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73-628: San Jose's first Chinatown was located at the southwest corner of Market and San Fernando streets, near the present-day Circle of Palms Plaza . City officials noted the Chinese presence by 1866. Most Chinese immigrants were seasonal workers in Santa Clara Valley 's orchards. In February 1869, after the First Methodist Episcopal Church welcomed 166 Chinese people to its Missionary Sunday School, arsonists burned

146-407: A semi-arid climate ( Köppen climate classification BSh , bordering BSk ), with cool, mild winters and long, hot, dry summers. December and January are the coldest months, averaging 47.5 °F (8.6 °C) and 48.0 °F (8.9 °C), respectively; mornings see temperatures at or below freezing, with the coldest night of the year typically bottoming out around 29 °F (−1.7 °C). July

219-422: A fire broke out on Ah Toy Alley. As the town's white residents looked on, the intense fire engulfed the neighborhood, burning down every structure except the theater. Chinatown's own emergency water tanks were nearly empty, and the city's fire department acted only to prevent the fire's spread beyond Chinatown. Local newspapers cheered the neighborhood's destruction. The next day, the city council approved funding for

292-593: 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 22 miles (35 km) between Highway 99 and Friant Dam. The park's amphitheatre was renovated in 2010, and has hosted performances by acts such as Deftones , Tech N9ne , and Sevendust as well as numerous others. Woodward Park hosts

365-545: A new San Jose City Hall on the plaza directly across from the former Chinatown, stipulating that no Chinese labor be used in its construction. Similar suspicious fires soon consumed Chinatowns in Fresno and Chico . The Market Street Chinatown's inhabitants temporarily resided at San Fernando and Vine streets before moving on to the Woolen Mills Chinatown and Heinlenville , both north of the city. In 1981,

438-594: A predecessor of the Fresno Irrigation District. In 1872, the Central Pacific Railroad established a station near Easterby's—by now a hugely productive wheat farm—for its new Southern Pacific 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

511-409: A result of the sting. In the early 2000s, Fresno's two major venues were built, Chukchansi Park (2002) and Save Mart Center (2003). The 2017 Fresno shootings resulted in the death of 4 people. Fresno has a total area of 116 square miles (300 km ) with 98.96% land covering 114.79 square miles (297.3 km ), and 1.04% water, 1.21 square miles (3.1 km ). Fresno's location, very near

584-550: 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

657-433: 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. In

730-641: A warehouse inaccessible to researchers. A Caltrans -funded excavation of the Woolen Mills Chinatown site revived interest in the earlier Market Street site. In 2002, the Stanford University Archaeology Center, the Stanford Department of Anthropology, History San Jose , and the Chinese Historical and Cultural Project partnered to catalog, analyze, and curate the artifacts. On September 28, 2021,

803-409: Is 75 mi (121 km). The city is located near several Sierra Nevada lakes including Bass Lake , Shaver Lake , and Huntington Lake . Fresno is also only two and a half hours from Monterey , Carmel , Big Sur 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 to serve

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876-493: Is a National Historic Landmark as well as a Superfund site. Before World War II, Fresno had many ethnic neighborhoods, including Little Armenia, German Town, Little Italy, and Chinatown . In 1940, the Census Bureau 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

949-549: Is a major city in the San Joaquin Valley of California , United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley region. It covers about 115 square miles (300 km ) 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

1022-425: 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 study for analysis of equilibrium temperature for use of ten-year meteorological data to represent a warm, dry western United States locale. The official record high temperature for Fresno is 115 °F (46.1 °C), set on July 8, 1905, while

1095-543: Is designated as California Historical Marker 461. From 1866 to 1887, the Market Street Chinatown occupied the entire block. The settlement was the center of Chinese-American life in the Santa Clara Valley, until it was destroyed by arson. The site was redeveloped into a plaza in the 1980s. The Circle of Palms Plaza is a ring of palm trees encircling a California State Seal , located between

1168-521: Is known as the center of Fresno's LGBT 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 and American Craftsman style homes, Spanish Colonial Revival Style architecture , Mediterranean Revival Style architecture , Mission Revival Style architecture , and many Storybook houses designed by Fresno architects, Hilliard, Taylor & Wheeler. The residential architecture of

