Have you ever noticed a horse hitching post at a home or business in Fresno?

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Well the City of Fresno Historic Preservation Commission would like your help. They would like to identify the location of these hitching posts and explore developing a “thematic district” of the existing Hitching posts.

Don Simmons, the chair of the commission asked for my help. I guess I was a good starting point, because my family’s home in the Tower District has one of these distinct features of an earlier era. Included is a photo of my family’s home and hitch. And below is a Google Map we started to begin cataloging the hitch locations and descriptions. If you want to help out, you can add info to the map.

View Fresno Hitching Posts in a larger map

Modernism was a movement. It encompassed art, architecture, culture, music. It substantially changed the world specifically the built environment.

There is a subset of modernism that should be of interest to Fresnans. That is mid-century modernism.

Interest in Fresno’s mid-century modern architecture has been growing slowly for a few years. On individual that has been an imputous for this is realtor, Eldon Daetweiler. When he moved to Fresno, he realized our mid-century modern building stock rivaled southern California and Palm Springs but did not have the same levels of community appreciation and tourism. He hoped to change that by focusing on the niche with www.fresnomodern.com

In 2008 the City of Fresno commissioned the Mid-Century Modernism Historic Context that was prepared by Lauren MacDonald, PRA, Inc. The overview includes information and interviews with leading architects and designers who worked in Fresno from 1940-1970. (Download PDF, 6.5mb)

I think National Architecture Week of 2010 was a tipping point for Fresno’s growing interest in mid-century modern. We hosted two events with a distinct mid-century focus. The first was a showing of Visual Acoustic: The Modernism of Julius Shulman. The second was a walking tour of downtown Fresno mid-century modern architecture. I’m calling this the tipping point because for the first time the leaders of what is becoming a mid-century modern movement in Fresno were in the same place at the same time.

At that same time the Fulton Mall was being reviewed by the California State Historic Resources Commission. The Fulton Mall is perhaps the most iconic yet controversial pieces of mid-century modern design in Fresno. This groups formation in many ways catalyzed by strong opinions against the Mall’s nomination including Mayor Ashley Swearengin’s strong opinion letter to the State Historic Preservation Office regarding the Fulton Mall’s nomination for Historic Designation (PDF). Swearengin wrote “Beyond the procedural defects, the nomination itself is a fundamentally flawed attempt to preserve what amounts to a failed urban renewal experiment that has bankrupted every effort to revitalize Downtown Fresno for decades.”

Building from this common interest in mid-century modern and the conflict of the Fulton Mall a modern movement began. There was a push by 8 individuals including myself to educate, protect and preserve Fresno’s mid-century modern architecture and landscape. This manifested as two Facebook groups “Save the Fulton Mall!!!” and “Mid-Century Modern Fresno” As of now the two groups have 1,059 and 433 fan respectively and are growing every day.

It is exciting to be a part of this movement. I feel it really has the potential impacting the shape Fresno’s built environment. This movement goes from virtual to physical this Saturday. We will be gathering for the Grand Party on the Fulton Mall. There will be some great acoustic music, great people and the shops, restaurants, and merchants of Mall will be at your service. See the flyer below and join the modern movement.

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This peaceful canal flowing in the Tower District of Fresno, CA. Conserve water.
Don’t water your grass. Our farmers need it to grow our food.

Here, along with CSUF anthropology professor Hank Delcore, we offer our take on the results of the Downtown Community Charrette held on May 10-15, 2010, by Moule & Polyzoides and the City of Fresno. Over at TheAnthroGuys we assess the charrette process. Please read both and leave your comment.

There has been talk about revitalization of downtown Fresno. There has been money thrown at the revitalization. Now we are getting what is long overdo, a comprehensive community and specific plan. To understand this, look at the Tower District. Tower has had a specific plan since the early 90’s. Not everything happens over night but the plan ensures that everything that does happen is consistent with the community’s long range vision for the area.

Just recently the week long design workshops, called a Charrette, was held at the Radison regarding the Downtown Neighborhood Community Plan. What we see in the preliminary maps and renderings from Moule & Polyziodes team leading the community planning effort is no surprise. They have a long track record of new urbanist planning and architecture. The plan focuses on creating pedestrian friendly streets that encourage foot traffic. They stressed that foot traffic is key for the economic viability of downtown businesses, being attractive to new businesses and promoting a sense of security with “eyes on the street”.

In the vein of “eyes on the street” they have also have rendered views of infill, renovated and replacement building that have a traditional urban form. These buildings face the street, have large window also oriented to the street and often feature porches, stoops or balconies. All of these forms together create an urban environment that both fells vibrant and feels safer.

