[plinko]

We rarely if ever see threads on California’s other cities. Recently on a trip up North I decided to take the long way up CA-99 to Sacramento and give myself an hour in the downtowns of each major city along the route. First off, Bakersfield, an oil city with massive LA spillover, but not much else to offer. Fresno, a huge spread of 1960’s brutal planning gone awry. Modesto, a nice little city with kind of a streetcar suburb character to it (at least downtown). Lastly Stockton, a port city with amazing downtown potential. I’ll do a separate thread on Sacramento later, but it won’t be anything earthshattering…

I do wish I’d stopped in Merced (a nice little city) and gotten up to Redding (Calatrava anyone?)…maybe next time.

BAKERSFIELD!

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FRESNO!

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MODESTO!

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STOCKTON

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[ColDayMan]

Interesting.

[blade_bltz]

Awesome! Central Valley love!!

I've got a disproportionate amount of family from Fresno, so I hate to admit it, but I've probably spent more time there than any other city in the country outside of Boston. But you know, you really gotta get out of downtown if you want to experience the true Fresno: ie, the endless strip mall. You can't get much more American than that. :D

:yuck:

[BnaBreaker]

Classic. Like Akron with palm trees.

[aufbau]

Thanks for the pictures!

You're right, Stockton does have enormous potential. It's growing rapidly (nearly all horizontal, unfortunately), but there is a growing downtown revitalization movement. It and the other valley downtowns you covered have such interesting architecture and a street scape that is different from anything else found in California.

that waterfront building in Stockton under construction pictured near the stadium is a hotel-condo project with some units going upwards of seven figures-it's nearly sold out too....

[West_aust]

Nice pictures, although some of them makes those city almost look like ghost towns

[BigKidD]

The architecture of these central valley cities are quite impressive to say the least.

[tuy]

Thanks Plinko, Some of the best pictures I have ever seen of Stockton.

[James Bond Agent 007]

Looks kinda sleepy but nice to see some places we rarely see at all.

Incidentally, it might be a better idea to give each city its own thread instead of putting them all in one mega-thread. ;)

[JiminyCricket II]

I was born in the central valley (King City, though it was west of the 5, it is still kinda sorta considered the CV). needless to say i'm glad i barely grew up there.

great pics though.

[fflint]

Great shots.

Stockton's downtown waterfront sure is coming along nicely. Modesto is a fine "big town," and Bakersfield is not bad for its size and history--but poor, poor Fresno. Fresno just can't seem to revitalize its downtown.

[flar]

Thanks for showing these "other" cities

[Marcu]

Classic. Like Akron with palm trees.

Great pictures. It does indeed look a lot like small and mid-size midwest towns.

[bartzman]

cool, i was wondering if i was ever going to see bakersfield...seriously pics of that town are scarce !

i remember seeing a compilation once of high school fistfights that was filmed in Bakersfield

as an aside, has anyone noticed that west coast cities seem to have cleaner, better-preserved art deco and turn-of-the-century highrises? is this due to the weather/temperature, or the lack of factories?

and stockton kinda reminds me of a warm winnipeg....and thats a compliment

[Buckeye Native 001]

My SoCal instinct is to immediately turn up my nose and say "Ewww..." but these are damn fine pictures. Of Bakersfield nonetheless! :tup:

I really wish Fresno could revitalize its downtown, there's some great potential there.

[JJC50]

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great Nile theater! haha lol! My aunt used to know the 80's and early 90's owner and I spent all summer once watching second run movies there when I was a kid! I used to walk here from my house about 1/2 mile away.
and nice pics of the Padre Hotel, which is currently being converted into condominiums and some office space, it's refurbished from the outside but some shit went wrong with asbestos. so :shrug:

anyhow
very nice pics indeed! Stockton looks the nicest in my opinion.

[Buckeye Native 001]

Some of those Bakersfield pics makes me wonder if it was part of the inspiration for Hill Valley from BTTF.

[ltsmotorsport]

Stockton is doing very nice. And Fresno has some much great architecture, it's really a shame the university or someone with some vision can't help turn the downtown around.

[insanenuyawka]

Thank you very much for this compilation. I have always wondered how these Cali towns looked. They look so L.A. to me but on smaller scales...Anyway good photography and as with all westcoast cities great preservation of Art Deco buildings.:tup:

[ikcyzrteip]

Awesome Pics!

