The Fulton Mall was a six-block corridor in downtown
Fresno, California
Fresno () is a major city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley region. It covers about and had a population of 542,107 in 2020, maki ...
which was closed to traffic in 1964 and made into a
pedestrians only mall. Despite opening to much fanfare, the downtown mall suffered from the city's suburban expansion, especially the opening of the
Fashion Fair Mall six miles to the north. By the 1980s, most storefronts on the mall were empty and plans to renovate the mall were discussed. In 2017, car traffic was reintroduced to the street after most the public art and amenities had been relocated to sidewalk areas.
The mall was an early example of the design intent and masterplan-oriented thought process of shopping mall pioneer
Victor Gruen
Victor David Gruen, born Viktor David Grünbaum
retrieved 25 February 2012 (July 18, 1903 – February 1 ...
, whose ideas were emulated, albeit in a modified form, across the United States. The mall is also an example of noted landscape architect
Garrett Eckbo's modernist landscape design ethos.
History
Pedestrian mall
Fulton Street, originally J Street, has been a main corridor for business activity for Fresno since the city's inception.
It sits a block over from the
Central Pacific Railroad Station, the primary way early visitors came to Fresno. J Street was renamed "Fulton" in honor of prominent local financier Fulton G. Berry after his death in 1910.
Several notable buildings were constructed on Fulton Street, including the 10-story Helm Building in 1914, which was called Fresno's first skyscraper. Locally-founded
Gottschalks
Gottschalks (former NYSE ticker symbol GOT) was a middle-tier American department store that operated 58 department stores and three specialty apparel stores in six western states (California, Washington, Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, and Nevada); some ...
moved into a large retail space on Fulton Street in 1914. The 8-story
Bank of Italy
The Bank of Italy ( Italian: ''Banca d'Italia'', informally referred to as ''Bankitalia''), (), is the central bank of Italy and part of the European System of Central Banks. It is located in Palazzo Koch, via Nazionale, Rome. The bank's cur ...
building followed in 1918 as well as the
Rustigian Building on the south end of Fulton Street, completed in 1920. Adding to the retail activity in the area, the Radin-Kamp Department Store opened on Fulton Street in 1924. The historic
San Joaquin Light and Power Corporation Building
San Joaquin Light and Power Corporation Building is an historic 11- story, high-rise in downtown Fresno, California. The building was completed in 1923 for the San Joaquin Light and Power Corporation, that later became the Pacific Gas and Elect ...
and the
Warnors Theater sit on the north end of Fulton Street, both built in the 1920s.
Fresno experienced a population boom after World War II, reaching 100,000 in 1958.
Much of the growth pushed northward, with
Fresno State
California State University, Fresno (Fresno State) is a public university in Fresno, California. It is one of 23 campuses in the California State University system. The university had a fall 2020 enrollment of 25,341 students. It offers bachelo ...
relocating in 1956.
Retail centers opened to the north in the late 1950s as well, such as Manchester Center and
Fig Garden Village. To revitalize downtown, the
Arthur L. Selland-led city of Fresno hired pioneering Austrian architect
Victor Gruen
Victor David Gruen, born Viktor David Grünbaum
retrieved 25 February 2012 (July 18, 1903 – February 1 ...
who had attempted similar revitalization projects in
Kalamazoo, Michigan and
Fort Worth, Texas.
Under Gruen's supervision, Fulton street was transformed into a pedestrian-only space named Fulton Mall. The project was designed by American landscape architect
Garrett Eckbo, as part of his
EDAW landscape architecture design firm. The mall was dedicated on September 1, 1964, to much fanfare. The mall contained major retailers such as Gottschalks, Montgomery Ward, Woolworth, and JCPenney.
The opening of
Fashion Fair Mall in 1970 indicated that the Fresno's northward sprawl was not abating. The Fulton Mall declined, with one notable example occurring in 1988 when Gottschalks, an anchor since 1914, moved from the mall to the Woodward Park area.
Fresno poet
Gary Soto
Gary Anthony Soto (born April 12, 1952) is an American poet, novelist, and memoirist.
Life and career
Soto was born to Mexican-American parents Manuel (1910–1957) and Angie Soto (1924-). In his youth, he worked in the fields of the San Joaqui ...
memorialized the street scene of Fulton Mall in a 2001 poem.
Reintroducing traffic
In 2002, a city redevelopment agency presented a plan to the City Council proposing to return auto traffic to the Fulton Mall. The move was opposed by a group of citizens called the Downtown Fresno Coalition. In 2006, the City Council called for another study of the Fulton Mall so that a decision could be made but the standoff only intensified.