Regarding transportation, Stefanon Polyzoides stressed that the City of Fresno Traffic Engineering department is the most progressive and innovative they have dealt with. One of the key things in this planning effort is introducing a new word into the Fresno lexicon. That is “road diet”. This means narrowing many of our roads that are too wide for the amount of traffic they have. They space then gets gained for the pedestrian, bicycle lane, businesses can have sidewalk dinning. There is also room for health street trees and landscaping.

We also hear that we should protect the downtown grid, open previously vacated streets, and return two way traffic to one way streets. This is all in order to improve downtown connectivity and way-finding.

Below are photos from the charrette as well as the final presentation products from the process. You can find the full version at www.fresnodowntownplans.com And also check out our review of the process.
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UPDATE: 4:30 4/30/2010

Patrick Kolasinski has posted his review of the SHRC meeting.

The nomination is an interesting one, because (unlike most historic resources), the mall is a) less than 50 years old, b) subject to an unusual ownership situation, and c) incredibly controversial. The mall was built in 1964 as part of an attempt to revitalize Fresno’s then-declining downtown. It was apparently the first project of its kind in California, and served as a guide for later projects such as Santa Monica’s 3rd Street Promenade, Sacramento’s K Street, and Modesto’s 10th Street Place.
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This is a good spot for a quick note here about the role of the SHRC in the nomination process. The SHRC does not actually list things on the National Register. That job falls to the Keeper of the National Register (usually called just “the Keeper”), who works for the National Parks Service. Instead, the SHRC reviews nominations to determine whether the nominated resources meet the criteria for listing on the National Register. If the SHRC determines that the resource does meet the criteria, it makes a finding of eligibility and passes the whole thing on to the Keeper. Usually, the SHRC also sends along a recommendation that the property be listed, but not always: the SHRC’s primary job in the process is to serve as a “gatekeeper” so that the Keeper isn’t flooded with tons of unworthy nominations.
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The objections raised were clear, succinct, and almost entirely procedural.
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Time for another side note: owner opposition is an important consideration because a property cannot be listed on the National Register over the opposition of a majority of the owners. If a property is found to be eligible but the majority of the owners object to the listing, the Keeper will state that the property has been “formally determined to be eligible,” but will not include the property on the National Register. The property will, however, be automatically included in the California Register, as any property “formally determined to be eligible” for the National Register gets automatically listed on the California Register, regardless of whether it is actually listed nationally. Listing on the California Register triggers nearly all of the same environmental protections under state law (the California Environmental Quality Act, or CEQA), but there are some differences.
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Commissioner Rick Moss caught everyone’s attention with a single, clear observation. He noted that there had not been a single bit of opposition to the determination that [Fulton] Mall is actually eligible for listing on the National Register. Commissioner Moss noted the importance of procedure, but he focused the Commission on the fact that the SHRC’s core goal here was to determine whether or not the property was eligible, and that this was a separate determination from the procedural one that everyone was focusing on.
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Commission Chair Polanco called for a motion, which was made by Commissioner Moss, seconded by Commissioner Bryan K. Brandes, and voted on unanimously by the whole commission. There were no dissenting votes and no abstentions, and the final decision was clear: the SHRC voted to find [Fulton] Mall eligible for listing on the National Register. Because the Commission could not determine that the Mall should in fact be listed (as there was no way to tell whether enough owners had object to block the listing), the Commission did not issue a recommendation on that front.

The next step will be for the nomination to be forwarded to the Keeper, who will make a determination of eligibility. It appears most likely that the Keeper will formally determine that the Mall is eligible for the National Register, and so it will almost certainly be listed on at least the California Register (and possibly in both places).

And at 2pm the Fresno Bee posted their article on the subject. Their editorial board had already came out in opposition to historic listing on the Mall. This article is consistent with that opinion.

Breaking News: 11:40 pm 4/30/2010

From historic preservation attorney, Patrick Kolasinski, today we learned that the California State Historic Resources Commission voted unanimously to determine the Fulton Mall eligible for the National Register of Historic Places listing. The announcement of this news came via Patrick’s twitter feed: @patkickinlaw

See the updates below. Patrick will be blogging about it, so check back here for updates and more details. The Law Offices of Patrick Kolasinski provide focused and individual legal assistance in the areas of Business Formation and General Business Law, Historic Preservation, and Personal and Business Bankruptcy.

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If you have been following the developments, you would know that the City of Fresno Historic Preservation voted 4 to 1 that the Fulton Mall was eligible for historic designation. However, it voted unanimously, not to recommend the Mall to the National Register. Also, the Mayor’s office and Fresno City Council opposed the historic designation. Here is a PDF ot the mayor Ashley Swearengin’s letter to SHPC.

I believe the next step will be a national level meeting, I’m sure the experts will elaborate below.

What are your thoughts?

Make sure you check out the Cinco de Mayo celebration on the Fulton Mall this weekend. It is going to tens of thousands of people, good food and good music. Here is more info.

