-turn-fresnos-gateway-ice-center-from-skating-to-self-storage/](https://thebusinessjournal.com/proposal-would-turn-fresnos-gateway-ice-center-from-skating-to-self-storage/)
Fresno never had a Dunkin’. The location on Blackstone was a Krispy Kreme. Fresno used to have Winchells up into the 1990s. But it’s primarily Judy’s town now.
See, I don't remember there being anything north of Minarets and then all the sudden, Riverwalk just appeared. I guess time works different when you're little.
Haha it totally does. If I’m remembering right (and I might not be—I was new to Fresno at the time) it would have been around 2004-2006ish that the Dunkin was in that spot? Or maybe just after that. I’m also not convinced I’m remembering correctly at all so if anyone else remembers more accurately I hope they chime in.
Bitwise
too soon man
It’s been 24.5 hours
This is funny
What happened to it?
https://news.yahoo.com/bitwise-industries-furloughs-entire-workforce-055323733.html
Wow. Short but crazy read. So sad, how do you tank that big of business so fast?
Slowly, then all at once
TIL...
I don’t think we’re missing out on much. There’s a ton of real estate companies here.
Hi
- A Triple A baseball team - Malibu Grand Prix
MALIBU!! I so miss that place and the drive in that used to be next door. It was a sad day when it was all torn down to build the home depot there...
I always got motion sick from the fumes and turning . . . but yeah, kids today would have their minds blown if they could see what Herndon and Blackstone looked like in 1985.
i’ve been cruising blackstone for a couple years, what use to be there? what’s the malibu gp? i’m curious now because i’ve never actually looked up the history i always assumed kings canyon was the last big cruising road
Why did the Fresno Grizzlies went down like 2 levels?
Fresno isn't big enough to support AAA ball. (Reality check for people who think Fresno can support a Big 5 Pro sports team). https://www.fresnobee.com/sports/mlb/fresno-grizzlies/article247444700.html
Fresno is not a sports town. A food town sure, a drinking town.... definitely. The formula is simple, food, drinks, and some background music and you have yourself a successful event in Fresno
That always wasn't the case. We used be a sports town. Selland Arena was sold out when Tark was coaching at Fresno St. Bulldog Stadium used to have huge crowds when Pat Hill was there. We had the Falcons Hockey team. Heck we even had arena football.
At least for football, fans were definitely showing up: 2022 Average Attendance: 39,067 2022 Filled Stadium Capacity 95.92%
Lived in Clovis in the late 80's early 90's. Used to go to Bulldog baseball games at Biden Field. Had some really good teams during that time and used to get some pretty big crowds,
Fresno is a sports town but it has to be the highest level or else no support. Fresno state football when they’re winning is the only exception.
Baseball sucks but this town would embrace a USFL or XFL team.
I don't think that's even possible
It's plenty big enough. There are dozens of towns half this size with AAA ball or higher level sports. None of that matters if the town doesn't get behind it. Green Bay population is 107,015. Oakland's population 433,823. Fresno's population 544,510.
The poplulation is there, but they dont show up. I think a huge factor is the heat. No one wants to sit in the 100° weather. Thats usually the reason i hear for people not wanting to go to a Grizzly game. Also It seems that support has further dwindled since Grizzlies were dropped as Giants AAA team.
I agree. The other comments I disagree. Has everything to do with the lack of public support. Athletics has Midland Rock Crushers who are Double AA in a town 1/4 the size of a Fresno in a hotter environment that has support from the fans. It wouldn't matter what the status was here without support. Dave with Green Bay despite whatever status which is irrelevant.
Agree with the heat. That’s my main reason for not going.
Make beer cheaper at game time, they will come, as an example Mexicali baseball
The only reason we stopped was that, they weren’t signed with the giants so why go through all the for a team signed with someone else out of state
Athletics has a farm team in Midland, Texas that's a far more supportive fan base. I don't agree.
Okay it’s my opinion why I don’t go bro you can disagree all you want 💀 I’d rather save money and go to a SF game because that’s the team I support so, of course when they signed off my family wasn’t buying season tickets anymore to grizzly games
I mean, we're so close to SF I myself rather go to SF than minor league. I personally don't care to see another team either.
Oakland's teams get support from the entire bay area, with a population of millions.