In 2008, the preservationist citizens group prepared a nomination of the Fulton Mall to the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...
in an effort to block or complicate the reintroduction of cars. The mall was deemed eligible for the register of historic places but was not placed on the register due to objections from the city administration and a majority of the property owners.
Mayor
Ashley Swearengin commissioned a plan which included three options for renovating the mall. Two of the options returned car traffic with varying degrees of preservation of the existing mall features and amenities. The third option kept the mall pedestrian free.
In September 2013, the City of Fresno received a $15.9 million TIGER Grant from the US Department of Transportation to reintroduce traffic to Fulton. On February 27, 2014, the Fresno City Council decided the fate of Fulton Mall with a 5–2 vote in favor of putting traffic back on Fulton street while preserving as much of the character of the original design as possible.
A groundbreaking ceremony was held on March 3, 2016. The $20 million project was completed in October 2017 and the reopening was attended by mayor
Lee Brand, former mayor Swearengin, representative
Jim Costa and others.
Notable features
Public Art
Money was raised from private donors to buy or commission public art and install it on the mall.
* ''The Visit'' by
Clement Renzi
Clement Renzi (born as Clement Edward Joseph Peter Renzi) was an American sculptor whose figurative bronze and terra cotta works depict people, human relationships, animals, and birds. His work has been popular with collectors in California's ...
.
* ''Rite of the Crane'' by Bruno Groth, a high bronze sculpture.
* ''Talos'' by
James Lee Hansen, a predecessor to
Talos No. 2 in Portland, Oregon.
* ''Aquarius Ovoid'' by
George Tsutakawa, a brass sculpture.
* ''Trisem'' by T. Newton Russell, an installation of three columns of granite boulders, approximately high, set inside of a pool water feature.
* ''Dancing Waters'' by Stan Bitters.
* ''Valley Landing'' by Gordon Newell, a sculpture made of black granite from a local quarry.
* ''La Grand Laveuse (Washer Woman)'' by
Pierre Auguste Renoir
Pierre-Auguste Renoir (; 25 February 1841 – 3 December 1919) was a French artist who was a leading painter in the development of the Impressionism, Impressionist style. As a celebrator of beauty and especially femininity, feminine sensuality ...
.
* A concrete platform commemorating the location where the
Industrial Workers of the World
The Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), members of which are commonly termed "Wobblies", is an international labor union that was founded in Chicago in 1905. The origin of the nickname "Wobblies" is uncertain. IWW ideology combines general ...
fought for the right of free speech in their efforts to organize labor in Fresno. It is registered on the list of
California Historical Landmarks
A California Historical Landmark (CHL) is a building, structure, site, or place in California that has been determined to have statewide historical landmark significance.
Criteria
Historical significance is determined by meeting at least one of ...
as number 873.
* ''Clock Tower'' by Jan de Swart, an approximately high installation made of wood and fiberglass. It includes four clocks at the top which face in each direction.
* ''Big A'' by
Peter Voulkos, a sculpture consisting of aluminum pillars and cross plates with bronze ovals on the plates.
* ''Arbre Echelle'' by Brancois Stahly, an approximately high bronze sculpture.
* ''Orion'' by
Bernard Rosenthal.
* ''Mother & Child'' by Romondo Puccinelli, a
porpyry sculpture approximately high, on an approximately high base of locally sourced granite.
* ''Ellipsoid VI'' by Charles Owen Perry, an approximately high bronze plate sculpture located in the middle of a pool water feature.
* ''Smoldering Fires'' by
Claire Falkenstein
Claire Falkenstein (; July 22, 1908 – October 23, 1997) was an American sculptor, painter, printmaker, jewelry designer, and teacher, most renowned for her often large-scale abstract metal and glass public sculptures. Falkenstein was one of Am ...
.
* ''Yokuts Native American'' by
Clement Renzi
Clement Renzi (born as Clement Edward Joseph Peter Renzi) was an American sculptor whose figurative bronze and terra cotta works depict people, human relationships, animals, and birds. His work has been popular with collectors in California's ...
, a cast bronze sculpture representing a member of the
Yokuts tribe standing with his arms stretched upward to greet the rising run.
* ''Obos'' by
George Tsutakawa, an approximately high bronze sculpture fountain. Obos are said to represent stacked stones found in the Himlayas.
Most mall features were relocated from the middle of the mall to the sidewalk areas in 2016, making way for vehicular traffic. There were moved to approximately following locations:
References
External links
''Look Around, Follow Me: The Art, Architecture, & Politics of the Fresno Fulton Art Mall'' 2016 Documentary Film Archive
''Fresno: A City Reborn'' 1968 documentary film
{{Authority control
Pedestrian malls in the United States
Shopping districts and streets in the United States
Shopping malls established in 1964
1964 establishments in California