Further digging into Fresno buildings that have untapped potential we bring you ACME Machine Company. I ride by this one everyday on my way to the office. It is on H Street just North of the 180 overpass.

This is a structure that Craig Scharton has told me he admires and would like to see an adaptive reuse. Check out the photos below. I think it has a pretty cool context of in an industrial neighborhood and being right off the canal. It also has an interesting form with a saw tooth roof.
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What do you think would be a good adaptive reuse?

Among others in Fresno such as fresnomodern.com, here at archop, we have a growing appreciation of mid-century modernism. Fresno surely does have some gems and a history of renown architects designing buildings here in that era. We would like to see that appreciation spread though the Fresno community.

UPDATE 4-27-10

The dead tree was removed yesterday exposing more of the facade. Here are some updated photos. These photos also do a good job of demonstrating how the design of the louvers addresses the intense afternoon sun from the West.
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UPDATE 4-26-10

I was informed by Reza Assemi that Pyramid Homes will be doing the 64 Fulton renovation for a client, and Reza is assisting in the feasibility and design phase. He stressed that this was for a client and thought it was an important fact. This is because it shows there is interest and investment outside of the Pyramid, Granville and Reza partnership.

The name of the client is not public. A possible adaptive-reuse they are studying is studio apartments. Reza also noted that they are trying to keep the building as original as possible. That all sounds like good news.

Pyramid Homes’ specialty has been custom residential.

ORIGINAL POST 4-25-10

Pictured below is a building at 64 N. Fulton Street, just North of Divisadero and the Cultural Arts District’s newest landmark the Iron Bird Lofts. Note the asymmetry of the facade, and the use of vertical metal louvers to shade the interior from the hot Fresno sun. These feature are common among mid-century modern buildings in our region.

As far as I know, the building is being renovated by Pyramid Homes. Pyramid has partnered with Reza Assemi and Granville Homes on projects such as Vagabond Lofts, H Street Lofts, and Iron Bird Lofts. I believe this would be Pyramid Homes first solo project in downtown Fresno. I’m curious how this project will develop.

Also note that this categorized under Potential in the Opinion tab. In this new category, we will file buildings that we believe are ripe for renovation, preservation and re-use.

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I don’t know much about this building. If you do know any facts or stories or have an opinion, please post in the comments below.

UPLOAD UPDATE 4/18/2010

Here are a series of videos and stills captured by my ANDROID. Follow our YouTube archop channel.

The tour began at the clock tower of Fulton Mall and Mariposa Mall in Downtown Fresno designed by landscape architects Victor Gruen & Garret Eckbo. Tour led by architecture historian Lauren MacDonald, historian Joe Moore, Fresno Modern realtor Eldon Daetweiler, & archop curator Kiel Famellos-Schmidt during Architecture Week 2010 Mid-Century Modern walking tour. 50 individuals joined the engaging experience. Looking at buildings we’ve “never seen that way.”
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Sorry the wind was really strong and messed up the sound on this one.
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4/17 Saturday

Walking Tour – Mid-century Downtown
Location – Starts on Fulton Mall at the Clock Tower
Time – 2pm
Details – Highlight prominent and/or well design mid-century modern architecture in Fresno’s downtown.
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Downtown Midcentury:

On tour:
1) Fulton Mall
2) Park Towers
3) Fink and Skopp
4) 830 Van Ness
5) Spiral Parking Garage
6) Fresno Convention Center / Saroyan Theatre
7) Del Webb Townehouse (Fresno County Plaza)
8 ) Sawl & Netzler – (Midland Savings)
8 ) Fresno County Hall of Records
9) Fresno Post Office & Federal Building (FUSD Administration Building) & WPA Sidewalks
10) Hugh M Burn State Building
11) BF Sisk Building
12) Eaton Plaza
13) Fresno County Public Library Central Branch
14) Fresno Memorial Auditorium
15) Fresno City Hall (Annex)
16) Fresno Police Department
17) Fresno Unified School District Office (1936)
18) Fresno County Office of Education (County Unemployment Office)
19) Fresno County Courthouse
20) Crocker Building (Holland Building)
21) Wells Fargo
22) City of Fresno Parking Garage
23) Bank of the West (First Western Bank and Trust Company)
24) Proctors Jewelers
25) Guarantee Savings (Mattei Building)

Off tour sites:
26) Bank of American Agricenter Branch
27) Walter Wagner Offices
28) United California Bank
29) Luau
30) Gottschalks
31) Crest
32) Masten Towers
33) Circle Building
34) Fresno Community Hospital
35) S Street Medical Building
36) S Street Apartments

This website, since it’s inception, has been aimed at informing the public about architecture and spurring informative and critical discussion about the San Joaquin Valley’s built environment. That was the driver behind writing Decade in Review: Top 10 in Fresno Architecture. To date the article is our top read piece with nearly 1,500 page-views and 41 public comments.