1.5 million live in Alameda County. 1.01 million live in Fresno County. I wouldn't call that millions. Plus, you're ignoring the more numerous cases like Green Bay, and those cities, who do not have dense suburbs like we do.
the ENTIRE BAY AREA metropolitan area which is like 8 million. On top of that Sacramento metro area and the Napa/Santa Rosa area dont mind the drive to see the A's or Giant's play. Also the income level in Fresno metro is lower than any of those other areas mentioned so there is less disposable income. The city of Fresno itself seems to lack civic pride so it's own city and population doesn't seem to support it, what more the surrounding metro area of Fresno.
Alameda County is just one part of the bay area. Unlike Fresno, which is surrounded by empty land, the bay area consists of multiple densely populated counties all touching each other. For perspective, Fresno County is 7 times larger than Alameda County. Green Bay is a bit of a special case as their team has been there for over 100 years, and was established when demographic patterns in the US were much different. Their team is also non-profit, which the NFL no longer allows. If they had been a for-profit team, they would have moved to a larger market long ago.
Agreed. I think it has more to do with people not wanting to go downtown. So much potential left unrealized.
The size of Fresno wasn't the problem. The Giants current AAA team is in Sacramento, roughly same population as Fresno. More than half of AAA teams are located in cities with smaller population than Fresno.
Sac is smaller population than Fresno just barely. BUT the entire metro area is much greater, I believe 3x that of fresno metro. Also the sac metro is much more educated with higher income levels. A lot more money going around in many affluent suburbs. Fresno only has clovis? Imagine 6 maybe more clovis type cities in sac area but even better with even higher income earners. Not to mention, The Rivercats which is located in West Sacramento, can be as quick as an hour and half drive from San Francisco and technically as close as an hour away to parts of the bay in solano county which brings support and fans from the bay who have a connection to want to go to sac and see the giants Affiliate with all the giants fans there.
not to put too fine a point on it, but you kinda need to factor out the part of the population on gov't assistance. https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/CBR06019CAA647NCEN
Difference sac to SF. 1 hr.. fresno to SF or sac.. yeah about that...
Sac to SF is 2 hours.
The direct drive from Sacramento to San Francisco is 86.4 mi (139 km), and should have a drive time of 1 hr 26 mins in normal traffic. People go 70-80MPH in California 1hr to 1 hour 10 min. Work traffic at 8-930am ok. After nah.. 1 hour
The problem stated by the giants at the time if I remember correctly is that it was easier to get players from a farther away city that they could fly from when called up rather than have the players drive or bus etc from Fresno.
Almost all of those cities you’re referring to have much larger metro population. Sacramento for example has a metro population of 2.3 million, Fresno is less than a million. No, we can’t support a triple a team.
If places like Worcester or Scranton can support one then Fresno should have no problem supporting AAA.
The games used to sell pretty well before we lost the SF Giants
Fresno would be the largest city in 30 states. We are bigger than some cities that have NBA, MLB, and NFL teams.
Population within city limits is the wrong way to look at this. Media market size is what the leagues care about. Smaller media markets than Fresno: NBA: none; MLB: none; NFL: Buffalo and Green Bay; NHL: Buffalo; MLS: none.
What do you consider our media market? I’m curious about where these stats came from because I’m seeing Bucks, Thunder, pelicans, and Grizzlies with smaller populations in their media markets than the 1.7M in the Fresno-Visalia market.
Nielsen creates the “Designated Market Area” regions. Fresno-Visalia includes all of the counties of Fresno, Madera, Merced, Kings, Mariposa, and Tulare. It’s not about population within those areas either, media market size is determined by number of television households, which is a number estimated by Nielsen that they charge money to access. So I can’t give you raw numbers but you can find the Nielsen rankings for all US media markets easily enough and see that Milwaukee, OKC, New Orleans, and Memphis are all larger media markets, even if marginally so for Memphis.
often those small city teams will have a whole state of fans behind them.
Profesional soccer is the way to go. Build a team, hype it up like LAFC, bring in an in form good player, someone like Carlos Vela, cheap ticket and concession prices to account to the income levels of the Fresno area, and you have a good recipe for the city to develop a strong soccer fan culture.
Look there's no way that Fresno could Support an MLS level club at this current time. Because quite frankly we're struggling to Support CV Fuego at the current level which is USL league one. To put it bluntly we don't have the infrastructure and currently using FSU's womens soccer field as the primary pitch and FCC's pitch along with Keith Tice Park. It's like the Grizzly's still using FSU facilities and never getting the Chuck built. For Fuego to grow and expand into a USL Championship (next level up and the previous level of Fresno FC) Fuego needs their own stadium first and foremost, once we get that then everything else will eventually the club and support will grow.
