City guide
13 buildings worth a detour, each with what to look for. Open them on the map, or walk them with the iPhone app, which collects each one you photograph.
The buildings that define the city's architecture.
The Bank of Italy building is a historic 8-story, 125-foot mid-rise in downtown Fresno, completed in 1918 for the Bank of Italy, which later became the Bank of America. Its chief designer was Charles H. Franklin of the R.F. Felchlin Company. Now the ninth tallest building in the city, it stands completely vacant and was sold to Fresno-based developer the Penstar Group in 2009.
Photo: Bobak Ha'Eri , CC BY 3.0
Fresno City Hall is a postmodern civic building completed in 1991, designed by Canadian architect Arthur Erickson for local architect William Patnaude. It serves as the seat of city government, housing the mayor's office and the Fresno City Council chambers, and anchors the northern end of the twelve-block 'Mariposa Mall' civic corridor that ends at the Fresno County Courthouse.
Photo: Nightryder84 , CC BY-SA 3.0
The Fresno Memorial Auditorium, at 2425 Fresno St., was built in 1935-36 in the Moderne and Art Deco style by 'Allied Architects of Fresno,' with construction by contractor Trewhitt & Shields Company. Also known as Veterans Memorial Auditorium, it was built to accommodate a wide range of activities and performances, including a January 9, 1941 performance by Tallulah Bankhead in The Little Foxes.
Photo: Bobak Ha'Eri , CC BY 3.0
The H. H. Brix Mansion is a historic Beaux-Arts residence in downtown Fresno, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, with Beaux-Arts ornament visible from the street.
Photo: Meeshbaxter , CC BY-SA 3.0
Holy Trinity Church is an Armenian Apostolic church in Fresno completed in 1914, one of the earliest Armenian churches in America and the first to incorporate traditional Armenian architecture. The congregation traced back to Armenian settlers who arrived in Fresno in the early 1870s; a parish was formally organized in 1900, when a simple wooden church was built at the corner of F and Monterey Streets and consecrated by Bishop Hovsep Sarajian.
Photo: Matthew E. Cohen , CC BY 2.0
The Hotel Californian is a historic building in downtown Fresno designed in the Renaissance Revival and Beaux-Arts styles. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, with its Renaissance Revival and Beaux-Arts ornament visible from the street.
The Robert E. Coyle Federal Building and United States Courthouse is a 9-story, 226-foot brutalist high-rise completed in 2005 in downtown Fresno. It is named for U.S. District Judge Robert Everett Coyle (1930-2012), and its concrete bulk makes it one of the tallest buildings in Downtown Fresno and Central California.
Photo: Cadking3 Please attribute to: Justin Loyear , CC BY-SA 3.0
The San Joaquin Light and Power Corporation Building is a historic 11-story, 173-foot high-rise in downtown Fresno, completed in 1923 for the San Joaquin Light and Power Corporation, which later became the Pacific Gas and Electric Company. Its chief designer was Raymond R. Shaw of the R.F. Felchlin Company, and the building remains the fourth tallest in the city.
Photo: Bobak Ha'Eri , CC BY 3.0
Saint John the Baptist Cathedral, on Mariposa Street, is the mother church of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Fresno and traces to the oldest parish in the city, founded in 1882. The current church was dedicated in 1903, in a Gothic Revival style, and was elevated to cathedral status in 1922.
Photo: Diocesan Officials , CC BY-SA 4.0
The Tower Theatre for the Performing Arts is a Streamline Moderne theater in downtown Fresno, completed in 1939 and opened December 15 of that year under the Fox West Coast Theater Corporation. It was designed by S. Charles Lee, with its distinctive tower inspired by the 'Star Pylon' at the 1939 New York World's Fair. Closed as a repertory cinema in 1989 amid financial troubles, it was renovated and reopened as a performing arts center in 1990.
Photo: David Prasad (niiicedave) , CC BY-SA 2.0
Worth a stop when you're nearby.
Landmark
Warnors Theatre is a 2,100-seat downtown Fresno theater designed by B. Marcus Priteca, a renowned theater architect. It opened in 1928 as the Pantages Theater, was renamed the Warner Theater after Warner Brothers bought it in 1929, and became "Warnors" in the 1960s to sidestep trademark issues. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Photo: Bobak Ha'Eri , CC BY 3.0
Fine buildings that fewer people seek out.
The Fresno Brewing Company Office and Warehouse in downtown Fresno was built in the Romanesque Revival style and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Photo: R&sbwn , CC BY-SA 3.0
The Maulbridge Apartments in downtown Fresno were designed by architect Benjamin G. McDougall in the Renaissance Revival style and are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Photo: Bobak Ha'Eri , CC BY 3.0