[SLO]

Great pix. I grew up in Stockton and revitalization has been slow going, but really has picked up in the last few years. I used to go downtown and take pictures as a teenager. I think Stockton has the best chance of creating a really nice downtown, especially with the water. The city has great old neighborhoods too. Stockton has been relatively good about staying compact. Without looking it up I would suspect it is by far the most dense of all the major central valley cities. Its definitely more dense than my current town (Fort Worth). I think its proximity to Sacramento and the Bay Area will drive its downtown as well, with all the things happening in those locales.
Fresno is very dissapointing though, especially with the population growth there. I have been amazed in recent years at their population numbers, 471,000 at last count and close to 1million metro. I visited my sister there last year, took a drive downtown expecting something new.....very dissapointing.
I think these cities in California just really take a back seat to the major coastal cities. If you took any of these cities and dropped them in the middle of Nebraska or Oklahoma, they would be a much bigger deal with bigger skylines.
When I was in college, one of my professors said refering to valley cities, that they have more in common with Iowa than with Southern California or San Francisco.

[jetsetter]

Does anyone know anything about this building:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v202/plinko923/Central%20Valley%20Cities/070123STOCKTON014.jpg

[Buckeye Native 001]

When I was in college, one of my professors said refering to valley cities, that they have more in common with Iowa than with Southern California or San Francisco.

Indeed, because a lot of the commerce is agriculture-based.

Like it or not, these might become the hotspots in California in the coming years as its way too freaking expensive to live on the coast (Bay Area/SoCal specifically).

[el scorcho]

Thanks a lot, plinko! I've been wondering about the forgotten cities of Cali for awhile now. Stockton's looking nice, but damn, the photos of the others are kind of depressing.

[oak-sea]

I had grandparents in Stockton and it seemed like every other weekend we'd drive from Berkeley over the levee roads and through the farmland to Stockton. The downtown was the most depressed shell of a former city you ever saw 20 years ago. A carcass, really. Glad to see things are looking up for Mudville.

[tuy]

Jetsetter, you can read all about the The Stockton Hotel at http://www.thestockton.ez9.net/

I would post a few pics from the site, but they seem a little protective of their content.

[BTinSF]

When are we going to get a Barstow thread? ;) I know it's not in the Central Valley but it's another of those towns we rarely see and seeing these made me wonder.

[urbanflyer]

Is it just me or are the old GE model 1908 light standards the street decoration du jour for just about every downtown in California?

I can't say I've ever walked around in Bakersfield and after viewing these pics I'm suffering from lamentation. Really homey, splendid stuff plink ;)

[Bruin Brain]

Having never been to California and only knowing these cities as words on a map in the shadows of LA and San Francisco, I'm really surprised by these photos. In many of other states, these would be significant cities!

Fresno appears to have a lot of potential but has suffered through some failed "big ideas." It looks like it has some nice architecture.

Thanks for sharing these pictures! California is even bigger in my mind now. :)

[urbanflyer]

^
but ultimately only on the same overall level as Tokyo ;)

[JJC50]

When are we going to get a Barstow thread? ;) I know it's not in the Central Valley but it's another of those towns we rarely see and seeing these made me wonder.

and then you can stop in Baker and take a pic of the giant ass thermometer.

[Ex-Ithacan]

Some great old buildings for sure (especially the theatres). Reminds me of American Graffiti (wasn't that filmed in Bakersfield?). It's nice to see the other Cali cities, but they're about as different from the coastal cities as they can be. Thanks for the tour plinko.

And I agree Fresno needs to big up that downtown for 1/2 million.

[SLO]

Some great old buildings for sure (especially the theatres). Reminds me of American Graffiti (wasn't that filmed in Bakersfield?). It's nice to see the other Cali cities, but they're about as different from the coastal cities as they can be. Thanks for the tour plinko.

And I agree Fresno needs to big up that downtown for 1/2 million.


American Graffiti was Modesto. Cruising was big up until the bans in the late 80's

[oliveurban]

FRESNO!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v202/plinko923/Central%20Valley%20Cities/070123FRESNO074.jpg


Is this the Federal Courthouse? It looks somewhat similar to Tucson's new one.

[pdxtex]

stockton looks nice....all those town also had some really nice old movie marquees...bakersfield looks a little threadbare but im sure its alright.

[LMich]

I've been to California's big 3, and have only driven I-15 to LA, but just from short stops in Barstow and Baker, I can tell you the interior of the state that I've seen might as well be Nevadar or Arizona. It's like a timewarp traveling from the interior to the coast. The state is about as diverse as you can get in every sense of the word.

[SLO]

I've been to California's big 3, and have only driven I-15 to LA, but just from short stops in Barstow and Baker, I can tell you the interior of the state that I've seen might as well be Nevadar or Arizona. It's like a timewarp traveling from the interior to the coast. The state is about as diverse as you can get in every sense of the word.

