local history

Fresno-area artist Stan Bitters designed the collection of glazed ceramic reliefs starting in 1969.

Fig Garden Village was built in the "Town and County" style in the 1950s using reclaimed timbers, bricks and an eclectic design that has made it popular for close to 70 years.

This gold country town was built around a central plaza, in the Mexican tradition.

Patterned after LA's Original Farmer's Market, it was a Fresno landmark from the 1940s through the 1990s.

The neighborhood is much older than its namesake theater, which was built in 1939 in Fresno's first "streetcar suburb."

Look in older parts of Fresno, Bakersfield and other cities, and you're likely to find a Craftsman-style bungalow.

The Streamline Moderne-style building was built in 1940, and once housed a giant neon Coca-Cola sign on its roof.

The historic courthouse in Snelling is the oldest in Merced County.

Fresno's Hughes Hotel was destroyed on July 10, 1953, and numerous other buildings were damaged in an arson spree that remains unsolved to this day.

Before Rose Ann Vuich was elected in 1976, the California State Senate was "male, pale and stale."