Fresno, CA
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Fresno (; ) is a city in the
San Joaquin Valley The San Joaquin Valley ( ; Spanish language in California, Spanish: ''Valle de San Joaquín'') is the southern half of California's Central Valley (California), Central Valley. Famed as a major breadbasket, the San Joaquin Valley is an importa ...
of
California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
, United States. It is the
county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...
of
Fresno County Fresno County (), officially the County of Fresno, is a county located in the central portion of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 1,008,654. The county seat is Fresno, the fifth-most populo ...
and the largest city in the greater Central Valley region. It covers about and had a population of 542,107 as of the 2020 census, making it the fifth-most populous city in California, the most populous inland city in California, and the 34th-most populous city in the nation. Named for the abundant ash trees lining the
San Joaquin River The San Joaquin River ( ; ) is the longest river of Central California. The long river starts in the high Sierra Nevada and flows through the rich agricultural region of the northern San Joaquin Valley before reaching Suisun Bay, San Francis ...
, Fresno was founded in 1872 as a railway station of the
Central Pacific Railroad The Central Pacific Railroad (CPRR) was a rail company chartered by U.S. Congress in 1862 to build a railroad eastwards from Sacramento, California, to complete most of the western part of the "First transcontinental railroad" in North Americ ...
before it was incorporated in 1885. It has since become an economic hub of Fresno County and the San Joaquin Valley, with much of the surrounding areas in the
Metropolitan Fresno Metropolitan Fresno, officially Fresno–Hanford–Corcoran, CA CSA, is a metropolitan area in the San Joaquin Valley, in the United States, consisting of Fresno and Madera counties. It is the third-largest metropolitan region in Northern Cali ...
region predominantly tied to large-scale agricultural production. Fresno is near the geographic center of California, approximately north of
Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
, south of the state capital,
Sacramento Sacramento ( or ; ; ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the seat of Sacramento County. Located at the confluence of the Sacramento and American Rivers in Northern California's Sacramento Valley, Sacramento's 2020 p ...
, and southeast of
San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...
.
Yosemite National Park Yosemite National Park ( ) is a List of national parks of the United States, national park of the United States in California. It is bordered on the southeast by Sierra National Forest and on the northwest by Stanislaus National Forest. The p ...
is about to the north,
Kings Canyon National Park Kings Canyon National Park is a national park of the United States in the southern Sierra Nevada, in Fresno and Tulare Counties, California. Originally established in 1890 as General Grant National Park, the park was greatly expanded and ren ...
to the east, and
Sequoia National Park Sequoia National Park is a List of national parks of the United States, national park of the United States in the southern Sierra Nevada (U.S.), Sierra Nevada east of Visalia, California. The park was established on September 25, 1890, and toda ...
to the southeast. Fresno is also the third-largest majority-Hispanic city in the United States with 50.5% of its population being Hispanic in 2020.


History

The original inhabitants of the
San Joaquin Valley The San Joaquin Valley ( ; Spanish language in California, Spanish: ''Valle de San Joaquín'') is the southern half of California's Central Valley (California), Central Valley. Famed as a major breadbasket, the San Joaquin Valley is an importa ...
region were the
Yokuts people The Yokuts (previously known as MariposasPowell, 1891:90–91.) are an ethnic group of Native Americans native to central California. Before European contact, the Yokuts consisted of up to 60 tribes speaking several related languages. Yokuts ...
and
Miwok people The Miwok (also spelled Miwuk, Mi-Wuk, or Me-Wuk) are members of four linguistically related Native American groups indigenous to what is now Northern California, who traditionally spoke one of the Miwok languages in the Utian family. The word ...
, who engaged in trading with other Californian tribes of Native Americans including coastal peoples such as the
Chumash Chumash may refer to: *Chumash (Judaism), a Hebrew word for the Pentateuch, used in Judaism *Chumash people, a Native American people of southern California *Chumashan languages, Indigenous languages of California See also

* Pentateuch (dis ...
of the Central California coast, with whom they are thought to have traded plant and animal products. The first European to enter the San Joaquin Valley was
Pedro Fages Pedro Fages (1734–1794) was a Spanish soldier, explorer, and first lieutenant governor of the province of the Californias under Gaspar de Portolá. Fages claimed the governorship after Portolá's departure, acting as governor in opposition ...
in 1772. The county of Fresno was formed in 1856 after the
California Gold Rush The California gold rush (1848–1855) began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The news of gold brought approximately 300,000 people to California from the rest of the U ...
and was named for the abundant ash trees (Spanish: fresno) lining the
San Joaquin River The San Joaquin River ( ; ) is the longest river of Central California. The long river starts in the high Sierra Nevada and flows through the rich agricultural region of the northern San Joaquin Valley before reaching Suisun Bay, San Francis ...
. The San Joaquin River flooded on December 24, 1867, inundating Millerton. Some residents rebuilt, others moved. Flooding also destroyed the town of Scottsburg on the nearby Kings River that winter. Rebuilt on higher ground, Scottsburg was renamed Centerville. In 1867, Anthony Easterby purchased land bounded by the present Chestnut, Belmont, Clovis and California avenues, that today is called the Sunnyside district. Unable to grow wheat for lack of water, he hired sheep man Moses Church in 1870 to create an irrigation system. Building new canals and purchasing existing ditches, Church then formed the Fresno Canal and Irrigation Company, a predecessor of the Fresno Irrigation District. In 1872, the
Central Pacific Railroad The Central Pacific Railroad (CPRR) was a rail company chartered by U.S. Congress in 1862 to build a railroad eastwards from Sacramento, California, to complete most of the western part of the "First transcontinental railroad" in North Americ ...
established a station near Easterby's—by now a hugely productive wheat farm—for its new
Southern Pacific The Southern Pacific (or Espee from the railroad initials) was an American Class I railroad network that existed from 1865 to 1996 and operated largely in the Western United States. The system was operated by various companies under the names ...
line. Soon there was a store near the station and the store grew into the town of Fresno Station, later called Fresno. At that time, Mariposa street was the main artery, a rough dusty or muddy depression. Many Millerton residents, drawn by the convenience of the railroad and worried about flooding, moved to the new community. Fresno became an incorporated city in 1885. In 1903, the faltering San Joaquin Power Company was renamed the San Joaquin Light and Power Corporation and included the Fresno City Water Company and the Fresno City Railway. By 1931 the railway, now known as the
Fresno Traction Company Fresno Traction Company operated electric trams in Fresno, California, from 1903 to 1939. Earlier horsecar tracks were improved and electrified under consolidated ownership which passed to Southern Pacific Transportation Company operation in 1910. ...
, operated 47
streetcar A tram (also known as a streetcar or trolley in Canada and the United States) is an urban rail transit in which vehicles, whether individual railcars or multiple-unit trains, run on tramway tracks on urban public streets; some include s ...
s over of track. Two years after the station was established, county residents voted to move the county seat from Millerton to Fresno. When the
Friant Dam Friant Dam is a concrete gravity dam on the San Joaquin River in central California in the United States, on the boundary of Fresno County, California, Fresno and Madera County, California, Madera Counties. It was built between 1937 and 1942 as p ...
was completed in 1944, the site of Millerton became inundated by the waters of
Millerton Lake Millerton Lake is an artificial lake near the town of Friant, about north of downtown Fresno, California, United States. The reservoir was created by the construction of 319 ft (97 m) high Friant Dam on the San Joaquin River which, with ...
. In extreme droughts, when the reservoir shrinks, ruins of the original county seat can still be observed. In the nineteenth century, with so much wooden construction and in the absence of sophisticated firefighting resources, fires often ravaged American frontier towns. The greatest of Fresno's early-day fires, in 1882, destroyed an entire block of the city. Another devastating blaze struck in 1883. In 1919, Fresno's first and oldest
synagogue A synagogue, also called a shul or a temple, is a place of worship for Jews and Samaritans. It is a place for prayer (the main sanctuary and sometimes smaller chapels) where Jews attend religious services or special ceremonies such as wed ...
, Temple Beth Israel, was founded. As a result of its remoteness from the great universities of the
San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a List of regions of California, region of California surrounding and including San Francisco Bay, and anchored by the cities of Oakland, San Francisco, and San Jose, California, S ...
and
Greater Los Angeles Greater Los Angeles is the most populous metropolitan area in the U.S. state of California, encompassing five counties in Southern California extending from Ventura County in the west to San Bernardino County and Riverside County in the eas ...
, Fresno became a statewide leader in educational innovation. In 1910,
Fresno High School Fresno High School is a four-year secondary school located in Fresno, California. It is part of the Fresno Unified School District. Fresno High is the oldest high school in the Fresno metropolitan area and one of the few International Baccalaurea ...
was the first California high school to take advantage of the Upward Extension Act of 1907 to offer lower-division college-level coursework to local high school graduates who wanted to attend college but were reluctant to move hundreds of miles away to do so. (At p. 5.) The high school's Collegiate Department evolved into
Fresno City College Fresno City College (FCC or "Fresno City") is a public community college in Fresno, California. It is part of the State Center Community College District within the California Community Colleges system. Fresno City College operates on a semeste ...
, the oldest community college in California and the second oldest in the United States. In the 1920s and 1930s, Fresno State Teachers College was at the forefront of the evolution of the state teachers colleges into state colleges offering a broad
liberal arts education Liberal arts education () is a traditional academic course in Western higher education. ''Liberal arts'' takes the term '' art'' in the sense of a learned skill rather than specifically the fine arts. ''Liberal arts education'' can refer to s ...
. The state colleges later became the
California State University The California State University (Cal State or CSU) is a Public university, public university system in California, and the List of largest universities and university networks by enrollment, largest public university system in the United States ...
and Fresno State became
California State University, Fresno California State University, Fresno (Fresno State) is a public university in Fresno, California, United States. It is part of the California State University system. The university had a fall 2020 enrollment of 25,341 students. It offers 60 ba ...
. Fresno entered the ranks of the 100 most populous cities in the United States in 1960 with a population of 134,000. Thirty years later, in the 1990 census, it moved up to 47th place with 354,000, and in the census of 2000, it achieved 37th place with 428,000. The
Fresno Municipal Sanitary Landfill Fresno Municipal Sanitary Landfill in Fresno, California, was the first modern landfill in the U.S., pioneering the use of trenching, compacting, and daily burial to combat rodent and debris problems. It became a model for other landfills around ...
was the first modern
landfill A landfill is a site for the disposal of waste materials. It is the oldest and most common form of waste disposal, although the systematic burial of waste with daily, intermediate and final covers only began in the 1940s. In the past, waste was ...
in the United States, and incorporated several important innovations to waste disposal, including trenching, compacting, and the daily covering of trash with dirt. It was opened in 1937 and closed in 1987. It is a
National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a National Register of Historic Places property types, building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the Federal government of the United States, United States government f ...
as well as a
Superfund Superfund is a United States federal environmental remediation program established by the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA). The program is administered by the United States Environmental Pro ...
site. Before World War II, Fresno had many ethnic neighborhoods, including Little Armenia, German Town, Little Italy, and
Chinatown Chinatown ( zh, t=唐人街) is the catch-all name for an ethnic enclave of Chinese people located outside Greater China, most often in an urban setting. Areas known as "Chinatown" exist throughout the world, including Europe, Asia, Africa, O ...
. In 1940, the
Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The U.S. Census Bureau is part of the U ...
reported Fresno's population as 94.0% white, 3.3% black and 2.7% Asian. Chinatown was primarily a Japanese neighborhood and today few Japanese-American businesses remain. During 1942, Pinedale, in what is now North Fresno, was the site of the Pinedale Assembly Center, an interim facility for the relocation of Fresno area
Japanese Americans are Americans of Japanese ancestry. Japanese Americans were among the three largest Asian Americans, Asian American ethnic communities during the 20th century; but, according to the 2000 United States census, 2000 census, they have declined in ...
to
internment camps Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without charges or intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects". Thus, while it can simp ...
. The Fresno Fairgrounds were also utilized as an assembly center. Row crops and orchards gave way to urban development particularly in the period after World War II; this transition was particularly vividly demonstrated in locations such as the
Blackstone Avenue Blackstone Avenue is a major roadway arterial in Fresno, California, United States, running from Stanislaus and O Streets near Downtown to Highway 41 northeastern part of the city. This street is the location of a number of historic structures ...
corridor. Fresno's geographical remoteness also made it an early pioneer in the field now known as
fintech Financial technology (abbreviated as fintech) refers to the application of innovative technologies to products and services in the financial industry. This broad term encompasses a wide array of technological advancements in financial services, ...
, long before the term was invented. In September 1958,
Bank of America The Bank of America Corporation (Bank of America) (often abbreviated BofA or BoA) is an American multinational investment banking, investment bank and financial services holding company headquartered at the Bank of America Corporate Center in ...
launched a new product called
BankAmericard Visa Inc. () is an American multinational payment card services corporation headquartered in San Francisco, California. It facilitates electronic funds transfers throughout the world, most commonly through Visa-branded credit cards, debit c ...
in Fresno. The city was specifically selected in part for its remoteness, to limit damage to the bank's image in case the project failed. After a troubled gestation during which its creator resigned, BankAmericard went on to become the world's first successful credit card. This financial instrument was usable across a large number of merchants and also allowed cardholders to revolve a balance (earlier financial products could do one or the other but not both). In 1970, BankAmericard was spun off into a separate company, and in 1976, that company became
Visa Inc. Visa Inc. () is an American multinational payment card services corporation headquartered in San Francisco, California. It facilitates electronic funds transfers throughout the world, most commonly through Visa-branded credit cards, debit c ...
In the 1960s, Fresno suffered numerous demolitions of historic buildings, including the old
Fresno County Courthouse The Fresno County Courthouse is an 8- story, high-rise building at 1100 Van Ness Avenue in downtown Fresno, California Fresno (; ) is a city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County, Ca ...
and the original buildings of Edison High School. This was the result of car-centric urban planning focused on making more room for cars and parking lots, a commonplace approach in the United States at that time. The dance style commonly known as
popping Popping is a street dance adapted out of the earlier Boogaloo (funk dance), boogaloo cultural movement in Oakland, California. As boogaloo spread, it would be referred to as "robottin'" in Richmond, California; strutting movements in San Francis ...
evolved in Fresno in the 1970s. In 1995, the
Federal Bureau of Investigation The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...
's Operation Rezone sting resulted in several prominent Fresno and
Clovis Clovis may refer to: People * Clovis (given name), the early medieval (Frankish) form of the name Louis ** Clovis I (c. 466 – 511), the first king of the Franks to unite all the Frankish tribes under one ruler ** Clovis II (c. 634 – c. 657), ...
politicians being charged in connection with taking bribes in return for
rezoning In urban planning, zoning is a method in which a municipality or other tier of government divides land into land-use "zones", each of which has a set of regulations for new development that differs from other zones. Zones may be defined for a ...
farmland for housing developments. Before the sting brought a halt to it, housing developers could buy farmland cheaply, pay off council members to have it rezoned, and make a large profit building and selling inexpensive housing. Sixteen people were eventually convicted as a result of the sting. In the early 2000s, Fresno's two major venues were built,
Chukchansi Park Chukchansi Park, formerly known as Grizzlies Stadium, is a city-owned baseball stadium located in Fresno, California, United States, completed in 2002 as the home for Minor League Baseball's Fresno Grizzlies. The first game was May 1, 2002. Loca ...
(2002) and
Save Mart Center Save Mart Center at Fresno State is a multi-purpose arena, on the campus of California State University, Fresno (Fresno State), located in Fresno, California. An open house was held for the community on November 5, 2003, with the official ribbon ...
(2003). The 2017 Fresno shootings resulted in the death of 4 people.