Western SoCal is pretty much desert except for the high mountain areas, but as you go north it changes. In the central valley Bakersfield is much more arid than Modesto and northward to Stockton and Sacramento. The diversity you mentioned is apparent there as well.

The challenge facing valley cities and population growth is the need to maintain agricultural lands, especially in the valley. This is the most productive agricultural land in the world. Most people dont know that Californias central valley produces 2/3's of the US fruit and vegetable crop. It hit home for me here in Ft. Worth at Central Market (like a WholeFoods), they stamp all of their fruit & veggies with a grown in sticker. 90% of what was there was from Cali.

[Boris]

Wow, I loved looking through these great pics. Never seen many of these towns.

thx

[dcmcgov]

Bakersfield, Bakersfield, Bakersfield. Not even great photography can doll you up. Wretched town.
At least it has a PF Changs now.

[edluva]

Western SoCal is pretty much desert except for the high mountain areas, but as you go north it changes. In the central valley Bakersfield is much more arid than Modesto and northward to Stockton and Sacramento. The diversity you mentioned is apparent there as well.

The challenge facing valley cities and population growth is the need to maintain agricultural lands, especially in the valley. This is the most productive agricultural land in the world. Most people dont know that Californias central valley produces 2/3's of the US fruit and vegetable crop. It hit home for me here in Ft. Worth at Central Market (like a WholeFoods), they stamp all of their fruit & veggies with a grown in sticker. 90% of what was there was from Cali.

yeah, bakersfield is as close to AZ or NV as you'll get but even that's a tenuous comparison, since as arid as bakersfield is, it still doesn't come close to AZ. Modesto, Stockton, and Fresno are much less arid.

Interestingly, Des Moines is about equal in population to Modesto, both city and MSA. Pretty sad.

[mello]

Yep the valley has definitely been overshadowed. And really everywhere along the coast in California is expensive or protected by environmental interests. San Luis Obispo County is not cheap (Paso Robles is Cheaper). I could see Santa Maria getting bigger though, it has some potential being close to the coast (perfect weather).

[wrendog]

I worked in this building for the last two years:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v202/plinko923/Central%20Valley%20Cities/070123BAKERSFIELD053.jpg

2 years was plenty of time to live in bakersfield.. :)

honestly, it wasn't as bad as what I was told before we moved there. West of the 99 freeway is plenty nice.. the rest? not so nice. :)

[Comrade Reynolds]

I really love that FOX Theatre in Bakersfield.

[BTinSF]

Most people dont know that Californias central valley produces 2/3's of the US fruit and vegetable crop. It hit home for me here in Ft. Worth at Central Market (like a WholeFoods), they stamp all of their fruit & veggies with a grown in sticker. 90% of what was there was from Cali.

That really is one of the amazing things about living in California: The variety and availability of produce. Even crummy markets in most of urban California have produce sections that put almost (not quite) any market east of the Mississippi to shame (I take my mom grocery shopping in FL when I visit so I see what's available there). And then there's the farmers' markets you find in nearly every town and city these days. It's really nice living in America's salad bowl.

By the way, one issue out-of-staters should think about when looking at these pictures is that these cities are pretty limited transportation wise. They are lined up on California's Highway 99. But they have very little air service. If you live in them and want to fly somewhere, you kind of have to go to one of the larger cities such as Sacramento, SF, or LA. I think there are commuter air services to some of them. But they are also connected by train. CalTrans (the state transportation agency) subsidizes an AMTRAK service called the "San Joaquin" that runs about 6 trains a day in each direction, Bakersfield to Emeryville (Oakland):

http://www.amtrak.com/images/maps/largemaps/MAP-LG_sanjoaquins.gif

[urban_encounter]

Does anyone know anything about this building:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v202/plinko923/Central%20Valley%20Cities/070123STOCKTON014.jpg


This is the Hotel Stockton..

It was recently refurbished and is now a mixed use project...


Here's the history of the place..

http://peteofthestreet.net/thestockton/history.php


Great job on the photo spread Plinko...

It's nice to see Stockton and Modesto turn their attention to their respective downtown's (and in Stockton's case their beautiful waterfront.)

[Phillip]

I'm just seeing these now, plinko. Many fine pics and worth a bump to the top! I especially enjoy the old movie theaters.

[830point35]

Anyone who says Fresno is the armpit of California has never been to Bakersfield.

[San Frangelino]

JJC80 great Nile theater! haha lol! My aunt used to know the 80's and early 90's owner and I spent all summer once watching second run movies there when I was a kid! I used to walk here from my house about 1/2 mile away.