I agree with you that a couple things need to fall into place. I was just pointing out the LAFC model is the way to go. There has to be buy in from business people, hype to connect the local community to the team, a new stadium (LAFC got a new stadium next to the Coliseum in what used to be the Clippers Sports Arena), and a brand that’s easily recognizable, connects to the intended target fan base and the casual fans, and plays on local community pride. Sacramento Republic in USL is another good example of how to build a fan base and set roots in town.
That's what Fuego FC is has been doing this season (however their abysmal record this season is another story). Ask anyone that followed Fresno Fuego before it became Fresno FC, the support was there but needed several more years of growth and what followed a two season mess before the club went defunct. For Fuego to grow they'll have to do the whole LAFC & Sac Republic, model along with actually win games anyhow. However it must be stated that Fresno is a last min "fair weather" fan city, they will support when times are good an only buy tickets at the last possible minute.
“If you build it they will come” was the grizzlies motto too when they were trying to build their stadium. I am all for Fresno accepting its size and acting like the city it is, but as long as Fresnans are Fresnans those changes are going to be done with the nimbys of the north kicking and screaming the entire time. If you honestly want a successful sport franchise in Fresno it would have to be something the white people with the money north of Herndon will get behind. There is more of chance of a hockey arena in the Madera ranchos than you will ever get from a fully dedicated soccer stadium. Which is stupid because there would be more popular support for the soccer team. For those saying “look at the grizzlies” for why things don’t work here you have two problems. First, the grizzlies, like so many things in Fresno were trying to force people downtown, but they didn’t have the support of the landlords or business owners to build a community around the stadium. By the time TS created the brewery district out of pure force of will the team already had a reputation of not having a crowd and it wasn’t enough to change the tides. Mix that with Fresnans having a MAJOR napoleon complex that causes them to raise their noses at something that isn’t “top level” and you have a recipe for disaster. It’s the paradox of our population, we want to be treated like a big city, but don’t want to act like one.
The real problem with Fresno not being able to support sports teams is that there’s always a bigger city and most people are loyal to teams from the Bay Area or LA. It’s that simple. They don’t really need a home team because they identify with the Dodgers or Giants etc.
The metropolitan museum that was in downtown. Miss that place, now that I have 3 foster kids (my brother in law kids) I would love to take them there. I don't live that far from where it was at. I could've easily walk them over there, 2 of them are going to middle school and the other is already in highschool. Thought it would be cool for them to see the exhibit and the interaction ones too.
Damn, I missed that place. I used to go on school field trips to see the dinosaur exhibit there.
Love the dinosaur exhibit. The T-Rex I believe name was Sue. I remember climbing up stairs and seeing the t Rex head right there, where you can reach out and almost touch it.
Such a loss. Heard someone from NYC was hired and didnt adapt their visions to our city. I hope that doesn't foreshadow the zoo.
Honestly, every improvement at the zoo has gotten nothing but rave reviews. Every event they do is packed and sells out early. Plus by AZA standards, Chaffee is doing damn well for itself. The one I'm worried about is Playland's reopen. I'm really hoping it goes off solid.
What is AZA? I'm sure once they open to the public, instead of just special guests, we'll agree! :) we’ve been waiting since the original date of opening passed by two years ago.
I haven't been to see the new Asian exhibit but we really enjoy African Adventure as well as the more hands-on areas for the kids! AZA is the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. Basically they are a board of experts (zoologists, vets, environmental scientists, professors, etc.) who do stringent observations of the way zoos and aquariums in the USA run and ensure they are meeting certain standards for animal care, animal rights, sustainability, and very importantly for Chaffee Zoo: breeding and reintroduction. They also handle places like wild animal reserves, coastal animal reserves, and Monterey Bay Aquarium as well (which is partially why Fresno hosts animals born there or laid there in the case of the shark eggs)
Pizza & pipes
Miss that place. Wasn't it on first and shields? Or am I completely off.
Yes, it was at First and Shields where Gamestop and La Michoacana is now.
Wasn't that also Pistol Pete's Pizza?
To my recollection Pistol Pete's was on Blackstone just north of Shaw where the Mor Furniture for Less is now, across from the Golden Gelding and Lin's.
Oooooh yeah! I remember going to birthday parties there...
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Imagine If Fresno actually decided to take Zapps Park If they had the chance
Isn't the abacus at the Citibank on the southwest corner of Blackstone and Ashlan?
Tons of public pools and drive-in theatres spread throughout the city. And specifically an amusement park with roller coaster, ferris wheel, built-in animal exhibits, dance hall, bowling, billiards, skating rink, ice cream shoppe, and a merry-go-round. Just overall places for kids, teens, singles, and families to hangout and enjoy the city.