Since that article was so popular, we are following up. Now is your chance to hear directly from the architects that designed the buildings. This will be a moderated panel discussion with public Q&A.

Location

Unitarian Universalist Church
2672 E. Alluvial Ave. @ Willow Ave. Clovis, CA

Time

Friday 4/16/10 6:30 wine social, 7-8 panel

Panelists:

Chris Johnson AIA – Sante Fe Depot

Matt Kennedy – Coyle Federal Courthouse

Don Dommer AIA- Clovis Fire Station No. 5

Paul Halajian AIA – H Street Lofts

Anthony Pings AIA – New Harvest Church

Marty Dietz AIA – Clovis North High School Performing Arts Center

Introduction

Shaunt Yemenjian & Joe Moore

Moderator

Kiel Famellos-Schmidt

It has been quite a while since our last archop gallery exhibit which was in Visalia, and even longer since our last gallery exhibit in Fresno. We were tied up for nearly a year in an effort to do a permanent park installation and landscape architecture demonstration. That endeavor was a failure in terms of our mission to improve the built environment through exhibitions and discussion of quality design (more on that later).

Though, now with National Architecture Week in full swing, we are jumping back into the exhibit game. Traditionally, all of our exhibits have been a single venue on an Art Hop night. This will be our 1st solo hop and 1st time with 2 separate exhibits. So, come on out and let us know how we do.

Thursday 4/15 5:30-9pm, we have 2 exhibits planned:

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AIASJ 2009 Design Awards

Location: 1724 Broadway Street, across from the Rainbow Ballroom.

Time: 5:30-9pm

Description: The AIA San Joaquin chapter host bi-annual independently juried design awards. These awards set the bar for quality design happening in the region. Come see these top designs and mingle with the architects.
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Emergency Housing

Location: The Loft Gallery, 852 Divisadero, #102

Time: 5:30-9pm

Description: Exhibit of some of the world’s best designed solutions for emergency housing. This is an important topic due to devastating earthquake in Haiti and is also applicable to Fresno’s homeless. Exhibit is curated by Marvin Armstrong AIA, and FCC student, Noam Saragosti.

Other details: We will have hors d’ oeuvres from Charlotte’s Bakery in the Tower District. Rainbow Ballroom has packed shows on Thursdays. So as the night wears on, parking may be easier near the Loft Gallery or the diagonal parking by Tokyo Garden.
See the map below for the suggested walking path.
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View archop exhibits 4/15/2010 in a larger map

7pm Wednesday at Revue Cafe in the Tower District, AIA San Joaquin will be hosting a free showing of Visual Acoustic: The Modernism of Julius Shulman. There is no fee for the film, however, it is required to buy something from the cafe. So arrive around 6:30, get a latte, mingle, and find a good seat to enjoy the film.

This is the 4th day of National Architecture Week, and we’re just getting warmed up.
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Narrated by Dustin Hoffman, VISUAL ACOUSTICS celebrates the life and career of Julius Shulman, the world’s greatest architectural photographer, whose images brought modern architecture to the American mainstream. Shulman, who passed away this year, captured the work of nearly every modern and progressive architect since the 1930s including Frank Lloyd Wright, Richard Neutra, John Lautner and Frank Gehry. His images epitomized the singular beauty of Southern California’s modernist movement and brought its iconic structures to the attention of the general public. This unique film is both a testament to the evolution of modern architecture and a joyful portrait of the magnetic, whip-smart gentleman who chronicled it with his unforgettable images.

VISUAL ACOUSTICS won the Mercedes-Benz Audience Award for Best Documentary at the Palm Springs International Film Festival, the Audience Award for Best Documentary at the Austin Film Festival, the Grand Jury Prize for Best Documentary at the Lone Star International Film Festival and Outstanding Achievement in Documentary Filmmaking at the Newport Beach Film Festival.
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ABOUT JULIUS SHULMAN (1910 – 2009)

Photographer of architecture, naturalist, educator, and commentator on urban form. One of the leading architectural photographers of the 20th century, Shulman developed close association with the modernist architects, principally those active in Southern California such as Gregory Ain, John Lautner, Richard Neutra, and R.M. Schindler. Shulman’s images played a major role in crafting the image of the Los Angeles and “Southern California lifestyle” to the rest of the nation and world during the 1950s and 1960s. A prolific author, consultant, lecturer, exhibitor, and editor of his own vast archive, Shulman remained active up until his passing away in July of 2009.
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View Larger Map

Below is an article by Jamie Dronyk, AIA, LEED AP. She is the new Director of Info and PR of the AIA San Joaquin. Her first major undertaking in that office was revamping the chapters quarterly newsletter. The newsletter is meant to keep the chapter members and general public up to date with what is happening in the chapter. The printed copies have been mailed out and will available at local architecture firms. You can also download the PDF. The article below by Jamie was pulled from the newsletter to give you a feel for the content.
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The Belmont Merchant’s Association Steps up to the Plate to Make Their Mark

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There are some new kids in town; they call themselves the Belmont Merchant’s Association (BMA).