Geography

Fresno has a total area of with 98.96% land covering , and 1.04% water, . Fresno's location, very near the geographical center of California, places the city a comfortable distance from many of the major recreation areas and urban centers in the state. Just south of
Yosemite National Park Yosemite National Park ( ) is a List of national parks of the United States, national park of the United States in California. It is bordered on the southeast by Sierra National Forest and on the northwest by Stanislaus National Forest. The p ...
, it is the nearest major city to the park. Likewise,
Sierra National Forest Sierra National Forest is a U.S. national forest located on the western slope of the central Sierra Nevada in California, bounded on the northwest by Yosemite National Park and on the south by Kings Canyon National Park. The forest is known for ...
is ,
Kings Canyon National Park Kings Canyon National Park is a national park of the United States in the southern Sierra Nevada, in Fresno and Tulare Counties, California. Originally established in 1890 as General Grant National Park, the park was greatly expanded and ren ...
is and
Sequoia National Park Sequoia National Park is a List of national parks of the United States, national park of the United States in the southern Sierra Nevada (U.S.), Sierra Nevada east of Visalia, California. The park was established on September 25, 1890, and toda ...
is . The city is located near several
Sierra Nevada The Sierra Nevada ( ) is a mountain range in the Western United States, between the Central Valley of California and the Great Basin. The vast majority of the range lies in the state of California, although the Carson Range spur lies primari ...
lakes including Bass Lake,
Shaver Lake Shaver Lake is an artificial lake on Stevenson Creek, in the Sierra National Forest of Fresno County, California. At elevation , several smaller streams also flow into the lake, and it receives water from the tunnels of Southern California Edi ...
, and
Huntington Lake Huntington Lake is a reservoir in Fresno County, California on Big Creek, located in the Sierra Nevada at an elevation of . The lake receives water from Southern California Edison's Big Creek Hydroelectric Project, as well as the many streams ...
. Fresno is also only two and a half hours from
Monterey Monterey ( ; ) is a city situated on the southern edge of Monterey Bay, on the Central Coast of California. Located in Monterey County, the city occupies a land area of and recorded a population of 30,218 in the 2020 census. The city was fou ...
,
Carmel Carmel may refer to: * Carmel (biblical settlement), an ancient Israelite town in Judea * Mount Carmel, a coastal mountain range in Israel overlooking the Mediterranean Sea * Carmelites, a Roman Catholic mendicant religious order Carmel may also ...
,
Big Sur Big Sur () is a rugged and mountainous section of the Central Coast (California), Central Coast of the U.S. state of California, between Carmel Highlands and San Simeon, where the Santa Lucia Range, Santa Lucia Mountains rise abruptly from th ...
and the central coast. Because Fresno sits at the junction of Highways 41 and 99 (SR 41 is Yosemite National Park's southern access road, and SR 99 bypasses
Interstate 5 Interstate 5 (I-5) is the main north–south Interstate Highway System, Interstate Highway on the West Coast of the United States, running largely parallel to the Pacific coast of the contiguous U.S. from Mexico to Canada. It travels thro ...
to serve the urban centers of the San Joaquin Valley), the city is a major gateway for Yosemite visitors coming from
Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
. The city also serves as an entrance into Sierra National Forest via Highway
168 Year 168 ( CLXVIII) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Apronianus and Paullus (or, less frequently, year 921 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 168 for thi ...
, and Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks via Highway
180 __NOTOC__ Year 180 ( CLXXX) was a leap year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Rusticus and Condianus (or, less frequently, year 933 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 180 ...
. Fresno has three large public parks, two in the city limits and one in county land to the southwest. Woodward Park, which features the Shinzen
Japanese Garden are traditional gardens whose designs are accompanied by Japanese aesthetics and philosophical ideas, avoid artificial ornamentation, and highlight the natural landscape. Plants and worn, aged materials are generally used by Japanese garden desig ...
s, boasts numerous picnic areas and several miles of trails. It is in North Fresno and is adjacent to the San Joaquin River Parkway.
Roeding Park Roeding Park is a regional city park in Fresno, California established in 1903 via a gift from the Roeding family. The Fresno Chaffee Zoo occupies approximately one third of the acreage in the middle of the southern half of the park. The sout ...
, near Downtown Fresno, is home to the
Fresno Chaffee Zoo The Fresno Chaffee Zoo is a zoo in Roeding Park in Fresno, California covering 39 acres and housing over 190 species. Its attractions include Stingray Bay, Dino Dig, Valley Farm, Sea Lion Cove, African Adventure, and Ross Laird's Winged Wonders ...
, and Rotary Storyland and Playland. Kearney Park is the largest of the Fresno region's park system and is home to historic Kearney Mansion and plays host to the annual Civil War Revisited, the largest reenactment of the Civil War in the west coast of the U.S. In its 2023 ParkScore ranking,
The Trust for Public Land The Trust for Public Land is a U.S. nonprofit organization with a mission to "create parks and protect land for people, ensuring healthy, livable communities for generations to come". Since its founding in 1972, the Trust for Public Land has compl ...
, a national land conservation organization, reported that Fresno had one of the worst park systems among the 100 most populous U.S. cities, with only 5% of city land being used for parks and recreation. The survey measures median park size, park acres as percent of city area, residents' access to parks, spending on parks per resident, and playgrounds per 10,000 residents.