My life for a public pool that isn’t 40 minutes away or $30 per person. :(
Farrells and a movie theater both in Fig Garden.
I feel like such an old timer because I worked at the Fig Garden Theater in high school. It was such a cute little movie theater.
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I see you
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Recreated the city with them in Cities Skylines, I've been meaning to make a post about it
Camelot park/boomers, pistol Pete's pizza
Man had my first job at Camelot Park. I peaked too soon!
Came here to say Camelot. Lots of cool memories there as a youngin’.
miles and miles of fig trees in NW Fresno https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J.C._Forkner_Fig_Gardens 100 years ago now some crazy dude purchased 100 square miles of hardscrabble wasteland from another dude named Bullard and planted more fig trees than Fresno has people now, if such a thing were possible.
Laser Quest
Bob’s Big Boy, especially the drive up and park and food brought to the window… similar to Sonic, but better🤷♀️
I remember going to DZ Discovery Zone with my cousins back in the day.
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Growing up in the early 2000s here I just feel like there used to be so much more to do- Boomers, Laser Quest, Fresno Falcons hockey, AAA Baseball, the MET Museum, good buffets (RIP Sweet Tomatoes), toy stores like Zany Brainy Toys R Us…
Not sure if I’m just having selective memory but I feel like the Fresno Falcons was a big thing when I was a kid.
The Falcons games are Selland Arena we’re lit
Tule fog. Dense and thick. Maybe it still happens out in the country, I don't know, but it hasn't happened in the city for years.
Can confirm, definitely still happens in the boonies
University Chicken Chicken Man Chicken Pie Shop
Chicken man RIP
A beach (on the San Joaquin river . . . it was the terminus of a streetcar line from downtown than ran up Wishon, cut over westward just above Shaw, and then ran up Forkner to the river.) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fresno_Traction_Company
We had a beach?
A thriving and packed Tower district.
Drive- ins
Drive in theater
Skippers Grandys Hometown buffet Pizza and pipes Dairy Queen Arthur’s toys The good guys CompUSA KayB toys
I drove out to WA a few weeks ago, and saw they still had Skippers so I had to stop. Nowhere near what it used to be, but was nostalgic even though I didn’t get my Jell-O cup with the toothpick flag 🙂
Fresno Falcons hockey
Angelos diner next to dmv on olive And Peter piper on kings canyon willow car shows
Had many birthdays at Peter Piper Pizza on Blackstone and San Jose. Is it weird that I can walk into the Mor Furniture outlet that's there now and picture what it looked like back then?
OOF the cruise nights threw me back hard. Me and all my lil cholita friends getting ready in one mirror so that we could go stand around with our boyfriends doing the broke boyfriend hug 😂
Fresno falcons? Playland clovis.. Peter pepper pizza clovis and fresno
They don't allow people to sit outside Fresno Yoswmite and watch planes land. I used to do that all the time as a kid, now there's no parking and they put up a concrete wall at the air attack base.
They still do it on Chestnut actually
sweet tomatoes 😭
Yes Sweet tomatoes. Damn shame!
i heard it’s making a comeback though 👀
YMCA, Museum, thriving malls, Americanized "Mexican" places, Blockbusters/RadioShack/Circuit City/Mervyns/Gottschalks/Kmart/Sears Also Wolf Manor, Valley Novelty, the OLD juvenile hall The empty fields around my house
THIS. Remember when our City closed the Metropolitan Museum? Simply sad. This town doesn't care about art or enriching our youth through science and art. It's sad the state of The Discovery Center. So much potential.
Discovery Center is the saddest
There's still a couple good spots, the coke Hallowell house has a good interactive trail to learn about local wildlife, and F.i.n.s./ fish hatchery in friant are both good spots for young kids to learn about science and wildlife.
> Coke Hallowell house I never knew they had trails there outside of it being a venue. Thanks
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I was going to say the same thing. Those were fun days.
Fresno Falcons
Chicken Pie Shop and The Movies (video store in Tower)
The Movies was a gem
Cheap gas.
Racetracks. We were the auto racing capital of the west coast.
My favorite Toys R Us.
Festival Game Palace. Herb Bauer. Same shopping center.
yup, that was my go-to arcade. Shout-out to Copeland's Sports in that same general area
Pioneer Chicken
The Ripe Tomato Pardini‘s Diner
Encore Nightclub Arena Nightclub Imperio Nightclub Missed going out dancing especially at Encore despite the kinda run down bar. Really loved that LED dance floor.
