Stephen H Provost

Fresno Century Stephen H Provost

Do you remember Al Radka and Hopalong Cassidy? When Fresno State's basketball team filled Selland Arena and won the NIT? When Fulton was a mall and Manchester Center was a fig orchard? Whether you answered, "I didn't know that," or whether you just want to be reminded, you'll find it all in Fresno Century. It's part of the Century Cities series, which was created to celebrate and preserve the history of midsized and smaller American cities during the 20th century.

In Fresno Century, the author of Fresno Growing Up presents new anecdotes and new details of familiar stories you thought you knew, all in an easy-to-read timeline format. You'll also find more than 130 images not included in Fresno Growing up: a thoughtfully chosen blend of never-before-seen and historic photographs.

In these pages, you'll find stories of Olympic athletes, movie stars, and mayors. You'll rediscover old stores like Radin & Kamp, Gottschalks, Arthur's Toys, and Coffee's. You'll visit the Tower Theatre and the Crest downtown. You'll travel Highway 99, before and after it was a freeway. You'll read about mall-maker Victor Gruen, tough-guy mayor "No Fun Dunn," pioneering aviator Glenn L. Martin, and ace pitcher-turned-vineyard tycoon Dutch Leonard .

Fresno Century takes you through the history of Central California's largest city year by year from 1900 to 1999, with stops at Ratcliffe Stadium, Hotel Fresno, the Forkner Fig Gardens, Grant's Tomb, and many other familiar destinations.

Travel back through time and forward again in a chronological retelling of Fresno's most compelling century... so far. The pioneer years of the 19th century boom and recent developments in the new millennium hold many tales of their own. Fresno Century tells the story of what happened in between.