Fresno’s Tower District is known for nightlife, live entertainment and an inclusive attitude. But how did this neighborhood come to be? We’ll explore that story today on KVPR Central Valley Roots.
The Tower District takes its name from the neon-clad Tower Theater, a streamline moderne movie palace at the corner of Olive and Wishon Avenues. It was built in 1939, but the neighborhood’s history goes back much further.
The Dry Creek Canal runs through the southern portion of the district. It was along these banks near Blackstone Avenue at the Zapp family built Fresno first amusement destination Zapp’s Park in 1904. Visitors could enjoy rides and relax lakeside, at Blackstone and Olive Avenues. Soon the area became Fresno’s first "streetcar suburb" thanks to the electric trolleys of the Fresno Traction Company.
The growth of the neighborhood was also fueled in 1916 with the development of the Fresno Normal School, later known as Fresno State College, and the new 1922 campus of Fresno High School at Echo and Weldon. Housing developments popped up nearby, the Porter Tract near the college, the Wilson Island just south of McKinley, and developer George D. Wilson's North Fresno Tract were all a hotspot for development in the early 20th century. Here you'll find homes ranging from small craftsman bungalows to Spanish colonial cottages to big traditional mansions.
But there was also a dark side, as federal housing policy known as redlining effectively made these “whites only” neighborhoods. In the 1960s and 70s the area began to acquire a bohemian character with venues like Café Midi and the Wild Blue nightclub. The area experienced a renaissance in the 1980s and 1990s with the renovation of the Tower Theater as a performing arts venue, while at the same time construction of Freeway 180 cut the neighborhood in two.