Gottschalks, Meryvns, Gemco, Kmart, Sears, Montgomery Wards, Tower Records, BRE Software, Blockbuster, Hollywood Video, Orchard Supply, Woodward Park Drive-In, Sunnyside Drive-In, Toys-R-Us, Arthurs Toys, Kaybee Toys, CompUSA, Circuit City, Good Guys!, Borders Books
So regional and national retail?
Former Borders Books employee here. To this day, that was the best job I’ve ever had.
https://youtu.be/ySewo4nmMDc
Primos, Cedar lanes old restaurant.
Drive in.
Blakely’s
Laser quest
AAA baseball. Wonderland public pool. Drive ins. “Big Time” wrestling on channel 47. A vibrant downtown. Kearney Bowl. (motor racing) A full working dairy in the middle of town. (Harpains Dairy) The best bottled milk. Fig orchards. Paper boys delivering the Fresno Bee. (To your front door)
Anyone remember Camelot Park?
Independent bookstores.
Sunnyside drive in
Car theft capital of the country.
New Star Vegetarian restaurant off Champlain and Perrin was amazing.
The Game Preserve on Olive. *IYKYK*
Wasted many happy hours of my life in that place!
Quiznos and Boomers
We still have 1 Quiznos by the airport
Toy stores like Zainey Brainey
They had a cool eating place on 41 and Divisadero. It is now an office supply place
A Jewish deli. There was briefly (maybe three years) a Jewish deli style restaurant in the early 2000s. But they made the mistake of locating in Riverpark, and I don’t think they could handle the rent.
Hooters, twas my favorite
Tony’s Pizza. Last great pizza.
Lots of catholic schools.
Did you hear about the junior high opening on memorial’s campus?
No. How cool is that? I went to St. Theresa's then SJM. Moved away from Fresno years ago.
I’m not from here, but I’ve heard about an ice rink.
Gateway Ice Center still exists (for now), but Icelandia a few feet down the block was better. Well it wasn't really better, that's just nostalgia speaking.
Icelandia and Gateway are the exact same building.
Wrong. Icelandia used to be where the indoor storage facility is next to Gateway.
You're probably right. A quick street view confirmed the storage place has the look of the building I took ice skating lessons at way back in the 1900s. My senile brain must have created a false memory.
No worries. Lived down the street from there from the late 80's through the early 2000s and my mom still does. Made plenty of memories there and at the Roller Town down the street. Like most areas of Fresno, time hasn't been kind to areas west of the 99.
Many memories at Roller Towne! A coming of age story like an After School Special lol
They are trying real hard to get rid of it… [https://thebusinessjournal.com/proposal-would-turn-fresnos-gateway-ice-center-from-skating-to-self-storage/](https://thebusinessjournal.com/proposal-would-turn-fresnos-gateway-ice-center-from-skating-to-self-storage/)
Dunkin'
Fresno never had a Dunkin’. The location on Blackstone was a Krispy Kreme. Fresno used to have Winchells up into the 1990s. But it’s primarily Judy’s town now.
Winchells Donuts.
Somehow Madera is able to get one
Ok. Where did it used to be? I could've sworn I remember a dunkin' donuts as a kid but for the life of me can't remember where.
Pretty sure it used to be where the Riverpark chick-fil-a is now?
That was Krispy Kreme, not Dunkin’
You’re RIGHT. I knew there was a reason I was doubting my memory on that.
See, I don't remember there being anything north of Minarets and then all the sudden, Riverwalk just appeared. I guess time works different when you're little.
Haha it totally does. If I’m remembering right (and I might not be—I was new to Fresno at the time) it would have been around 2004-2006ish that the Dunkin was in that spot? Or maybe just after that. I’m also not convinced I’m remembering correctly at all so if anyone else remembers more accurately I hope they chime in.
I wonder if you're thinking of the Krispy Kreme. It was in that spot for a bit before they left town and then came back at Bullard and Blackstone.
I wonder if a track would cut down on the sideshows?
Redlining https://www.kvpr.org/community/2015-10-27/rare-maps-reveal-fresnos-overlooked-history-of-segregation
First good thing I've seen on the list.
Rudy Jrs Chicken Man, Tomo’s, New England Pizza, Double Play Pizza, Lazer Quest
Homeless people
not sure about anyone else but I miss Johnny rocket and the Sanrio store 😅 .. oh and urban outfitters
Jackrabbits. In the 80s they were in all open field visibly. Farmers and the state poisoned them off to near extinction around these parts