1241-420: Is near the geographic center of California, approximately 220 miles (350 km) north of Los Angeles , 170 miles (270 km) south of the state capital, Sacramento , and 185 miles (300 km) southeast of San Francisco . Yosemite National Park is about 60 miles (100 km) to the north, Kings Canyon National Park 60 miles (100 km) to the east, and Sequoia National Park 75 miles (120 km) to

1314-487: Is now North Fresno, was the site of the Pinedale Assembly Center , an interim facility for the relocation of Fresno area Japanese Americans to internment camps . 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

1387-560: Is the lowest with only 42 percent of the daylight time in sunlight because of tule fog . However, the year averages 81% of possible sunshine, for a total of 3550 hours. Average annual precipitation is around 11 inches (279 mm). Most of the wind rose direction occurrences derive from the northwest, as winds are driven downward along the axis of the California Central Valley ; in December, January and February there

1460-415: Is the warmest month, averaging 83.5 °F (28.6 °C); normally, there are 38 days of 100 °F (37.8 °C)+ highs and 113 days of 90 °F (32.2 °C)+ highs, and between July and August, there are only 3.6 days where the high does not reach 90 °F (32.2 °C). Summers provide considerable sunshine, with July exceeding 96 percent of the total possible sunlight hours; conversely, December

1533-480: The Armenian and Hmong communities. In 1920, Armenians 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 , is one of the largest two urban U.S. ethnic Hmong communities, with just over 24,000 people, or about 5% of

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1606-520: The Blackstone Avenue corridor. Fresno's geographical remoteness also made it an early pioneer in the field now known as fintech , long before the term was invented. In September 1958, Bank of America launched a new product called BankAmericard 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

1679-807: The Fairmont San Jose Hotel , the KQED building (Silicon Valley Financial Center) and the San Jose Museum of Art . The concrete around the state seal contains quotes from the 1849 state constitutional convention in Monterey where San Jose was chosen as the capital. Each Winter, the San Jose Downtown Association sets up an outdoor ice rink called "San Jose Downtown Ice" at the Circle of Palms. On August 30, 1950,

1752-536: The Federal Bureau of Investigation 's Operation Rezone sting resulted in several prominent Fresno and Clovis politicians being charged in connection with taking bribes in return for rezoning 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

1825-715: The Redevelopment Agency of San Jose contracted Theodoratus Cultural Research to conduct archaeological testing as part of the urban renewal project that included the Circle of Palms Plaza, Fairmont Hotel , and Silicon Valley Financial Center . Numerous artifacts were uncovered, but construction proceeded as planned. In response to outcry from the Chinese community at the site's destruction, the Redevelopment Agency contracted Archaeological Resource Services to perform salvage excavation alongside construction crews from 1985 to 1988. Artifacts were stored in

1898-683: The Shinzen Japanese Gardens , 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 , near Downtown Fresno, is home to the Fresno Chaffee Zoo , 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

1971-723: The State Historic Preservation Office designated the site of California's first state capital as a California historical landmark #461. A description on the commemorative plaque reads: " Directly opposite this tablet was located the first State Capitol Building, in which California's first Legislature assembled in December 1849. San Jose was the seat of government from 1849 to 1851." 37°20′00″N 121°53′23″W  /  37.33343°N 121.889627°W  / 37.33343; -121.889627 Fresno, California Fresno ( / ˈ f r ɛ z n oʊ / ; Spanish for ' Ash tree ')

2044-455: The "rain year" from July 1982 to June 1983 down to 4.43 inches (112.5 mm) from July 1933 to June 1934. The most rainfall in one month was 9.54 inches (242.3 mm) in November 1885 and the most rainfall in 24 hours was 3.55 inches (90.2 mm) 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

2117-775: 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 , the Pacific Southwest Building , the San Joaquin Light and Power Building (currently known as

2190-483: The 1960s, Fresno suffered numerous demolitions of historic buildings, including the old Fresno County Courthouse 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 evolved in Fresno in the 1970s. In 1995,

2263-405: 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 was the first modern landfill 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

Market Street Chinatown - Misplaced Pages Continue

2336-489: 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. Fresno has

2409-713: 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 in 1964. Renamed the Fulton Mall , the area contains the densest collection of historic buildings in Fresno. While the Fulton Mall corridor has suffered a sharp decline from its heyday,