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In March of 2009, a group of property owners along the Belmont corridor between Freeway 41 and Chestnut Avenue came together to form the association in an effort to implement a revitalization of the area and take back their community.

“I’ve been on this street for 40 years; I’ve seen the good times and the bad and I plan to stay around until the job is finished and things are set right” commented Roger Hanke, President of the Association.

Last December, the BMA, with the support of Triangle Associates, City Councilman Henry T. Perea, and the Fresno Redevelopment Agency, invited an assortment of community members and leaders to a roundtable discussion in which ideas to transform and improve the corridor were exchanged.

Landscape Architect Terry Broussard presented a conceptual plan envisioning how the corridor might be developed into three themed districts, all of which incorporate mixed use, open space, and pedestrian friendly development.

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I had the fortunate opportunity to be invited by the BMA to speak at one of their monthly meetings. I focused on ways in which they can utilize design and planning principles to eliminate misperceptions that are in and of themselves causing a violent cycle of increased real and perceived crime.

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In a city as large as Fresno has become, it is incumbent upon smaller communities to do their part to maintain their own relevance in our growing metropolis. The key to success is knowing that you don’t have to do it alone. I invite you to call upon local design professionals and together we can make Fresno relevant one community at a time.

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PechaKucha Night was devised in Tokyo in February 2003 as an event for young designers to meet, network, and show their work in public.

It has turned into a massive celebration, with events happening in hundreds of cities around the world, inspiring creatives worldwide. Drawing its name from the Japanese term for the sound of “chit chat”, it rests on a presentation format that is based on a simple idea: 20 images x 20 seconds. It’s a format that makes presentations concise, and keeps things moving at a rapid pace. Read more from PechaKucha Global.

PechaKucha Night was brought to you by Creative Fresno in December of 2008. We’ve now on our 7th volume of the event. After this event we will have showcased 74 creative presentations in this concise format to full capacity crowds. This presentations have led to an increased awareness about design in Fresno, has led to collaborations, and even business for local creatives.

For the 2nd day of National Architecture Week, please join us Monday evening at The Starline. Come at 7pm to get a drink and a good seat. Presentations will begin a 7:30. It will be a great creative evening that bridges architecture, photography, education, graphic design and mural art.

List of presenters

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“Design is a tool, a resource, a power for the creation of beautiful, more sustainable, safe, healthy, and livable communities. Not for a privileged few but for everyone.”
George H. Miller, FAIA, AIA President

National Architecture Week has come again. This is a celebration supported by the American Institute of Architects. Last year, we went on a blogging marathon. This year, AIA San Joaquin is hosting a full slate of engaging events related to architecture. Please check out the schedule and map below. And get ready for an architecture overdose. Also AIA National has a facebook page and will host a twitter chat on 4/14

4/11 Sunday
Archi-Brunch meets Designer Breakfast
Location – Iron Bird Cafe
Time – 10:30-noon
Details – Informal discussion between Fresno’s leading graphic designers of the Fresno Design Alliance and architects of AIA San Joaquin.

4/12 Monday
Pecha Kucha Night Fresno Vol 7
Location – Starline
Time – 7:00 door, 7:30 presentations
Details – In conjunction with Creative Fresno
Theme is Fringe.

4/13 Tuesday
Grassroots day
Location – All neighborhoods
Time – All Day
Details – Make a point to talk to your neighbor, friend, or coworker not in the architecture field about the importance of architecture. Maybe just tell everyone to read www.archop.org

4/14 Wednesday
Film – Visual Acoustics
Location – Revue Cafe
Time – 7pm screening
Details: Narrated by Dustin Hoffman, VISUAL ACOUSTICS celebrates the life and career of Julius Shulman, the world’s greatest architectural photographer, whose images brought modern architecture to the American mainstream.

4/15 Thursday
City Council Proclamation of Architecture Week
Location – Fresno City Hall
Time – 8-9am
Details – A proclamation of Architecture Week will be presented from City Council to AIA San Joaquin

archop exhibits
Locations – 1724 Broadway, Tho Loft Gallery (852 Divisadero St. #102)
Time – 5:30-9pm
Details – curated exhibit to raise awareness about emergency housing, the 2nd exhibit will showcase the recent winners of the AIASJ design awards.

4/16 Friday
Panel Discussion – Decade in Review: Top Ten of Fresno Architecture
Location – Unitarian Church
Time – 6:30 social 7-8 panel
Details – A collection of architects of the Top Ten buildings from last decade, will discuss the design of the buildings, their process and design philosophies.