Neighborhoods


Downtown

The Central Pacific Railroad built a small wooden depot in 1872. In 1889, the Southern Pacific Railroad, which had acquired Central Pacific, constructed a new depot on the original depot site. The brick Queen Anne style depot was a jewel for the city and is one of Fresno's oldest standing buildings. In 1971, 99 years after it first opened for business on its current site, the Depot closed its rail operations due to the decline in business. Between the 1880s and World War II, Downtown Fresno flourished, filled with electric streetcars, and contained a number of "lavish" and "opulent" buildings. Among them, the original Fresno County Courthouse (demolished), the Fresno Carnegie Public Library (demolished), the Old Fresno Water Tower, the
Bank of Italy Building Bank of Italy is the Bank of Italy or Banca d'Italia, the central bank of Italy. Or it may refer to: *Bank of Italy (United States), a bank established in San Francisco, California and the forerunner of the Bank of America. Or Bank of Italy or Ban ...
, the
Pacific Southwest Building The Pacific Southwest Building (also known as the Security Bank Building) is a 15- story, high-rise completed in 1925 in downtown Fresno, California Fresno (; ) is a city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the ...
, the San Joaquin Light and Power Building (currently known as the Grand 1401), and the Hughes Hotel (burned down), to name a few. Fulton Street in Downtown Fresno was Fresno's main financial and commercial district before being converted into one of the nation's first
pedestrian malls Pedestrian zones (also known as auto-free zones and car-free zones, as pedestrian precincts in British English, and as pedestrian malls in the United States and Australia) are areas of a city or town restricted to use by people on foot or ...
in 1964. Renamed the
Fulton Mall Fulton Street is a long east–west street in northern Brooklyn, New York City. This street begins at the intersection of Adams Street and Joralemon Street in Brooklyn Heights, and runs eastward to East New York and Cypress Hills. At the bo ...
, the area contains the densest collection of historic buildings in Fresno. While the Fulton Mall corridor has suffered a sharp decline from its heyday, the Mall includes some of the finest public art pieces in the country, including a casting of
Pierre-Auguste Renoir Pierre-Auguste Renoir (; ; 25 February 1841 – 3 December 1919) was a French people, French artist who was a leading painter in the development of the Impressionism, Impressionist style. As a celebrator of beauty and especially femininity, fe ...
's bronze "The Washer Woman", reportedly the only one of the six castings that one can walk up to and touch. In October 2017, the City of Fresno finished and opened Fulton Mall to traffic, becoming Fulton Street. This change was celebrated with a large public parade featuring current mayor Lee Brand and former mayor Ashley Swearengin. The public art pieces will be restored and placed near their current locations and will feature wide sidewalks (up to 28' on the east side of the street) to continue with the pedestrian-friendly environment of the district.


Tower District

The historic Tower Theatre, which is included on the National Register of Historic Places, is the center of the Tower District. The theater was built in 1939 at the corner of Olive and Wishon Avenues. The Tower District neighborhood is just north of downtown Fresno proper, and one-half mile south of Fresno City College. Although the neighborhood was known as a residential area, the early commercial establishments of the Tower District began with small shops and services that flocked to the area shortly after World War II. The character of small local businesses largely remains today. To some extent, the businesses of the Tower District were developed due to the proximity of the original Fresno Normal School (later renamed
California State University at Fresno California State University, Fresno (Fresno State) is a public university in Fresno, California, United States. It is part of the California State University system. The university had a fall 2020 enrollment of 25,341 students. It offers 60 ba ...
). In 1916, the college moved to what is now the site of
Fresno City College Fresno City College (FCC or "Fresno City") is a public community college in Fresno, California. It is part of the State Center Community College District within the California Community Colleges system. Fresno City College operates on a semeste ...
one-half mile north of the Tower District. After decades of neglect and suburban flight, the neighborhood revival followed the re-opening of the Tower Theatre in the late 1970s, which at that time showed second- and third-run movies, along with classic films. Roger Rocka's Dinner Theater & Good Company Players also opened nearby in 1978, at Olive and Wishon Avenues. Fresno native
Audra McDonald Audra Ann McDonald (born July 3, 1970) is an American singer and actress. Primarily known for her work on the Broadway stage, she has won six Tony Awards, more performance wins than any other actor, and is the only person to win in all four acti ...
performed in the leading roles of Evita and The Wiz at the theater while she was a high school student. McDonald subsequently became a leading performer on
Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street ** Broadway Theatre (53rd Stre ...
in New York City and a
Tony award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ce ...
-winning actress. Also in the Tower District is Good Company Players' 2nd Space Theatre. The Tower District is a hub for community events such as Jamaica My Weekend, Mardi Gras in February,
Gay Pride Parade A pride parade (also known as pride event, pride festival, pride march, or pride protest) is an event celebrating lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) social and self-acceptance, achievements, legal rights, and pride. The eve ...
, car shows, A Taste of The Tower, Halloween in the Tower, the
Farmers' market A farmers' market (or farmers market according to the AP stylebook, also farmer's market in the Cambridge Dictionary) is a physical retail marketplace intended to sell foods directly by farmers to consumers. Farmers' markets may be indoors or ...
opened on the northwest corner of Olive and Van Ness and LitHop, an annual literary festival, featuring mostly local writers. The neighborhood features restaurants, live theater and nightclubs, as well as several independent shops and bookstores on or near Olive Avenue. Since renewal, the Tower District has become an attractive area for restaurant and other local businesses. The Tower District is known as the center of Fresno's
LGBT LGBTQ people are individuals who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning. Many variants of the initialism are used; LGBTQIA+ people incorporates intersex, asexual, aromantic, agender, and other individuals. The gro ...
and hipster communities. The area is also known for its early twentieth century homes, many of which have been restored in recent decades. The area includes many
California Bungalow California bungalow is an alternative name for the American Craftsman style of Residential area, residential architecture, when it was applied to small-to-medium-sized homes rather than the large "ultimate bungalow" houses of designers like Green ...
and
American Craftsman American Craftsman is an American domestic architectural style, inspired by the Arts and Crafts movement, which included interior design, landscape design, applied arts, and decorative arts, beginning in the last years of the 19th century. ...
style homes,
Spanish Colonial Revival Style architecture The Spanish Colonial Revival architecture (), often known simply as Spanish Revival, is a term used to encompass a number of Revivalism (architecture), revivalist architectural styles based in both Spanish colonial architecture and Spanish archi ...
,
Mediterranean Revival Style architecture Mediterranean Revival is an architectural style introduced in the United States, Canada, and certain other countries in the 19th century. It incorporated references to Spanish Renaissance, Spanish Colonial, Italian Renaissance, French Colonial ...
,
Mission Revival Style architecture The Mission Revival style was part of an architectural movement, beginning in the late 19th century, for the revival and reinterpretation of American colonial styles. Mission Revival drew inspiration from the late 18th and early 19th century ...
, and many
Storybook house Storybook architecture or fairytale architecture is a style popularized in the 1920s in England and the United States. Houses built in this style may be referred to as storybook houses. Description The storybook style is a nod toward Hollywoo ...
s designed by Fresno architects, Hilliard, Taylor & Wheeler. The residential architecture of the Tower District contrasts with the newer areas of tract homes
urban sprawl Urban sprawl (also known as suburban sprawl or urban encroachment) is defined as "the spreading of urban developments (such as houses and shopping centers) on undeveloped land near a city". Urban sprawl has been described as the unrestricted ...
in north and east areas of Fresno.


Woodward Park

In the northeastern part of Fresno, Woodward Park was founded by the late Ralph Woodward, a long-time Fresno resident. He bequeathed a major portion of his estate in 1968 to provide a regional park and
bird sanctuary An animal sanctuary is a facility where animals are brought to live and to be protected for the rest of their lives. In addition, sanctuaries are an experimental staging ground for transformative human–animal relations. There are five types of ...
in Northeast Fresno. The park lies on the southern bank of the San Joaquin River between Highway 41 and Friant Road. The initial , combined with additional acres acquired later by the city, brings the park to a sizable . Now packed with amenities, Woodward Park is the only Regional Park of its size in the Central Valley. The park has a multi-use
amphitheatre An amphitheatre (American English, U.S. English: amphitheater) is an open-air venue used for entertainment, performances, and sports. The term derives from the ancient Greek ('), from ('), meaning "on both sides" or "around" and ('), meani ...
that seats up to 2,500 people, an authentic Japanese Garden, fenced dog park, bike park, two playgrounds, two-mile (3 km) equestrian trail, exercise par course, three children's playgrounds, a lake, three small ponds, seven picnic areas, and five miles (8 km) of multipurpose trails that are part of the San Joaquin River Parkway's Lewis S. Eaton Trail. When complete, the Lewis S. Eaton trail system will cover between Highway 99 and Friant Dam. The park's amphitheatre was renovated in 2010, and has hosted performances by acts such as
Deftones Deftones is an American alternative metal band formed in Sacramento, California in 1988. They were formed by frontman Chino Moreno, lead guitarist Stephen Carpenter and drummer Abe Cunningham, with bassist Chi Cheng and keyboardist and tu ...
,
Tech N9ne Aaron Dontez Yates (born November 8, 1971), better known by his stage name Tech N9ne (pronounced "tech nine"), is an American rapper and singer. In 1999, he and business partner Travis O'Guin founded the record label Strange Music. He has sold ...
, and
Sevendust Sevendust is an American Rock music, rock band from Atlanta, Georgia, formed in 1994 by bassist Vinnie Hornsby, drummer Morgan Rose and guitarist John Connolly (musician), John Connolly. After their first demo, lead vocalist Lajon Witherspoon an ...
as well as numerous others. Woodward Park hosts the annual
California Interscholastic Federation The California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) is the governing body for high school sports in the U.S. state of California. CIF membership includes both public and private high schools. Unlike most other state organizations, it does not have s ...
State Championship cross country meet. It is the home of the
Woodward Shakespeare Festival Woodward Park is a public park located in Fresno, California, abutting the San Joaquin River, opened in 1968. It is named after the late Ralph Woodward who bequeathed a portion of his estate to provide a regional park and bird sanctuary in Fresno ...
which began performances in the park in 2005.


Fig Garden

Located in the western portion of Fresno, Old Fig Garden is an unincorporated community that, over time, has been completely encircled by the city of Fresno. Fig Garden was created in 1947, as the then-known Fig Garden Men's club achieved nonprofit corporate status, allowing itself to have much more governance. In 1979, the name was changed to Fig Garden Home Owners Association. Fig Garden is unique to the rest of Fresno, as it features largely no sidewalks and is lined with various large trees. The homes are well-maintained and landscaped due to strict regulations from the homeowners association. Due to a tax Fig Garden residences voted for, there is nearly round-the-clock sheriff service within the district. The district hosts the Fig Garden Christmas Tree Lane, which is a nationally recognized event. There is also an upscale swim and racquet club located in northwestern Fig garden, which has multiple amenities including a heated lap pool, massage therapy, daycare, etc. Towards the northern boundary there is a shopping center called Fig Garden Village which hosts a plethora of upscale shopping opportunities.