2482-522: The Hispanic population, 42.7% of the total population are Mexican , 0.4% Salvadoran , and 0.4% Puerto Rican . Non-Hispanic Whites 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

2555-681: The Mall includes some of the finest public art pieces in the country, including a casting of Pierre-Auguste Renoir '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

2628-714: The San Joaquin Valley was Pedro Fages in 1772. The county of Fresno was formed in 1856 after the California Gold Rush and was named for the abundant ash trees (Spanish: fresno) lining the San Joaquin River . 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

2701-741: The Tower District contrasts with the newer areas of tract homes urban sprawl in north and east areas of Fresno. 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 in Northeast Fresno. The park lies on the southern bank of the San Joaquin River between Highway 41 and Friant Road. The initial 235 acres (0.95 km ), combined with additional acres acquired later by

2774-537: The Tower, the Farmers' market 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

2847-493: 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. The high school's Collegiate Department evolved into Fresno City College , the oldest community college in California and the second oldest in the United States. In the 1920s and 1930s, Fresno State Teachers College

2920-448: 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

2993-604: The annual California Interscholastic Federation State Championship cross country meet. It is the home of the Woodward Shakespeare Festival which began performances in the park in 2005. 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,

Market Street Chinatown - Misplaced Pages Continue

3066-637: 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 , 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. The Central Pacific Railroad built

3139-564: The church to the ground and sent the pastor a death threat. By January 1870, white residents had begun complaining to the San Jose City Council about the concentration of Chinese people in the neighborhood. A couple weeks later, Chinatown burned to the ground while the San Jose Fire Department did little to save it. In March 1870, a wealthy Chinese businessman from San Francisco secured a ten-year lease of

3212-628: The city formally apologized for its past discrimination against the Chinese community, including its role in the 1887 fire. A plaque outside the Fairmont (now the Signia) commemorates the fire. Circle of Palms Plaza The Circle of Palms Plaza is located in downtown San Jose, California . It is composed of a ring of palm trees encircling a California State Seal , and designates the California Historical Marker 461,

3285-440: The city was 50.2% White , 8.4% Black or African American , 1.6% Native American , 11.2% Asian (about a third of which is Hmong ), 0.1% Pacific Islander , 23.4% from other races , and 5.2% from two or more races. Hispanic 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

3358-698: The city's population, being of Hmong descent. The 2010 United States Census reported that Fresno had a population of 494,665. The population density was 4,404.5 inhabitants per square mile (1,700.6/km ). The racial makeup of Fresno was 245,306 (49.6%) White , 40,960 (8.3%) African American , 8,525 (1.7%) Native American , 62,528 (12.6%) Asian (3.6% Hmong , 1.7% Indian , 1.2% Filipino , 1.2% Laotian , 1.0% Thai , 0.8% Cambodian , 0.7% Chinese , 0.5% Japanese , 0.4% Vietnamese , 0.2% Korean ), 849 (0.2%) Pacific Islander , 111,984 (22.6%) from other races , and 24,513 (5.0%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 232,055 persons (46.9%). Among

3431-467: The city, brings the park to a sizable 300 acres (1.2 km ). 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 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,

3504-478: The city. Another devastating blaze struck in 1883. In 1909, Fresno's first and oldest synagogue , Temple Beth Israel , was founded. As a result of its remoteness from the great universities of the San Francisco Bay Area and Greater Los Angeles , Fresno became a statewide leader in educational innovation. In 1910, Fresno High School was the first California high school to take advantage of

3577-552: The college moved to what is now the site of Fresno City College 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 performed in

3650-811: 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 , operated 47 streetcars over 49 miles (79 km) of track. Two years after

3723-504: The east side of the street) to continue with the pedestrian-friendly environment of the 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

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3796-401: 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 60 mi (97 km) south of Yosemite National Park , it is the nearest major city to the park. Likewise, Sierra National Forest is 40 mi (64 km), Kings Canyon National Park is 60 mi (97 km) and Sequoia National Park

3869-565: 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 in New York City and a Tony award -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 , car shows, A Taste of The Tower, Halloween in

3942-418: 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

4015-489: The nation. Named for the abundant ash trees lining the San Joaquin River , Fresno was founded in 1872 as a railway station of the Central Pacific Railroad 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 region predominantly tied to large-scale agricultural production. Fresno

