It’s a Fresno landmark that has welcomed travelers to the city for a century. But to most modern eyes, it’s in an odd place, situated in a relatively quiet industrial portion of the city. The story of Fresno’s historic Van Ness archway, today on KVPR’s Central Valley Roots.
The steel and concrete archway that’s capped with giant neon letters spelling out F-R-E-S-N-O, has stood at Van Ness and Railroad Avenues since 1925. It replaced an earlier archway built at the same spot in 1917, but was destroyed due to fire. So why this location? Well, back in the 1920s, Railroad Avenue was U.S. Highway 99. The official route continued north to Cherry Avenue, and then to Broadway Avenue through downtown Fresno.
Merchants along Van Ness Avenue wanted to get travelers to go down their street and skip Broadway, hence the archway. Eventually Highway 99 would move to Golden State Boulevard, and finally to today’s freeway. That left the Van Ness arch neglected and largely forgotten.
Fresno resident Frank Caglia restored the sign in 1980, adding the words “The best little city in the U.S.A.” But the future of the arch is uncertain. With Railroad Avenue due to close for high-speed rail, the rail authority is proposing to move the arch to a more prominent location. Plans call for the arch to be rebuilt in downtown Fresno at "H" and Mariposa Streets, in front of the proposed new high-speed rail station.