Climate

Fresno has a
semi-arid climate A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a desert climate. There are different kinds of se ...
(
Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...
''BSh'', bordering ''BSk''), with cool, mild winters and long, hot, dry summers. December and January are the coldest months, averaging and , respectively; mornings see temperatures at or below freezing, with the coldest night of the year typically bottoming out around . July is the warmest month, averaging ; normally, there are 38 days of + highs and 113 days of + highs, and between July and August, there are only 3.6 days where the high does not reach . Summers provide considerable sunshine, with July exceeding 96 percent of the total possible sunlight hours; conversely, December is the lowest with only 42 percent of the daylight time in sunlight because of
tule fog ''Schoenoplectus acutus'' (synonym (taxonomy), syn. ''Scirpus acutus, Schoenoplectus lacustris, Scirpus lacustris'' subsp. ''acutus''), called tule , common tule, hardstem tule, tule rush, hardstem bulrush, or viscid bulrush, is a giant specie ...
. However, the year averages 81% of possible sunshine, for a total of 3550 hours. Average annual precipitation is around . Most of the wind rose direction occurrences derive from the northwest, as winds are driven downward along the axis of the
California Central Valley The Central Valley is a broad, elongated, flat valley that dominates the interior of California, United States. It is wide and runs approximately from north-northwest to south-southeast, inland from and parallel to the Pacific coast. It cover ...
; in December, January and February there is an increased presence of southeastern wind directions in the wind rose statistics. Fresno meteorology was selected in a national
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is an independent agency of the United States government tasked with environmental protection matters. President Richard Nixon proposed the establishment of EPA on July 9, 1970; it began operation on De ...
study for analysis of
equilibrium temperature The planetary equilibrium temperature is a theoretical temperature that a planet would be if it were in radiative equilibrium, typically under the assumption that it radiates as a black body being heated only by its parent star. In this model, th ...
for use of ten-year
meteorological Meteorology is the scientific study of the Earth's atmosphere and short-term atmospheric phenomena (i.e. weather), with a focus on weather forecasting. It has applications in the military, aviation, energy production, transport, agriculture ...
data to represent a warm, dry western United States locale. The official record high temperature for Fresno is , set on July 8, 1905, while the official record low is , set on January 6, 1913. The average windows for temperatures of + are June 2 through September 15; for temperatures of +, April 25 through October 10; and for freezing temperatures, December 14 through January 24, although no freeze occurred during the 1983–84 or 2020–21 winter seasons. Annual rainfall has ranged from in the "rain year" from July 1982 to June 1983 down to from July 1933 to June 1934. The most rainfall in one month was in November 1885 and the most rainfall in 24 hours was on November 18, 1885. Measurable precipitation falls on an average of 46.5 days annually. Snow is a rarity; the heaviest snowfall at the airport was on January 21–22, 1962.


Demographics

Fresno is the larger principal city of the Fresno-Madera CSA, a Combined Statistical Area that includes the
Fresno Fresno (; ) is a city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County, California, Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley (California), Central Valley region. It covers a ...
(Fresno County) and Madera (Madera County) metropolitan areas, which had a combined population of 922,516 at the 2000 census. Fresno is home to numerous ethnic minority communities, such as the
Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian diaspora, Armenian communities around the ...
and
Hmong Hmong may refer to: * Hmong people, an ethnic group living mainly in Southwest China, Vietnam, Laos, and Thailand * Hmong cuisine * Hmong customs and culture ** Hmong music ** Hmong textile art * Hmong language, a continuum of closely related ...
communities. In 1920,
Armenians Armenians (, ) are an ethnic group indigenous to the Armenian highlands of West Asia.Robert Hewsen, Hewsen, Robert H. "The Geography of Armenia" in ''The Armenian People From Ancient to Modern Times Volume I: The Dynastic Periods: From Antiq ...
comprised 9% of the population of the city of Fresno, with 4,000 Armenian residents at the time. Old Armenian Town was the old Armenian neighborhood in the center of Fresno. The Hmong community of Fresno, along with that of
Minneapolis–Saint Paul Minneapolis–Saint Paul is a metropolitan area in the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States centered around the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi, Minnesota River, Minnesota, and St. Croix River (Wisconsin–Minnesota), ...
, is one of the largest two urban U.S. ethnic Hmong communities, with just over 24,000 people, or about 5% of the city's population, being of Hmong descent.


2010

The 2010 United States Census reported that Fresno had a population of 494,665. The population density was . The racial makeup of Fresno was 245,306 (49.6%)
White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...
, 40,960 (8.3%)
African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...
, 8,525 (1.7%) Native American, 62,528 (12.6%) Asian (3.6%
Hmong Hmong may refer to: * Hmong people, an ethnic group living mainly in Southwest China, Vietnam, Laos, and Thailand * Hmong cuisine * Hmong customs and culture ** Hmong music ** Hmong textile art * Hmong language, a continuum of closely related ...
, 1.7%
Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Associated with India * of or related to India ** Indian people ** Indian diaspora ** Languages of India ** Indian English, a dialect of the English language ** Indian cuisine Associated with indigenous peoples o ...
, 1.2% Filipino, 1.2% Laotian, 1.0% Thai, 0.8% Cambodian, 0.7%
Chinese Chinese may refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people identified with China, through nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **Han Chinese, East Asian ethnic group native to China. **'' Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic ...
, 0.5%
Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...
, 0.4%
Vietnamese Vietnamese may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Vietnam, a country in Southeast Asia * Vietnamese people, or Kinh people, a Southeast Asian ethnic group native to Vietnam ** Overseas Vietnamese, Vietnamese people living outside Vietna ...
, 0.2%
Korean Korean may refer to: People and culture * Koreans, people from the Korean peninsula or of Korean descent * Korean culture * Korean language **Korean alphabet, known as Hangul or Korean **Korean dialects **See also: North–South differences in t ...
), 849 (0.2%)
Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...
, 111,984 (22.6%) from other races, and 24,513 (5.0%) from two or more races.
Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...
or Latino of any race were 232,055 persons (46.9%). Among the Hispanic population, 42.7% of the total population are
Mexican Mexican may refer to: Mexico and its culture *Being related to, from, or connected to the country of Mexico, in North America ** People *** Mexicans, inhabitants of the country Mexico and their descendants *** Mexica, ancient indigenous people ...
, 0.4%
Salvadoran Salvadorans (), also known as Salvadorians, are citizens of El Salvador, a country in Central America. Most Salvadorans live in El Salvador, although there is also a significant Salvadoran diaspora, particularly in the United States, with smalle ...
, and 0.4% Puerto Rican.
Non-Hispanic Whites Non-Hispanic Whites, also referred to as White Anglo Americans or Non-Latino Whites, are White Americans who are classified by the United States census as "White" and not of Hispanic or Latino origin. According to annual estimates from the Unit ...
were 30.0% of the population in 2010, down from 72.6% in 1970. The Census reported that 485,798 people (98.2% of the population) lived in households, 4,315 (0.9%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 4,552 (0.9%) were institutionalized. There were 158,349 households, of which 68,511 (43.3%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 69,284 (43.8%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 30,547 (19.3%) had a female householder with no husband present, 11,698 (7.4%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 12,843 (8.1%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 1,388 (0.9%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 35,064 households (22.1%) were made up of individuals, and 12,344 (7.8%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.07. There were 111,529
families Family (from ) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictability, structure, and safety as ...
(70.4% of all households); the average family size was 3.62. The age distribution of the population shows 148,823 people (30.1%) under the age of 18, 62,601 people (12.7%) aged 18 to 24, 135,076 people (27.3%) aged 25 to 44, 102,064 people (20.6%) aged 45 to 64, and 46,101 people (9.3%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 29.3 years. For every 100 females, there were 96.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.5 males. There were 171,288 housing units at an average density of , of which 158,349 were occupied, of which 77,757 (49.1%) were owner-occupied, and 80,592 (50.9%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.6%; the rental vacancy rate was 7.6%. 235,430 people (47.6% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 250,368 people (50.6%) lived in rental housing units.


2000

As of the census of 2000, there were 427,652 people, 140,079 households, and 97,915 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 149,025 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 50.2%
White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...
, 8.4%
Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...
or
African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...
, 1.6% Native American, 11.2% Asian (about a third of which is
Hmong Hmong may refer to: * Hmong people, an ethnic group living mainly in Southwest China, Vietnam, Laos, and Thailand * Hmong cuisine * Hmong customs and culture ** Hmong music ** Hmong textile art * Hmong language, a continuum of closely related ...
), 0.1%
Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...
, 23.4% from other races, and 5.2% from two or more races.
Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...
or Latino of any race were 39.9% of the population. There were 140,079 households, of which 40.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.1% were married couples living together, 17.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.1% were non-families. 23.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.99 and the average family size was 3.57. In the city, the age distribution of the population shows 32.9% under the age of 18, 11.8% from 18 to 24, 28.8% from 25 to 44, 17.2% from 45 to 64, and 9.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 28 years. For every 100 females, there were 96.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.0 males. The median income for a household in the city was $32,236, and the median income for a family was $35,892. Males had a median income of $32,279 versus $26,551 for females. The
per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...
for the city was $15,010. About 20.5% of families and 26.2% of the population were below the
poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...
, including 36.5% of those under age 18 and 10.7% of those age 65 or over.