4088-524: The neighborhood from the city's fire district. Initially, white residents tolerated the Chinatown to some extent because it was located in the older, less desirable Spanish part of town. However, as the main business district expanded southward along First Street, boosters increasingly viewed Chinatown's proximity to it and Market Plaza as an obstacle to growth. Merchants complained of Chinatown's "blight", while parishioners at St. Joseph's Cathedral across

4161-451: 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 ). In 1916,

4234-417: The neighborhood. For its part, the city passed ordinances banning important cultural practices such as firecrackers , carrying poles , and even kites. The Market Street Chinatown was burned several times, but the Chinese residents quickly repaired the damage each time. In January 1886, the city voted to close all Chinese-owned laundries and began arresting laundrymen for operating in wooden buildings, prompting

4307-454: The official record low is 17 °F (−8 °C), set on January 6, 1913. The average windows for temperatures of 100 °F (37.8 °C)+ are June 2 through September 15; for temperatures of 90 °F (32.2 °C)+, 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 23.57 inches (598.7 mm) in

4380-515: The original Market Street Chinatown's land and merchants began to rebuild. A competing Chinatown also sprang up on Vine Street, near the Guadalupe River , but its residents returned to Market Street after severe flooding in 1871–1872. The second Market Street Chinatown grew to about 1,400 people by 1876. The 1880 census recorded only 614 residents, but researchers believe that this was a severe undercount typical of minority populations at

4453-460: The site of California's first state capital from 1849 to 1851. When California became part of the US in 1850, San Jose was the oldest civilian settlement dating back to its establishment in 1777, and selected the first official state capital of California. A two-story adobe hotel built around 1830 became the first state capitol and hosted the first legislative sessions in 1850 and 1851. The capitol site

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4526-684: 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. The original inhabitants of the San Joaquin Valley region were the Yokuts people and Miwok people , who engaged in trading with other Californian tribes of Native Americans including coastal peoples such as the Chumash of the Central California coast, with whom they are thought to have traded plant and animal products. The first European to enter

4599-631: The station was established, county residents voted to move the county seat from Millerton to Fresno. When the Friant Dam was completed in 1944, the site of Millerton became inundated by the waters of Millerton Lake . 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

4672-451: The street objected to its "sins and smells". In 1878, Denis Kearney visited San Jose, inciting crowds against the Chinese. His Workingmen's Party championed a provision in the 1879 state constitution that briefly allowed the legislature to make the employment of Chinese people a misdemeanor offense. As anti-Chinese sentiment peaked in the 1880s, white residents tried to rein in the Chinese community. Children faced harassment when leaving

4745-400: The time. By 1884, it occupied most of the block along Market Plaza between San Fernando and San Antonio streets. Residents were served by three restaurants, a theater, and a Chinese temple, or joss house . Buildings to the north were largely made of fireproof brick, while buildings to the south were made of wood. Chinatown organized its own volunteer fire brigade, due to an ordinance excluding

4818-472: The urban centers of the San Joaquin Valley), the city is a major gateway for Yosemite visitors coming from Los Angeles . The city also serves as an entrance into Sierra National Forest via Highway 168 , and Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks via Highway 180 . Fresno has three large public parks, two in the city limits and one in county land to the southwest. Woodward Park , which features

4891-405: The washhouses to stop work in protest. The next month, San Jose hosted California's first statewide anti-Chinese convention. On March 24, 1887, in response to Yick Wo v. Hopkins , the city council declared Chinatown a public nuisance and discussed options for legally removing the community from the city's center. On May 4, while most residents were occupied waiting for the results of a lottery,

4964-478: Was 2.2 inches (5.6 cm) on January 21–22, 1962. See or edit raw graph data . Fresno is the larger principal city of the Fresno-Madera CSA , a Combined Statistical Area that includes the Fresno (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

5037-403: 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 1,525.2 per square mile (588.9/km ), 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

5110-436: Was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.07. There were 111,529 families (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

5183-460: 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. 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 4,097.9 inhabitants per square mile (1,582.2/km ). There were 149,025 housing units at an average density of 1,427.9 square miles (3,698 km ). The racial makeup of

5256-483: Was at the forefront of the evolution of the state teachers colleges into state colleges offering a broad liberal arts education . The state colleges later became the California State University and Fresno State became California State University, Fresno . 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

5329-531: 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,

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