4/17 Saturday
Walking Tour – Mid-century Downtown
Location – Starts at Fulton Mall & Mariposa Mall, meet at the Clock Tower
Time – 2pm
Details – Highlight prominent and/or well design mid-century modern architecture in Fresno’s downtown.

View National Architecture Week – Fresno in a larger map

UPDATE: 4/7/10

The Fresno Bee has caught up with coverage of this fascinating building and interesting sequence of events that led to its discovery. Reporter, George Hostetter wrote the article that is feature on the website and on the front page of today’s paper.

Though, you may notice that the story told below starting on March 26th, written about on the 29th and updated since then is different from the story told in the Bee. From reading Mr. Hostetter’s article, you would have no knowledge of the tense series of events that happened moments after the facade was uncovered, including the diligent work of Joe Moore, Karana Hattersly-Drayton and Elliot Balch.

Granted the story is much more from the owner’s perspective. But reading the article I doubted myself, and that perhaps I missed something. However, looking back on corespondance, I had sent an email with link to owner, . He did not contest any of the facts I presented and responded with:

Thank you for your generous and helpful mention of my building. The use of the upper floors depends on the potential users who have an interest in locating their businesses there. My architect Gonzalo Pedroso of GP Architecture and I are open to ideas, and we will work to configure the space to meet the user’s needs. Suggested uses have been commercial or government offices, data center, and a school… – Robert Gurfield

I’d also emailed George Hostetter with a link to the article, leaving it open for him to quote or ask any questions. His response “Thank you very much, Kiel. That’s a great article you wrote. – George” I am sending an email to him to get any clarification about why the story was altered for his article. I will post any response here.

So I’m at a loss. At least the building facade is saved for the future of Fresno. That is what counts. Oh, and please note the owner and architect are “open to ideas” So continue to suggest uses for the Kress Building below.

UPDATE: 4/2/10

I had the owner’s name wrong in my post. The owner is Robert Gurfield. The contractor is William Cummings. I’ve corrected it below.

UPDATE: 3/31/10

We have word from the City of Fresno that the owner of the Kress Building, Robert Gurfield, has reconsidered the design he had approved. The owner, like everyone else didn’t know what was beneath the 1950’s facade. The owner’s new approach will be to keep the original facade intact. He will not be doing much restoration or preservation work. This may be more about cost savings than anything else.

The planned uses seem to be unchanged, with ground floor retail (1-2 tenants) and offices on the third floor (4 suites). There is also a meetingroom, breakroom and restrooms on the 2nd floor mezzanine in the back. There is not yet a use planned for the newly discovered 2nd floor mezzanine in the front.

The owner will likely have to have the architect, GP Architecture, prepare new plans. This maybe an addendum, or major modification to the plans already approved. I doubt the city would make the owner resubmit and go through the entire approval process again.

Lets keep our fingers crossed.

ORIGINAL POST 3-29-10

Fresno is a place where a stroll up the Fulton Mall can spark an effort to save a facade eligible for historic designation.

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That’s what happened to me on Friday. I was at the Downtown Association at the South end of the Fulton Mall after a birthday lunch at El Elegante in Chinatown.

Strolling up the Fulton Mall, between the Marisopa Mall and Fresno Street there was a construction site with several men at work on the awning of a building. There was a young girl of 5 or 6 glued to the temporary chain-link fence watching a worker with a sawzall attacking the awning.

I actually kept walking, then turned around to get a better look. What I saw when I actually looked, was a remarkable well preserved 1920’s facade. The cladding material was aged but still stable. The details were intact, displaying the craftsmanship of the era. Other than some broken windows and the metal channels that were screwed on to hold on the white sheet metal paneling.

I took a picture and sent it out for the world to see via twitter. At that time I thought that the construction work was to restore the original facade. I later found out that was not the case.

Local historic guru and Historic Preservation Commissioner, Joe Moore, saw my tweet and sprung into action. He forward y twitpic to City of Fresno Historic Preservation Officer, Karana Hattersley-Drayton. Soon the email chain involved Elliott Balch of the Downtown and Community Revitalization Department and John Dugan, the Planning Director.

From this back and forth I gathered that plans for a modernized facade had been approved and that was the work underway. Drawing for the project had been produces for owner out of Santa Monica, Robert Gurfield, by Moorpark architectural firm GP Architecture and contractor William Cummings

So what now? Elliott Balch is now in communication with the owner to demonstrate the valuable asset that he has on his hands. The hope is that the owner sees the light and decides to amend the approved plans to preserve this potentially historic facade.

So there you go, the power of a tweet. So keep your eyes open and camera phones at the ready. Oh, and just to be clear, I actually did very little. All the hard work was on the part of Elliott, Joe and Karana. I just take pictures and write about buildings.