Economy

Fresno is the center of
Metropolitan Fresno Metropolitan Fresno, officially Fresno–Hanford–Corcoran, CA CSA, is a metropolitan area in the San Joaquin Valley, in the United States, consisting of Fresno and Madera counties. It is the third-largest metropolitan region in Northern Cali ...
and serves as the regional hub for the
San Joaquin Valley The San Joaquin Valley ( ; Spanish language in California, Spanish: ''Valle de San Joaquín'') is the southern half of California's Central Valley (California), Central Valley. Famed as a major breadbasket, the San Joaquin Valley is an importa ...
and the greater Central Valley region. The unincorporated area and rural cities surrounding Fresno remain predominantly tied to large-scale agricultural production. In 1958, Fresno was selected by
Bank of America The Bank of America Corporation (Bank of America) (often abbreviated BofA or BoA) is an American multinational investment banking, investment bank and financial services holding company headquartered at the Bank of America Corporate Center in ...
to first launch the
BankAmericard Visa Inc. () is an American multinational payment card services corporation headquartered in San Francisco, California. It facilitates electronic funds transfers throughout the world, most commonly through Visa-branded credit cards, debit c ...
credit card, which was later renamed
Visa Visa most commonly refers to: * Travel visa, a document that allows entry to a foreign country * Visa Inc., a US multinational financial and payment cards company ** Visa Debit card issued by the above company ** Visa Electron, a debit card ** Vi ...
. Companies based in Fresno include
Pelco Pelco Incorporated is an American security and surveillance technologies company. Founded in 1957 and headquartered in Fresno, California, Pelco is a wholly owned subsidiary of Motorola Solutions. The company's products include security cameras, r ...
, Valley Yellow Pages, and Saladino's. ;Top employers According to the city's 2023 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report,https://www.fresno.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/2023-ACFR.pdf the top employers in the city are:


Arts and culture


Performing arts and music

* Artists' Repertory Theatre *Children's Musical Theatreworks *Center State Productions *Fresno Philharmonic *
Philip Lorenz International Keyboard Concerts Philip Lorenz International Keyboard Concerts or Philip Lorenz Memorial Keyboard Concerts is an international keyboard concert series in Central California that was founded in 1972 (with the name Keyboard Concerts) by Philip Lorenz. In 1992, upon th ...
*Roger Rocka's Dinner Theater & 2nd Space Theatre (Good Company Players) *Rogue Festival *Shine! Theatre *Stageworks of Fresno *
Woodward Shakespeare Festival Woodward Park is a public park located in Fresno, California, abutting the San Joaquin River, opened in 1968. It is named after the late Ralph Woodward who bequeathed a portion of his estate to provide a regional park and bird sanctuary in Fresno ...
*Youth Orchestras of Fresno


Theaters

* Azteca Theater *Crest Theatre *Liberty Theatre * Tower Theatre – Tower Theatre for the Performing Arts *
Warnors Theatre Warnors Theatre is a historic theater located in downtown Fresno, California. The 2,100-seat venue opened in 1928 as the Pantages Theater, after the name of its then owner, Alexander Pantages, and later, the Warner Theater in 1929 after it was ...
– Warnor's Center for the Performing Arts *Wilson Theatre – currently Cornerstone Church * Veteran's Memorial Auditorium *
Paul Shaghoian Memorial Concert Hall Paul may refer to: People * Paul (given name), a given name, including a list of people * Paul (surname), a list of people * Paul the Apostle, an apostle who wrote many of the books of the New Testament * Ray Hildebrand, half of the singing duo P ...
- Clovis North High School


Museums

*African-American Museum of the San Joaquin Valley *Arte Américas *Armenian Museum of Fresno *Discovery Center *William Saroyan House Museum *
Forestiere Underground Gardens The Forestiere Underground Gardens in Fresno, California are a series of subterranean structures built by Baldassare Forestiere, an immigrant from Sicily, over a period of 40 years from 1906 to his death in 1946. The gardens are operated by membe ...
*
Fresno Art Museum The Fresno Art Museum is an art museum in Fresno, California. The museum's collection includes contemporary art, modern art, Mexican and Mexican-American art, and Pre-Columbian sculpture. Mission statement "The Fresno Art Museum offers a dyna ...
* Kearney Mansion Museum *Legion of Valor Museum * Meux Home Museum * Old Fresno Water Tower Tourist Center *
Fresno Chaffee Zoo The Fresno Chaffee Zoo is a zoo in Roeding Park in Fresno, California covering 39 acres and housing over 190 species. Its attractions include Stingray Bay, Dino Dig, Valley Farm, Sea Lion Cove, African Adventure, and Ross Laird's Winged Wonders ...
*Sierra Endangered Cat Haven (Fresno County)


Events

* Ani-Me Con (every spring) Fresno's only
anime convention An anime and manga convention (often called just anime convention) is a fan convention with a primary focus on anime, manga and Japanese culture. Anime conventions are commonly multi-day events hosted at convention centers, hotels or college cam ...
. *Armenian Grape Blessing (August) *ArtHop (first Thursday of every month) * The Big Fresno Fair, 12 days October, the largest event in the Central Valley attracting over 600,000 visitors *Taco Truck Throwdown *Christmas Tree Lane Every December *Fresno LGBT Pride Parade, every June, first held in 1991 *Grizzly Fest April/May *Valley DevFest (Fall) *Vintage Days March or April *Greek Fest three days every September


Sports

Collegiate sports are very popular.
Fresno State Bulldogs football The Fresno State Bulldogs football team represents California State University, Fresno, in NCAA Division I FBS college football as a member of the Mountain West Conference. The green "V" on the Bulldogs' helmets, uniforms, and playing field symb ...
program is considered to be the biggest event in terms of sporting events in the city. The term "Red Wave" is the name given to the fans of Fresno State athletics, and as well as "Pride of the Valley" since the university's fanbase represents all of Fresno and California's San Joaquin Valley. The
Save Mart Center at Fresno State Save Mart Center at Fresno State is a multi-purpose arena, on the campus of California State University, Fresno (Fresno State), located in Fresno, California. An open house was held for the community on November 5, 2003, with the official ribbon ...
is a multi-purpose
arena An arena is a large enclosed venue, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theatre, Music, musical performances or Sport, sporting events. It comprises a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for specta ...
on the campus of the
California State University, Fresno California State University, Fresno (Fresno State) is a public university in Fresno, California, United States. It is part of the California State University system. The university had a fall 2020 enrollment of 25,341 students. It offers 60 ba ...
. It is home to the
Fresno State Bulldogs The Fresno State Bulldogs are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent California State University, Fresno (commonly referred to as Fresno State). The university is a member of NCAA Division I's Mountain West Conference (MW). It was a ...
basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...
team and, for the first five seasons in the
ECHL The ECHL (formerly the East Coast Hockey League) is a minor professional ice hockey league based in Shrewsbury, New Jersey, with teams across the United States and Canada. Competitively, it is a tier below the American Hockey League (AHL). The ...
(2003–08) hosted the
Fresno Falcons The Fresno Falcons are an adult travel inline hockey team and were a minor league hockey team. The ice hockey Falcons were charter members of several long standing leagues in the western United States including the Pacific Southwest Hockey Leagu ...
ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...
team. It also hosts a wide range of musical acts and other events. Also on the campus of Fresno State is
Valley Children's Stadium Valley Children's Stadium, also known as Jim Sweeney Field at Bulldog Stadium, is an outdoor college football stadium in the Western United States, located on the campus of California State University, Fresno, in Fresno, California. It is the ho ...
, a 41,031-seat
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
stadium. It is home to the
Fresno State Bulldogs football The Fresno State Bulldogs football team represents California State University, Fresno, in NCAA Division I FBS college football as a member of the Mountain West Conference. The green "V" on the Bulldogs' helmets, uniforms, and playing field symb ...
program. Next to Bulldog Stadium is Pete Beiden Field. It is home to the
Fresno State Bulldogs baseball The Fresno State Bulldogs baseball team represents Fresno State in NCAA Division I college baseball. Along with most other Fresno State athletic teams, the baseball team participates in the Mountain West Conference. The Bulldogs play their home ...
program and was home to the Fresno Grizzlies before their move to
Chukchansi Park Chukchansi Park, formerly known as Grizzlies Stadium, is a city-owned baseball stadium located in Fresno, California, United States, completed in 2002 as the home for Minor League Baseball's Fresno Grizzlies. The first game was May 1, 2002. Loca ...
in Downtown Fresno. Fresno's Woodward Park is the location of the
CIF CIF, c.i.f. or Cif may refer to: Finance * Climate Investment Funds, in international climate change agreements * Community Infrastructure Fund (CIF), a method of UK government funding for transport infrastructure * Cost, Insurance and Freight, ...
Cross Country State Championships, where high schoolers from around the state compete. Additionally the
BMX BMX, an abbreviation for bicycle motocross or bike motocross, is a cycle sport performed on BMX bikes, either in competitive BMX racing or freestyle BMX, or else in general street or off-road recreation. History BMX began during the ea ...
course in the park plays host to the
National Bicycle League The National Bicycle League (NBL) was a United States–based Bicycle Motocross (BMX) sports sanctioning body originally based in Deerfield Beach, Florida, but after several moves it was based in Hilliard, Ohio. It was created by George Edward E ...
State Championships.
Ratcliffe Stadium Ratcliffe Stadium is a collegiate athletic venue in the western United States, located on the campus of Fresno City College in Fresno, California. Opened in 1926, it was renamed in 1941 after their first football coach, Emory Ratcliffe. The ...
, on the campus of
Fresno City College Fresno City College (FCC or "Fresno City") is a public community college in Fresno, California. It is part of the State Center Community College District within the California Community Colleges system. Fresno City College operates on a semeste ...
, is a 13,000-seat
track and field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...
stadium. The stadium played host to the
West Coast Relays Started April 30, 1927, the West Coast Relays grew to one of the premier track and field events in the United States. Held in Fresno's Ratcliffe Stadium, it was the site of thirty-six world records and many national and collegiate records. It becam ...
. It is home to the college's football program and is also host to high school football games and track and field events. The Fresno Yacht Club established in 1959 hosts the High Sierra Regatta on
Huntington Lake Huntington Lake is a reservoir in Fresno County, California on Big Creek, located in the Sierra Nevada at an elevation of . The lake receives water from Southern California Edison's Big Creek Hydroelectric Project, as well as the many streams ...
every July (barring extreme drought) and regular sailing on
Millerton Lake Millerton Lake is an artificial lake near the town of Friant, about north of downtown Fresno, California, United States. The reservoir was created by the construction of 319 ft (97 m) high Friant Dam on the San Joaquin River which, with ...
. List of Fresno-based professional sports teams:


Government

Fresno has a strong-mayor form of government. The mayor (executive branch) is directly elected and the seven city council members (legislative branch) are elected by district with no "at-large" seats. The mayor and council members are elected for no more than two 4-year terms. The mayor's office and council positions are officially nonpartisan and not affiliated with any political party. The current mayor is
Jerry Dyer Jerry P. Dyer (born May 3, 1959) is an American politician and former law enforcement officer. He is the 26th and current mayor of Fresno, California Fresno (; ) is a city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the c ...
, who is a Republican. Should the Mayor pass away, be incapacitated, or be removed from office, the Council President shall serve as Mayor until a new Mayor is elected in a special election, per the Charter.


City Council

*District 1 - Annalisa Perea *District 2 - Mike Karbassi (Council President) *District 3 - Miguel Arias (Council Vice President) *District 4 - Tyler Maxwell *District 5 - Brandon Vang *District 6 - Nick Richardson *District 7 - Nelson Esparza Prior to 1901, Fresno's government was under a
ward Ward may refer to: Division or unit * Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward * Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a pris ...
system which allowed for a board of trustees. From the trustees elected by the city wards, a president of the board of trustees would act as
ex-officio An ''ex officio'' member is a member of a body (notably a board, committee, or council) who is part of it by virtue of holding another office. The term ''List of Latin phrases (E)#ex officio, ex officio'' is Latin, meaning literally 'from the off ...
mayor however did not hold the title of mayor. Because of this, the president of the board of trustees is not recognized as mayors of the City of Fresno.


Courts

Fresno is the county seat of Fresno County. It maintains the main county courthouse on Van Ness in the Fresno County Plaza for criminal and some civil court cases. The United States District Court, Eastern District of California, has one of its six divisions based in the Robert E. Coyle Courthouse. The new courthouse replaced the B.F. Sisk Federal Building in 2006 because it did not have enough space for the growing Fresno Division. After extensive renovation, the building reopened in November 2010 as the B.F. Sisk Courthouse serving the
Fresno County Superior Court The Superior Court of California, County of Fresno, also known as the Fresno County Superior Court, is the California superior court with jurisdiction over Fresno County. History Fresno County was formed in 1856 from neighboring Mariposa, Merce ...
. Fresno is also the seat of the Court of Appeal for the Fifth Appellate District, for which a new courthouse was built in 2007 in the old Armenian Town section of downtown Fresno across from the Fresno Convention Center. The Fifth District Court of Appeal's courthouse was formally dedicated as the George N. Zenovich Building, after former
state senator A state senator is a member of a State legislature (United States), state's senate in the bicameral legislature of 49 U.S. states, or a member of the unicameral Nebraska Legislature. History There are typically fewer state senators than there ...
and
associate justice An associate justice or associate judge (or simply associate) is a judicial panel member who is not the chief justice in some jurisdictions. The title "Associate Justice" is used for members of the Supreme Court of the United States and some ...
of the Fifth District, George N. Zenovich.


Politics

, according t
Fresno County Registrar of Voters
the majority of registered voters in both the city and
county of Fresno Fresno County (), officially the County of Fresno, is a county located in the central portion of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 1,008,654. The county seat is Fresno, the fifth-most popu ...
are registered to the Democratic Party. According to the county registrar'
official final report
https://web.archive.org/web/20120616055919/http://www.barackobama.com/obama-for-america-2012-campaign?source=OM2012_LB_G_Obama2012-search_barack-obama-exact_d1e&gclid=CK6J4YGtra0CFQ5T7AodQUtwpA U.S. President Barack Obama] carried the county 49.99% in the
2008 United States presidential election Presidential elections were held in the United States on November 4, 2008. The Democratic ticket of Barack Obama, the junior senator from Illinois, and Joe Biden, the senior senator from Delaware, defeated the Republican ticket of John Mc ...
.


State and federal representation

The citizens of Fresno are represented in the
California State Senate The California State Senate is the upper house of the California State Legislature (the lower house being the California State Assembly). The state senate convenes, along with the state assembly, at the California State Capitol in Sacramento. ...
by in
District 14 A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions ...
and in
District 12 District 12 may refer to: * District 12 (Ho Chi Minh city), Vietnam *Schwamendingen, Zürich, Switzerland, also known as District 12 * District 12, an electoral district of Malta * District 12 (Hunger Games), fictional district in the Hunger Games ...
. They are represented in the
California State Assembly The California State Assembly is the lower house of the California State Legislature (the upper house being the California State Senate). The Assembly convenes, along with the State Senate, at the California State Capitol in Sacramento, Califor ...
by in
District 8 District 8 can refer to: *District 8 Jakarta, in Indonesia * District 8 (Ho Chi Minh City), in Vietnam *VIII District, Turku, in Finland * VIII District, Budapest, in Hungary * Riesbach, also known as District 8, in Zürich, Switzerland * District ...
, in District 27 and in District 31. The citizens of Fresno are represented in the
United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...
by Representative
Jim Costa James Manuel Costa (born April 13, 1952) is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for since 2023. He previously represented the 20th congressional district from 2005 to 2013 and the 16th congressional district from 2013 ...
, Democrat, in
District 21 A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions ...
, and
Vince Fong Vincent Karchi Fong (born October 24, 1979) is an American politician who has served as the U.S. representative for California's 20th congressional district since 2024. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he previo ...
, Republican, in
District 20 A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municip ...
.


Education


Four-year institutions

California State University, Fresno California State University, Fresno (Fresno State) is a public university in Fresno, California, United States. It is part of the California State University system. The university had a fall 2020 enrollment of 25,341 students. It offers 60 ba ...
is the main state school in Fresno though the
University of California, Merced The University of California, Merced (UC Merced or colloquially, UCM) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Merced, California, United States. It is one of the ten campuses in the University of ...
has its Fresno Center and the
University of California, San Francisco The University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in San Francisco, California, United States. It is part of the University of California system and is dedic ...
has its Fresno Medical Education Program. Private institutions include *
Alliant International University Alliant International University is a Private university, private For-profit higher education in the United States, for-profit university with its main campus in San Diego, five additional campuses in California (San Francisco, Los Angeles, Irv ...
(For Profit) *
California Christian College California Christian College (CCC) is a private Free Will Baptist Bible college in Fresno, California. This is one of several higher learning institutions associated with the Free Will Baptists. History It was founded in 1955 by 48 Free Will ...
(Private/Freewill Baptist) *
Fresno Pacific University Fresno Pacific University (FPU) is a private Christian university in Fresno, California, United States. It was founded as the Pacific Bible Institute in 1944 by the Pacific District Conference of U.S. Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches. ...
(Private/Mennonite Brethren) **
Fresno Pacific University Biblical Seminary Fresno Pacific University Biblical Seminary, formerly the Mennonite Brethren Biblical Seminary, is the denominational seminary of the United States Mennonite Brethren Churches. It was founded in 1955 in Fresno, California. The campus is located on ...
*
Kaplan College Brightwood College, formerly Kaplan College, was a system of for-profit colleges in the United States, owned and operated by Education Corporation of America. Main qualifications offered included health, business, criminal justice, information ...
, Fresno campus (formerly Maric College) *
National University A national university is mainly a university created or managed by a government, but which may also at the same time operate autonomously without direct control by the state. In the United States, the term "national university" connotes the highe ...
, Fresno campus *
University of Phoenix University of Phoenix (UoPX) is a Private university, private For-profit higher education in the United States, for-profit university headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona. Founded in 1976, the university confers certificates and degrees at the Ac ...
(Private) (For Profit) * DeVry University (Private) (For Profit, Career)


Two-year institutions

Public community colleges include
Fresno City College Fresno City College (FCC or "Fresno City") is a public community college in Fresno, California. It is part of the State Center Community College District within the California Community Colleges system. Fresno City College operates on a semeste ...
and Clovis Community College.


Career colleges

*
University of Phoenix University of Phoenix (UoPX) is a Private university, private For-profit higher education in the United States, for-profit university headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona. Founded in 1976, the university confers certificates and degrees at the Ac ...
* DeVry University *
Institute of Technology An institute of technology (also referred to as technological university, technical university, university of technology, polytechnic university) is an institution of tertiary education that specializes in engineering, technology, applied science ...
* San Joaquin Valley College * UEI College


Public K-12 schools

Most of Fresno is in the
Fresno Unified School District The Fresno Unified School District is a school district in Fresno, California, United States. Facts and figures *California's third largest school district *74,000 students *$1.6 Billion Budget *76 different languages represented over the last ...
though small portions are served by the
Clovis Unified School District Clovis Unified School District is a public school system located in Clovis, California, with its headquarters located at 1450, Herndon Avenue, Clovis. Its 49 schools serve a student population of nearly 43,000 students in a geographic area c ...
,
Central Unified School District The Central Unified School District is a school district in Fresno County, California. Incorporates approximately of suburban population and ag land. List of schools Here is a list of all the schools in the Central Unified School District: ...
, Washington Union Unified School District, Orange Center Elementary School District, Sanger Unified School District and West Park Elementary School District.


Private K-12 schools

*
Fresno Christian High School Fresno Christian High School (abbr. FCHS) is a private, Christian high school sponsored by 12 evangelical churches, located in Fresno, California, United States. The high school is a division of Fresno Christian Schools, offering various classes ...
(Evangelical Christian) *
San Joaquin Memorial High School San Joaquin Memorial High School is a private Roman Catholic high school in Fresno, California, United States. Founded in 1945, it is the only Catholic high school in the Fresno metropolitan area. It is in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Fresno a ...
(Roman Catholic) * Fresno Adventist Academy (Seventh Day Adventist)


Media


Newspapers

*''The Business Journal'' *''
The Fresno Bee ''The Fresno Bee'' is a three-times a week newspaper serving Fresno, California Fresno (; ) is a city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County, California, Fresno County and the larges ...
'' *'' The Community Alliance''


Radio

* KMJ, AM 580, 50,000-watt and FM 105.9, is Fresno's first radio station; it began broadcasting in 1922. Its powerful 50,000-watt signal can clearly be heard throughout much of California. *
KYNO KYNO (940 AM) is a radio station licensed to Fresno, California and is owned by John Ostlund and Katrina Ostlund. KYNO airs an oldies format, switching to Christmas music for much of December. KYNO's radio studios and offices are on Fulton ...
AM 940, 50,000-watt oldies station *
KFIG KFIG (1430 AM "ESPN Radio 1430") is a commercial radio station in Fresno, California, airing a sports radio format. It is owned by Fat Dawgs 7 Broadcasting, with studios on North Palm Avenue at West Barstow Avenue in Fresno. KFIG is the sis ...
AM 1430, 5,000-watt ESPN affiliate *88.1 KFCF is Fresno's Pacifica station, and one of Fresno's few non-commercial, non-corporate radio stations. *89.3 KVPR, provides National Public Radio Programming & classical music throughout the Central California region. *90.7 KFSR is another non-commercial, non-corporate station that plays a full spectrum format, including Jazz, eclectic, Armenian, and others. Based on the CSUF campus. *94.9
KBOS-FM KBOS-FM (94.9 MHz, "B95") is a commercial radio station licensed to Tulare and broadcasting to Fresno, Visalia and the Central Valley of California. It airs an urban-leaning rhythmic contemporary format and is owned by iHeartMedia, Inc. ...
More commonly known as B95 – Fresno's Hip-Hop Station