You and me both! Only I walked from my Grandmothers house half-a-mile away near the old Montgomery Wards. I remember seeing Nightmare Before Christmas and Jurrassic Park as a double feature for 99 cents.

[rockyi]

Bakersfield has potential. If they would renovate all of those International Style and Art Moderne buildings, it could look quite nice.

[centralcali19]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v202/plinko923/Central%20Valley%20Cities/070123FRESNO074.jpg
Is this the Federal Courthouse? It looks somewhat similar to Tucson's new one.


Yes, its Fresno's tallest building at 225 ft. tall built in 2005...

[BrianSac]

CHICO is another great little Central Valley City. It is a true college town. The California State University, Chico is located in the center of town.
The town is 70 miles north of Sacramento.

The further north you travel up the Great Central Valley (its official name) you can clearly see it gets greener and more wooded. Bakersfiled and Visilia are more like Arizona; whereas, Sacramento and Chico are more like the midwest in terms of vegetation. Yet they are all distinctly Californian/Mediterranean as Sacramento is much drier than the midwest and its growing season is much longer; and Bakersfield is not as dry as the southwest.

[BTinSF]

Bakersfiled and Visilia are more like Arizona;

Large parts of Arizona are plenty green and nearly all of it is mountainous, something Bakerfield isn't. The largest remaining stand of Ponderosa Pine anywhere is in Arizona. Even the desert areas can turn remarkably green after summer or winter rains. The Sonoran Desert is not like the Mojave--nothing but creosote bush. They have a remarkably diverse assortment of plant life including the saguaro--again, not seen in Bakersfield.

Bakersfield receives an average of 6 inches of rain per year ( http://www.citytowninfo.com/places/california/bakersfield ) whereas Tucson gets approximately 12 inches ( http://www.rssweather.com/climate/Arizona/Tucson/ ).

This is Arizona (Green Valley where my place is south of Tucson). Bakersfield only wishes it could look like this:

http://pics4.city-data.com/cpicv/vfiles9804.jpg
Source: http://www.city-data.com/picfilesv/picv9804.php

[BrianSac]

Well I didnt mean to compare the whole freaking state of Arizona with Bakersfield but the areas of Arizona that are similar to Bakersfield. (I figured that was implied and common sense). I've been to Arizona plenty of times so I do know of the diversity.

Not far from Bakersfield as you get higher in elevation its plenty green!

This thread is about the Great Central Valley not Arizona. Arizona was mentioned only as a point of reference.

[kcexpress69]

This building........

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v202/plinko923/Central%20Valley%20Cities/070123FRESNO021.jpg

.........is shorter than this building??

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v202/plinko923/Central%20Valley%20Cities/070123FRESNO074.jpg

I guess I just have to be there!!

Nice tour!! Fresno does look pretty depressed. But I wonder if that's because the city is growing so fast, that the city is too busy trying to keep up with the infrastructure, new housing neighborhoods, strip malls, etc. that they are shelving any projects downtown?? It would look great if more attention was paid to it!!

[FresnoFacts]

Fresno's Federal Courthouse was named one of the 22 winners of the 2006 American Architecture Awards by The Chicago Athenaeum museum.
http://www.chi-athenaeum.org/archawards/2006/uscourt.html
http://www.chi-athenaeum.org/archawards/2006/index.html

Fresno won 2 awards that year.

The expansion design for the Fresno Metropolitan Museum also was one of the 22 buildings recognized in 2006. You can see more photos of this design and the architect's comments at http://www.mmaltzan.com/ then click the Fresno Metropolitan Museum link.

http://www.chi-athenaeum.org/archawards/2006/fresno.html
http://www.chi-athenaeum.org/archawards/2006/2006photos/fresno_metro_mus.jpg

[FresnoFacts]

Bakersfiled and Visilia are more like Arizona; whereas, Sacramento and Chico are more like the midwest in terms of vegetation.

Actually Visalia is on the site of a 400 sq mile oak forest, that is why it is the oldest San Joaquin Valley city settled between Stockton and Los Angeles.

Visalia sits in what is known as the Kaweah Delta. The Kaweah River exits Sequoia National Park then when it reaches the valley floor splits into a number of creeks. The spreading water created a thick oak canopy that was cut down as the area was settled.

Today Visalia protects the Valley Oaks, requiring permits to trim or remove an oak tree.