Here is some info from Joe Moore’s email:

An October 27 1960 ad in the Fresno Bee (page 7E) makes reference to Kress being in the Fresno market for 36 years (1924). That date sounds about right given the architectural style and construction methods of the building (steel reinforced concrete with brick). Perhaps a Felchlin building? The alley side of the building reveals the concrete and steel construction.

The 1960 ad talks about Kress’ modern store at 1211 Fulton. A later 1973 article about Fresno cinemas mentions that Kress relocated their downtown store to the site of the former Kinema Theatre location (1211 Fulton) in 1957. This is now part of the County Health Dept complex, next to the Brix Building.

A hand painted sign, still evident today on the back of 1118 Fulton advertises the Hartfield Store on Fulton Mall, which is corroborated by vintage newspaper ads of the 1960’s.

In addition a July 5, 1924 Bee article about the construction of the Radin and Kamp Building at Fulton and Tulare makes reference to Kress, suggesting that they had been considering the Radin & Kamp site as a location for the construction of a new store.

At this point, while it’s too early to say for certain, I would presume that Kress built the 1118 Fulton building in 1924, and stayed there until 1957 when they moved to 1211 Fulton. 1118 was then remodeled for Hartfield which occupied the building till at least 1969.

Also of note: the National Building Museum in Washington DC is home to the archives of the Kress corporation, including thousands of original plans and photographs. Kress used architecture to differentiate their store from their competitors, Woolwoorth and Kresgee:

S.H. Kress & Co. (1896–1981) was one of the 20th century’s most prosperous variety-store retailers. Though never the largest chain, Kress maintained the highest per-store sales of any five-and-dime retailer for more than 20 years, beginning in 1927. The creation of an architectural division within the company played a key role in both attracting customers and facilitating sales.

Samuel H. Kress (1863–1955) envisioned his stores as works of public art that would contribute to the cityscape. To distinguish his stores from those of his competitors, namely F.W. Woolworth Co. and S.S. Kresge Co., he hired staff architects. Kress achieved retail branding success not merely through standardized signage and graphics, but through distinctive architecture and efficient design. Regardless of their style, from elaborate Gothic Revival to streamlined Art Deco, Kress stores were designed to be integral parts of their business districts and helped define Main Street America.

In 1989, the Museum secured the company’s building records, including thousands of drawings and photographs relating to the design, construction, and operation of more than 200 stores stretching from New York to Hawaii. The collection strikingly conveys the changing role architecture has played in recent retail history.
Also here’s an interesting write up on the restoration of the Kress building in Savannah, GA.

The American Institute of Architects Club of Fresno City College are hosting a showcase of architecture student work at the Spectrum Art Gallery tonight.

This is a benefit showcase being put on by the students to help raise money for the annual Cal Poly Design Village Competition. Donations will be accepted but the is no fee to attend. The students have also pledged 50% of all proceeds as a donation to Architecture for Humanity’s rebuilding efforts in Haiti.

Fresno City College
Architecture Student Showcase
Wednesday, March 24th 5:30-8pm
Spectrum Art Gallery
608 E. Olive Ave.
Fresno, CA

Following the development of the Fulton Corridor Specific Plan from the inside, Tim Schulz, will be reporting on his experiences on the Community Advisory Committee. Below are his notes from the 1st public meeting.
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Representing Moule & Polyzoides Architects and Urbanists are;
Stefanos Polyzoides, David Sargent, and Juan Gomez-Novy

Most of what the M & P representatives’ presentation covered was an introduction to what they do, how they define their role, and an overview of the process they oversee to reach the end target of establishing new codes and standards by which we will improve/develop/redevelop Downtown Fresno as a whole.

Instead of re-writing everything that was presented, it is much faster to view the Power Point presentation they displayed during the introduction of their overview.

One important point that Stefanos Polyzoides established early on was to answer a question that was yet to be asked, which was that “Downtown is part of the Neighborhoods Plan.” Although we (Fresno) have two separate community advisory committees; the Fulton Corridor Specific Plan, and the Downtown Neighborhoods Plan, the two will be subject to the same codes and standards to be established over the next two years, approximately. An overview of the process, which as they state is the most important and indispensible part they will employ is as follows;

Discovery and Outreach reach out, listen, educate, listen, evaluate- underlying theme being collaboration
Vision and Charrettes learning w/ community, build political support
Unpack charrettes w/ staff, Committees
Implementation connect downtown and neighborhoods, base on current demographics
Sustainability Green Infrastructure/water/storm-water
Code + General Plan Policy adjustments Form-Based Code
Environmental review integrate w/ plan process, EIR streamlines the review process

Success for this process will largely depend on the Committees to, 1. communicate key issues, 2. gauge how MPA is doing, and 3. act as points of interest in order to attract other people

The last portion of the meeting was open for questions from both the Committee and the public. I did not record all of the questions, but tried to get the ones that I thought were more relevant and probably more common questions that the public may have.

Q Alan Allen: Fulton Mall- walk or street solution?
A Stefanos Polyzoides (S.P.): We will decide that through the process
- Side note: the Historic Preservation Commission will have a vote on April 5 to appoint the Fulton Mall a Historic Landmark.
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A S.P.: Fulton Mall may be highly important to people, but it is only one issue. There are and will be many other issues and we want to make sure that the Mall does not drown out other issues. (I personally appreciated this point and his making the statement from the beginning. We need to make sure that we don’t hyper-focus on minute or singular items, as important as they may truly be, and in doing so lose focus on the big picture and the all-encompassing purpose of the whole process.)

A David Sargent (D.S.): We will concentrate on developing standards and guidelines for adaptive re-use, zone level regulation, etc. We can change the current zoning and standards if that is what is found to be necessary.

A John Dugan (J.D.): We are going to build on Form-Based Code; we will establish a whole new foundation. In the meantime, we can adopt interim development standards and interim zoning changes in the interest of forward movement. It will be very much green field based.

Dennis Manning (Downtown Improvement Group) – would like to work with the group, and is very interested in and has background in transportation and the involved systems.

Community member – encourage going back to 2-way streets (Tree Tops), encouraging geo-tourism to celebrate our ag and immigrant history, and concerned about possible adverse affects of bringing the high-speed rail

Q Arthur Sadine – Who makes final decision for Specific Plan?
A Elliot Balch (E.B.): Ultimately the City Council, which will most likely happen in 2012.

Heather ?: What will make us unique, stand out? Worth looking into arts, entertainment, cultural diversity, and avoiding the “mom and pops” and corporations. We need character and personality. We need to make Fresno a cool place to visit.

Orlando Veloria – (from Orange County, Santa Ana) Although a Clovis resident, I own a restaurant at 860 Fulton. I would encourage everyone that while this process is taking place over whatever span of time it requires, that we stay the course and invite/bring/encourage visiting downtown. Things don’t start after this is all done. The energy started long ago, and just as I have lived through and seen downtowns grow and revitalize when growing up, Fresno is more than capable of doing the same thing. Let’s clean up Fulton Mall. Let’s have public displays of renderings. Let’s show people that the wheels are in motion and that it’s not just a bunch of talk.

Q Joe Moore: Explain, 1. new urbanism, 2. economics – how does that fit into the exercise?
A S.P.: 1. Accept traditional urban form and feed a synergy between old and new. 2. Take certain steps, sequencing (Pasadena, Ca.), and patience.
A D.S.: Strategic Economics (from Berkeley). Will be on website (don’t know which site) May 4 and 5.

Don Simmons – 1902 Divisadero, Historical preservation is a large part of the environmental factor. Reiterate the April 5 hearing for Fulton Mall as State Historic Building/Site.

End note: anyone can visit the website [fresnodowntownplans.com] to ask questions or leave comments, or call 621.PLAN.

Timothy Schulz

*photo above from City of Fresno Downtown and Community Revitalization Department’s Facebook page

This video for a PSA was posted on the Fresno County Bicycle Coalition’s website. As an avid bike rider, I’m sharing it with you. In the video, I also appreciate the snippets of Fresno’s built environement that are the setting for the video.

I’m in Portland for National Charrette Institute training. So , unfortunately, I wasn’t able to attend the 1st public meeting for the creation of the Fulton Corridor Specific Plan and Downtown Neighborhood Community Plan. Though some discussion has been picking up on twitter.

So did you attend? What were your thoughts and observations?

I also will have a synopsis for a community member on the community advisory committee. So stay tuned.

As a side note, I went to Moule & Polyzoides website just now and saw this new realease with a pretty cool transformation of a street-scape in Lancaster.
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UPDATE 3/12/2010

We’ve compiled the slides below that Mr. Polyzoides presented at the meeting. Also you can download an mp3 of the audio here. A big thanks to KFSR for the audio and photo, to Socient for helping convert the slides.

I posted about a bad façade job yesterday. Then today I saw some news in the Business Journal about Fresno County’s façade improvement program. It seems to be pretty effective. [PDF]

It was a little reminder that the City of Fresno’s façade improvements are getting more and more behind. I mean if Caruthers businesses are getting $50,000 0% loans with 50% forgiven if they don’t sell for 5 years. The the City of Fresno RDA ought to be able to offer more than $2,500 in matching funds. [PDF]

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In doing a little searching, I found this 2006 post by Elliott Balch on Fresno Famous. “Fulton Mall ideas you can touch” lists 12 sound & attainable ideas, I think numbers 2, 5, 8 & 10 have been accomplished. I included this because #6 is about façade improvement program. Elliott if you’re reading feel free to chime in. I’m curious if your perspective has changed in the 3 1/2 years since you wrote that.