Television

To avoid interference with existing VHF television stations in the San Francisco Bay Area and those planned for Chico,
Sacramento Sacramento ( or ; ; ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the seat of Sacramento County. Located at the confluence of the Sacramento and American Rivers in Northern California's Sacramento Valley, Sacramento's 2020 p ...
, Salinas, and Stockton, the
Federal Communications Commission The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, internet, wi-fi, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains j ...
decided that Fresno would be a
UHF island UHF television broadcasting is the use of ultra high frequency (UHF) radio for over-the-air transmission of television signals. UHF frequencies are used for both analog and digital television broadcasts. UHF channels are typically given highe ...
(only have
UHF Ultra high frequency (UHF) is the ITU designation for radio frequencies in the range between 300 megahertz (MHz) and 3 gigahertz (GHz), also known as the decimetre band as the wavelengths range from one meter to one tenth of a meter ...
television stations). The first Fresno television station to begin broadcasting was KMJ-TV, which debuted on June 1, 1953. KMJ-TV is now known as
NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...
affiliate
KSEE KSEE (channel 24) is a television station in Fresno, California, United States, affiliated with NBC. It is owned by Nexstar Media Group alongside CBS affiliate KGPE (channel 47). The two stations share studios on McKinley Avenue in eastern ...
. Other Fresno stations include
ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...
O&O
KFSN-TV KFSN-TV (channel 30) is a television station in Fresno, California, United States, serving as the market's ABC network outlet. It is owned and operated by the network's ABC Owned Television Stations division, and maintains studios on G Street ...
,
CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...
affiliate
KGPE KGPE (channel 47) is a television station in Fresno, California, United States, affiliated with CBS. It is owned by Nexstar Media Group alongside NBC affiliate KSEE (channel 24). The two stations share studios on McKinley Avenue in eastern Fres ...
,
The CW The CW Network, LLC (commonly referred to as The CW or simply CW) is an American commercial broadcast television network which is controlled by Nexstar Media Group through a 75% ownership interest. The network's name is derived from the firs ...
affiliate
KFRE-TV KFRE-TV (channel 59) is a television station licensed to Sanger, California, United States, serving the Fresno area as an affiliate of The CW. It is owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group alongside Visalia-licensed Fox affiliate KMPH-TV (channel 26 ...
,
FOX Foxes are small-to-medium-sized omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull; upright, triangular ears; a pointed, slightly upturned snout; and a long, bushy tail ("brush"). Twelve species ...
affiliate
KMPH-TV KMPH-TV (channel 26) is a television station licensed to Visalia, California, United States, serving the Fresno area as an affiliate of the Fox network. It is owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group alongside Sanger-licensed CW affiliate KFRE-TV ...
, MNTV affiliate KMSG-LD,
PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...
member station
KVPT KVPT (channel 18) is a PBS member television station in Fresno, California, United States, owned by Valley Public Television, Inc. Its studios are located on Van Ness Avenue and Calaveras Street in downtown Fresno, and its transmitter is located ...
,
Telemundo Telemundo (; formerly NetSpan) is an American Spanish-language terrestrial television network owned by NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises, a division of NBCUniversal, which in turn is a wholly owned subsidiary of Comcast. It provides content ...
O&O
KNSO KNSO (channel 51) is a television station licensed to Clovis, California, United States, broadcasting the Spanish-language Telemundo network to the Fresno area. Owned and operated by NBCUniversal's Telemundo Station Group, KNSO maintains a trans ...
,
Univision Univision () is an American Spanish-language terrestrial television, free-to-air television network owned by TelevisaUnivision. It is the United States' largest provider of Spanish-language content. The network's programming is aimed at the L ...
O&O
KFTV-DT KFTV-DT (channel 21) is a television station licensed to Hanford, California, United States, broadcasting the Spanish-language Univision network to the Fresno area. It is owned and operated by TelevisaUnivision alongside Porterville-licensed ...
, and
Estrella TV Estrella TV () is an American Spanish-language broadcast television network owned by the Estrella Media subsidiary of HPS Investment Partners, LLC. The network primarily features programs, the vast majority of which are produced by the networ ...
affiliate KGMC. In partnership with the City of
Clovis Clovis may refer to: People * Clovis (given name), the early medieval (Frankish) form of the name Louis ** Clovis I (c. 466 – 511), the first king of the Franks to unite all the Frankish tribes under one ruler ** Clovis II (c. 634 – c. 657), ...
, the City of Fresno opened the Community Media Access Collaborative (CMAC) in April 2012, a public, education and government access television station.


Infrastructure

Since 2010, statewide
droughts in California The historical and ongoing droughts in California result from various complex meteorological phenomena, some of which are not fully understood by scientists. Drought is generally defined as "a deficiency of precipitation over an extended perio ...
have strained both Fresno's and the entire Central Valley's
water security The aim of water security is to maximize the benefits of water for humans and ecosystems. The second aim is to limit the risks of destructive impacts of water to an acceptable level. These risks include too much water (flood), too little water (d ...
. The city uses surface water from Millerton Lake and Pine Flat Reservoir to supply a pair of water treatment plants.


Transportation


Highways

Fresno is served by State Route 99, the main north–south freeway that connects the major population centers of California's Central Valley. State Route 168, the Sierra Freeway, heads east to the city of
Clovis Clovis may refer to: People * Clovis (given name), the early medieval (Frankish) form of the name Louis ** Clovis I (c. 466 – 511), the first king of the Franks to unite all the Frankish tribes under one ruler ** Clovis II (c. 634 – c. 657), ...
and
Huntington Lake Huntington Lake is a reservoir in Fresno County, California on Big Creek, located in the Sierra Nevada at an elevation of . The lake receives water from Southern California Edison's Big Creek Hydroelectric Project, as well as the many streams ...
. State Route 41 (Yosemite Freeway/Eisenhower Freeway) comes into Fresno from
Atascadero Atascadero (Spanish for "Mire") is a city in San Luis Obispo County, California, United States, located on U.S. Route 101. Atascadero is part of the San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles metropolitan statistical area, which encompasses the extents of th ...
in the south, and then heads north to
Yosemite National Park Yosemite National Park ( ) is a List of national parks of the United States, national park of the United States in California. It is bordered on the southeast by Sierra National Forest and on the northwest by Stanislaus National Forest. The p ...
. State Route 180 (Kings Canyon Freeway) comes from the west via Mendota, and then east through the city of
Reedley Reedley may refer to: *Reedley, Lancashire, England, United Kingdom *Reedley, California Reedley is a city in Fresno County, California, Fresno County, California, United States. It is located in the San Joaquin Valley, east-southeast of Fresno ...
to
Kings Canyon National Park Kings Canyon National Park is a national park of the United States in the southern Sierra Nevada, in Fresno and Tulare Counties, California. Originally established in 1890 as General Grant National Park, the park was greatly expanded and ren ...
. Fresno is the most populous U.S. city not directly linked to an
Interstate highway The Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, commonly known as the Interstate Highway System, or the Eisenhower Interstate System, is a network of controlled-access highways that forms part of the National Hi ...
. When the Interstate Highway System was created in the 1950s, the decision was made to build what is now
Interstate 5 Interstate 5 (I-5) is the main north–south Interstate Highway System, Interstate Highway on the West Coast of the United States, running largely parallel to the Pacific coast of the contiguous U.S. from Mexico to Canada. It travels thro ...
on the west side of the Central Valley, and thus bypass many of the population centers in the region, instead of upgrading what is now State Route 99. Due to rapidly rising population and traffic in cities along SR 99, as well as the desirability of Federal funding, much discussion has been made to upgrade it to interstate standards and eventually incorporate it into the interstate system, most likely as Interstate 7 or 9. Major improvements to signage, lane width, median separation, vertical clearance, and other concerns are currently underway.


Bus services

Fresno Area Express Fresno Area Express (FAX) is a public transportation operator in Fresno, California. The system had over 100 buses, 1,606 bus stops, and 18 routes as of August 2022. In , the system had a ridership of , or about per weekday as of . FAX fixed ro ...
(FAX) is the city's primary
public transit Public transport (also known as public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) are forms of transport available to the general public. It typically uses a fixed schedule, route and charges a fixed fare. There is no rigid definition of wh ...
system, which operates eighteen routes and Handy Ride, a
paratransit Paratransit (also community transport in the United Kingdom, or intermediate public transport) is a type of public transport service that supplements fixed-route mass transit by providing individualized rides without fixed routes or timetables. P ...
operation. FAX introduced a frequent bus service called FAX15 in January 2017 with buses operating every 15 minutes on Cedar and Shaw Avenues. The FAX Q line, which the agency brands as bus rapid transit, was introduced in February 2018 and offers service as often as every 10 minutes on Blackstone Avenue, Ventura Avenue and Kings Canyon Road. As the county seat and the largest city in the region, Fresno also sees service from neighboring regional bus services including Clovis Transit, Fresno County Rural Transit Agency,
Kings Area Regional Transit Kings Area Regional Transit (KART, previously Kings Area Rural Transit) is the primary bus service serving residents and visitors to the cities of Avenal, Hanford, and Lemoore in Kings County, California. KART is the branded service operated by ...
, and Visalia Transit's V-LINE. Intercity and long-distance bus services are provided by
Greyhound The English Greyhound, or simply the Greyhound, is a dog breed, breed of dog, a sighthound which has been bred for coursing, greyhound racing and hunting. Some are kept as show dogs or pets. Greyhounds are defined as a tall, muscular, smooth-c ...
. The
Yosemite Area Regional Transportation System The Yosemite Area Regional Transportation System (YARTS) is a public transit bus line based in Merced, California providing scheduled fixed route service between Yosemite National Park and gateway communities. Service operates year-round on Hig ...
added summer seasonal service between Fresno and
Yosemite National Park Yosemite National Park ( ) is a List of national parks of the United States, national park of the United States in California. It is bordered on the southeast by Sierra National Forest and on the northwest by Stanislaus National Forest. The p ...
in May 2015. The city once provided trolley service during the late 19th and early 20th century. Known as the Fresno City Railway Company and later the
Fresno Traction Company Fresno Traction Company operated electric trams in Fresno, California, from 1903 to 1939. Earlier horsecar tracks were improved and electrified under consolidated ownership which passed to Southern Pacific Transportation Company operation in 1910. ...
, the service operated horse-drawn streetcars from 1887 to 1901. Electric streetcars were introduced in 1903. The electric streetcars were used until 1939. A proposal to include a modern
light rail Light rail (or light rail transit, abbreviated to LRT) is a form of passenger urban rail transit that uses rolling stock derived from tram technology National Conference of the Transportation Research Board while also having some features from ...
system in long-term transportation plans was rejected by the Fresno County Board of Supervisors in January 1987.


Airports

Fresno Yosemite International Airport Fresno Yosemite International Airport is a joint military–public airport in Fresno, California, United States. It is the primary commercial airport for the San Joaquin Valley and three national parks: Yosemite National Park, Yosemite, Sequoi ...
(airport code: FAT), formerly known as Fresno Air Terminal, provides regularly scheduled commercial airline service. The airport serves an estimated 1.3 million passengers annually. Fresno Chandler Executive Airport (airport code: FCH) is southwest of Downtown Fresno. Built in the 1920s by the
Works Projects Administration The Works Progress Administration (WPA; from 1935 to 1939, then known as the Work Projects Administration from 1939 to 1943) was an American New Deal agency that employed millions of jobseekers (mostly men who were not formally educated) to c ...
, it is one of the oldest operational airports in California. The airport currently serves as a general aviation airport.
Sierra Sky Park Airport Sierra Sky Park Airport is a privately owned, public-use airport northwest of the central business district of Fresno, a city in Fresno County, California, United States. Other area airports are Fresno Chandler Executive Airport and Fres ...
(airport code: E79) in Northwest Fresno is a privately owned airport, but is open to the public. Extra-wide streets surrounding the airport allow for residents of the community to land, taxi down the extra-wide streets, and park their aircraft in a garage at their home. Sierra Sky Park is recognized as the first residential aviation community in the world.


Rail

Passenger rail service is provided by
Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak (; ), is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates intercity rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...
''
San Joaquins The ''San Joaquins'' is a state-supported passenger train service operated by Amtrak in California's San Joaquin Valley. As of 2025, the service operates seven daily round trips between its southern terminus at Bakersfield and Stockton. Of the ...
''. The main passenger rail station is the renovated historic Santa Fe Railroad Depot in Downtown Fresno. The city of Fresno is planned to be served by the future
California High-Speed Rail California High-Speed Rail (CAHSR) is a publicly funded high-speed rail system being developed in California by the California High-Speed Rail Authority. Phase 1, about long, is planned to run from San Francisco, California, San Francisco to ...
. Freight rail service is provided by both the
BNSF Railway BNSF Railway is the largest freight railroad in the United States. One of six North American Class I railroads, BNSF has 36,000 employees, of track in 28 states, and over 8,000 locomotives. It has three Transcontinental railroad, transcontine ...
and the
Union Pacific Railroad The Union Pacific Railroad is a Railroad classes, Class I freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Pacific is the second largest railroad in the United Stat ...
, which both operate Bakersfield-Stockton mainlines that cross in Fresno, and both railroads maintain railyards within the city. The shortline
San Joaquin Valley Railroad The San Joaquin Valley Railroad is a short line railroad, among several in the Western Region Division of parent company, Genesee & Wyoming Inc. It operates over about of owned or leased track primarily on several lines in California's Centr ...
also operates former Southern Pacific branch lines heading west and south out of the city.


In popular culture

In the 1970s, the city was the subject of a song, "Walking Into Fresno", written by Hall Of Fame guitarist Bill Aken and recorded by Bob Gallion of the "
WWVA Jamboree The ''Wheeling Jamboree'' is the second-oldest country music radio broadcast in the United States after the ''Grand Ole Opry''. The Jamboree originated in 1933 in Wheeling, West Virginia on WWVA, the first radio station in West Virginia and a 5 ...
" radio and television show in
Wheeling, West Virginia Wheeling is a city in Ohio County, West Virginia, Ohio and Marshall County, West Virginia, Marshall counties in the U.S. state of West Virginia. The county seat of Ohio County, it lies along the Ohio River in the foothills of the Appalachian Mo ...
. Aken also made his first TV appearance playing guitar on the old country-western show at The Fresno Barn. Fictional residents of the town were portrayed in a 1986 comedic
miniseries In the United States, a miniseries or mini-series is a television show or series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. Many miniseries can also be referred to, and shown, as a television film. " Limited series" is ...
titled "
Fresno Fresno (; ) is a city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County, California, Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley (California), Central Valley region. It covers a ...
", featuring
Carol Burnett Carol Creighton Burnett (born April 26, 1933) is an American comedian, actress, singer and writer. Burnett has played dramatic and comedic roles on stage and screen. She has received List of awards and nominations received by Carol Burnett, nu ...
,
Dabney Coleman Dabney Wharton Coleman (January 3, 1932 – May 16, 2024) was an American actor. He was recognized for his roles portraying egomaniacal and unlikeable characters in comedic performances. Throughout his career, he appeared in over 175 films and ...
,
Teri Garr Terry Ann Garr (December 11, 1944 – October 29, 2024), known as Teri Garr, was an American actress. Known for her comedic roles in film and television in the 1970s and 1980s, she often played women struggling to cope with the life-changing ex ...
and
Charles Grodin Charles Sidney Grodin (April 21, 1935 – May 18, 2021) was an American actor, comedian, author, and television talk show host. Known for his deadpan delivery and often cast as a put-upon straight man, Grodin became familiar as a supporting acto ...
, along with numerous other celebrities. The mini series was presented as a parody of the prime time
soap opera A soap opera (also called a daytime drama or soap) is a genre of a long-running radio or television Serial (radio and television), serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term ''soap opera'' originat ...
s popular in the 1980s.
BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
documentarian,
Louis Theroux Louis Sebastian Theroux (; born 20 May 1970) is a British and American documentarian, journalist, broadcaster, and author. He has received three British Academy Television Awards and a Royal Television Society Television Award. After graduati ...
, visited Fresno, and rode with Fresno police as they dealt with the high drug usage in the city. Additionally, he interviewed many of the individuals involved in the drug scene, some languishing in their habit, and others working to overcome it. From that footage, he produced a British documentary
The City Addicted to Crystal Meth ''The City Addicted to Crystal Meth'' is a British documentary by Louis Theroux. It was televised on 9 August 2009. Theroux filmed his documentary in Fresno, California which has one of the highest number of crystal meth Methamphetami ...
, first aired on August 9, 2009. Fresno is mentioned in the 2009 animation film
Monsters vs. Aliens ''Monsters vs. Aliens'' is a 2009 American animated science fiction comedy film produced by DreamWorks Animation and distributed by Paramount Pictures. The film was directed by Conrad Vernon and Rob Letterman from a screenplay written by Let ...
. The 2014 horror film
Unfriended ''Unfriended'' (originally titled ''Cybernatural'') is a 2014 American screenlife supernatural horror film directed by Levan Gabriadze and produced by Timur Bekmambetov. Set on a computer screen, the film stars Shelley Hennig, Moses Storm, ...
is set in Fresno along with the 2000
Motocross Motocross is a form of off-road motorcycle racing held on enclosed off-road circuits. The sport evolved from motorcycle trials competitions held in the United Kingdom. History Motocross first evolved in Britain from motorcycle trials competi ...
film Fresno smooth. The
Fresno nightcrawler The Fresno nightcrawler is a cryptid first documented in Fresno, California. It is semi-humanoid, white in color, long-legged, and typically spotted in pairs. They have been compared to "walking pairs of pants". History The Fresno nightcrawler ...
is a cryptid first documented in Fresno in 2007.


Notable people


Twin towns – sister cities

Fresno's
sister cities A sister city or a twin town relationship is International relations, a form of legal or social agreement between two geographically and politically distinct localities for the purpose of promoting cultural and commercial ties. While there ar ...
are: *
Guadalajara Guadalajara ( ; ) is the capital and the most populous city in the western Mexican List of states of Mexico, state of Jalisco, as well as the most densely populated municipality in Jalisco. According to the 2020 census, the city has a population ...
, Mexico *
Kōchi Kochi is a city in Kerala, India. Kochi or Kōchi may also refer to: People * Kochi people, a predominantly Pashtun nomadic people of Afghanistan * , a Japanese surname: ** Arata Kochi (born 1948 or 1949), Japanese physician and World Health Org ...
, Japan (1965) *
Münster Münster (; ) is an independent city#Germany, independent city (''Kreisfreie Stadt'') in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is in the northern part of the state and is considered to be the cultural centre of the Westphalia region. It is also a ...
, Germany (1984) *
Morogoro Morogoro is a city located in the eastern part of Tanzania, approximately 196 kilometers (122 miles) west of Dar es Salaam. Retrieved on November 24, 2011. It serves as the capital of the Morogoro Region. Informally, it is referred to as ''Mji ...
, Tanzania (1992) *
Verona Verona ( ; ; or ) is a city on the Adige, River Adige in Veneto, Italy, with 255,131 inhabitants. It is one of the seven provincial capitals of the region, and is the largest city Comune, municipality in the region and in Northeast Italy, nor ...
, Italy (2000, friendship not sister) *
Vagharshapat Vagharshapat ( ) is the List of cities and towns in Armenia, 5th-largest city in Armenia and the most populous municipal community of Armavir Province, located about west of the capital Yerevan, and north of the closed Turkish-Armenian border ...
(also known as Etchmiadzin), Armenia (2009) *
Châteauroux Châteauroux ( ; ; ) is the capital city of the French department of Indre, central France and the second-largest town in the province of Berry, after Bourges. Its residents are called ''Castelroussins'' () in French. Climate Châteauroux te ...
, France (2016) *
Taishan __NOTOC__ Taishan may refer to: *Mount Tai Mount Tai () is a mountain of historical and cultural significance located north of the city of Tai'an. It is the highest point in Shandong province, China. The tallest peak is the ''Jade Emperor Peak ...
, China * Afula-Gilboa, Israel *
Taraz Taraz ( ; also historically known as Talas) is a city and the administrative center of Jambyl Region in Kazakhstan, located on the Talas (river), Talas (Taraz) River in the south of the country near the border with Kyrgyzstan. It had a populatio ...
(formerly known as Djambul; relationship currently inactive), Kazakhstan * Torreon, Mexico


See also

* Environmental issues in Fresno, California * Fresno County Public Library *
Fresno Police Department The Fresno Police Department (FPD) is the municipal police department for Fresno, California. Their headquarters is located at 2323 Mariposa Mall. Mindy Casto is the current Chief of Police for the Fresno Police Department since June 13, 2024 ...
* 2017 Fresno shootings * 2019 Fresno shooting *
List of Mexican-American communities Mexican Americans are Americans of full or partial Mexico, Mexican descent. In 2022, Mexican Americans comprised 11.2% of the US population and 58.9% of all Hispanic and Latino Americans. In 2019, 71% of Mexican Americans were born in the Unite ...
*List of U.S. cities with large Hispanic populations *USS Fresno, USS ''Fresno'', 3 ships


Explanatory notes


References


Bibliography


External links

* {{Portal bar, California, United States, North America, Geography, Cities Fresno, California, 1872 establishments in California 1885 establishments in California Armenian diaspora communities in the United States Cities in Fresno County, California County seats in California Incorporated cities and towns in California Populated places established in 1872 Populated places established in 1885 San Joaquin Valley Railway towns in California Chicano and Mexican neighborhoods in California