To get an idea of what the Visalia area used to look like as an oak forest, visit the Kaweah Oaks Preserve east of the city.
http://www.sequoiariverlands.org/index.html?preserves_kop.html~srtCont

Here is a picture of the preserve to give you an idea:
http://kaweahoaks.com/creek_and_oak_index02.jpg

[FresnoFacts]

Nice tour!! Fresno does look pretty depressed. But I wonder if that's because the city is growing so fast, that the city is too busy trying to keep up with the infrastructure, new housing neighborhoods, strip malls, etc. that they are shelving any projects downtown?? It would look great if more attention was paid to it!!

Fresno's growth was outward for many years. There have been attempts to revitalize downtown in the past but it is only recently that it is working.

A few examples:

The new Court of Appeals building opened last year.
http://www.courtinfo.ca.gov/courts/courtsofappeal/5thDistrict/images/5dca_exterior.jpg
This building opened downtown in the medical district in 2005.
http://www.fresno.ucsf.edu/center/ucsfcenter.jpg

This building has been restored and now includes condos on the upper floors.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v202/plinko923/Central%20Valley%20Cities/070123FRESNO021.jpg

A local developer is building new lofts in the northern area of downtown.
http://www.urbanfresno.com

The city is currently working with Forest City Development for a large redevelopment project that includes housing south of the baseball stadium.

[centralcali19]

Fresno's tallest are around the same height: 69m,67m,66m..

This building...
http://www.emporis.com/images/6/2003/07/203349.jpg

looks taller than this building (which is shorter by 1 meter)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v202/plinko923/Central%20Valley%20Cities/070123FRESNO021.jpg

which both are shorter than this building..
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v202/plinko923/Central%20Valley%20Cities/070123FRESNO074.jpg

[ChrisLA]

Actually Visalia is on the site of a 400 sq mile oak forest, that is why it is the oldest San Joaquin Valley city settled between Stockton and Los Angeles.

Visalia sits in what is known as the Kaweah Delta. The Kaweah River exits Sequoia National Park then when it reaches the valley floor splits into a number of creeks. The spreading water created a thick oak canopy that was cut down as the area was settled.

Today Visalia protects the Valley Oaks, requiring permits to trim or remove an oak tree.

To get an idea of what the Visalia area used to look like as an oak forest, visit the Kaweah Oaks Preserve east of the city.
http://www.sequoiariverlands.org/index.html?preserves_kop.html~srtCont

Here is a picture of the preserve to give you an idea:
http://kaweahoaks.com/creek_and_oak_index02.jpg

I was also thinking Visalia and the Fresno metro just from my experience of living in the area in the past for 5 years looks much less like a desert than most of Arizona. Its not as hot in the summer, nor as dry, has I'm sure many more cloudy days as well. Although the valley may get less rain than Tuson (which is a surprise) it still seems to be much wetter by looking at the landscape around it. For one thing this area gets a lot of fog, and during the winter months the ground is quite damp. This actually keeps the ground moist, therefore the vegetation is very green. One could easily take a picture around the valley and place it next to landscapes photos in Ireland and one would have a hard time telling the difference.

[BTinSF]

Well I didnt mean to compare the whole freaking state of Arizona with Bakersfield but the areas of Arizona that are similar to Bakersfield. (I figured that was implied and common sense).

I know what you are saying--it's dry. But my point was the AZ analogy is just confusing to anybody who's been there because of just what you say--AZ is very diverse (and even the desert is greener than the SoCal desert).

Actually, there may be a better analogy within 100 miles of Bakersfield--the Mojave (the town of Mojave, CA is right on the other side of the Tahachapis from Bakersfield and if Bakersfield wasn't irrigated I suspect they might look similar).

[BTinSF]

Although the valley may get less rain than Tuson (which is a surprise) it still seems to be much wetter by looking at the landscape around it.

This may be another surprise:

Visalia
http://kaweahoaks.com/creek_and_oak_index02.jpg
Source: http://kaweahoaks.com/creek_and_oak_index02.jpg

Santa Cruz River 60 miles south of Tucson
http://i185.photobucket.com/albums/x128/BSTJr/IMG_0470.jpg?t=1219638538
Source: Me

[ChrisLA]

:previous:

Oh I'm well aware parts of Arizona is lush, I've seen some of it first hand driving through. Still the climate feels very dry, even compared to the central valley. About the dryest places I've ever felt was in Arizona, not even Palm Springs and Mojave felt as dry. My skin is also a good indicator because the dryer it is the more irritated it gets. I had very little problems in Fresno, but let me visit Las Vegas, the high and low desserts, and Arizona. Well my skin goes into shock, and my face peels, turns red, and itch like crazy where I can't stand the suffering. :hell: