Why does Main Street in downtown Fresno exist?

[Max Rockatansky]

Fresno does not have a traditionally signed Main Street corridor.  Generally, Fulton Street has historically been considered to be the "main street" of downtown and where much of the street grid branches from.  Even still, there is a signed Main Street located west of O Street which dead-ends at the N Street Parking Pavillion.

IMG_8265 by Max Rockatansky, on Flickr

IMG_8266 by Max Rockatansky, on Flickr

IMG_8267 by Max Rockatansky, on Flickr

Seemingly what is now signed as Main Street was built concurrent to the Robert E. Coyle United States Courthouse which was dedicated during October 2005.  I found the below PDF regarding the courthouse, but it says nothing about being served by a "main street."

https://www.caed.uscourts.gov/caednew/assets/File/United_States_Courthouse__Fresno__CA.pdf

Main Street doesn't appear on any USGS map of Fresno until the 2012 edition of Fresno South.  The N Street Parking Pavillion along with 2440 Tulare Street seem to have been built concurrently in the first decade of the 2000s as park of Civic Center Square:

https://civiccentersquare.com/about/history.html

None of this of course clearly answers the question of why a Main Street designation was used for glorified parking garage entrance?

[pderocco]

In this unserious century, I'd guess that the decision was somebody's idea of a joke. And a pretty funny one, given that there don't seem to be any nearby streets that are even less "main" than this.

[Quillz]

Named after Peter Main, former Nintendo executive and from Fresno. 

[Scott5114]

In this unserious century, I'd guess that the decision was somebody's idea of a joke. And a pretty funny one, given that there don't seem to be any nearby streets that are even less "main" than this.

As far as joke namings go, Fallon NV has a Maine Street as its main(e) drag.

[pderocco]

In this unserious century, I'd guess that the decision was somebody's idea of a joke. And a pretty funny one, given that there don't seem to be any nearby streets that are even less "main" than this.

As far as joke namings go, Fallon NV has a Maine Street as its main(e) drag.

Lakeside CA has Maine Ave as its main street in the old downtown too. I believe it was once half of a one-way pair with Vine St that was the old CA-67.

[SeriesE]

It can be hard to come up with street names sometimes

 

[Max Rockatansky]

It can be hard to come up with street names sometimes

 

The Southern Pacific Railroad sure liked naming the downtown east/west streets after counties.  Kings and Imperial are both unused because they didn't exist when Fresno was founded.  Ventura Street is available now but that possibly would be touchy with how poorly renaming part of the original was received. 

[mgk920]

Why not?

Mike

[Max Rockatansky]

Why not?

Mike

It would be pretty funny if someone at the city council approved this two decades ago and wondered if anyone would ever notice.

[DTComposer]

On the 1998 Historical Aerials image Main Street (or whatever it may have been called) definitely is a thru street from N to O to P Streets, and maybe M to N Streets (although that may just be the parking that is still there today):

https://historicaerials.com/location/36.73688941675584/-119.7850261274559/1998/17

In 2002 it's still thru from N to O Streets, but O to P Streets has been cleared for the courthouse construction:

https://historicaerials.com/location/36.73688941675584/-119.7850261274559/2002/17

It may have been part of a plan to develop a "civic center" district with Main running between the County office tower and the Federal courthouse, and the convention center alongside.

[Max Rockatansky]

On the 1998 Historical Aerials image Main Street (or whatever it may have been called) definitely is a thru street from N to O to P Streets, and maybe M to N Streets (although that may just be the parking that is still there today):

https://historicaerials.com/location/36.73688941675584/-119.7850261274559/1998/17

In 2002 it's still thru from N to O Streets, but O to P Streets has been cleared for the courthouse construction:

https://historicaerials.com/location/36.73688941675584/-119.7850261274559/2002/17

It may have been part of a plan to develop a "civic center" district with Main running between the County office tower and the Federal courthouse, and the convention center alongside.

Fresno has a lot of named alleyways in downtown.  Typically they were (are) north/south in orientation.  On some older images I've noticed there were also a couple east/west alleyways which have been since razed for building construction.

But yeah, I think we are tracking on the same idea that Main Street has to do with early 2000s construction of the Civic Center and maybe Federal Courthouse.

[GaryV]

Sturgis Michigan has a Main Street that is no way "main". Given that what is now US 12 Chicago Road was a native trail long before the city existed, there's no reason that it should be called "Main". The only thing I can think is that being next to the railroad they thought it might generate development.

https://maps.app.goo.gl/2QGNd3opCLjXiGmF9

There's also a West Street just north of US-12, which runs (sorta) E-W. That results in a West West Street and East West Street.

[Rothman]

Pretty sure there are many examples of a community's Main Street not being the actual main street in town.  I think we had a thread on it as well...

[Max Rockatansky]

Pretty sure there are many examples of a community's Main Street not being the actual main street in town.  I think we had a thread on it as well...

There is one somewhere (I shudder at the prospect of searching for it).  I think that I even mentioned this example.  The rub is that I'm hoping to find or deduce the "why" with Fresno. 

For context, I've been meaning to get to this topic on my page for awhile.  I really haven't had time to prioritize it until yesterday when I was sitting with a family member at the hospital a couple blocks away.  Saturday seemed like a good day to go grab a couple photos of this.

[Quillz]

It can be hard to come up with street names sometimes

 

The Southern Pacific Railroad sure liked naming the downtown east/west streets after counties.  Kings and Imperial are both unused because they didn't exist when Fresno was founded.  Ventura Street is available now but that possibly would be touchy with how poorly renaming part of the original was received. 

Fillmore recently renamed CA-126/Telegraph Road to "Ventura Street" within the city limits. Within the past couple years or so. I didn't notice it for the longest time, until seeing some street blades.

[pderocco]

It can be hard to come up with street names sometimes

 

The Southern Pacific Railroad sure liked naming the downtown east/west streets after counties.  Kings and Imperial are both unused because they didn't exist when Fresno was founded.  Ventura Street is available now but that possibly would be touchy with how poorly renaming part of the original was received. 

Fillmore recently renamed CA-126/Telegraph Road to "Ventura Street" within the city limits. Within the past couple years or so. I didn't notice it for the longest time, until seeing some street blades.

Gee, I never noticed that either. But I'm sure that's named for the city, not the county, since Fillmore's already in Ventura County. Similar to all the Ventura Blvds that were once US-101.

[Road Hog]

Pretty sure there are many examples of a community's Main Street not being the actual main street in town.  I think we had a thread on it as well...

I remember posting on it. My hometown has a Main Street but it's just another residential street, not a business street or major thoroughfare at all.

[Rothman]

Pretty sure there are many examples of a community's Main Street not being the actual main street in town.  I think we had a thread on it as well...

I remember posting on it. My hometown has a Main Street but it's just another residential street, not a business street or major thoroughfare at all.

I did one little search and couldn't find it.  Someone more talented than me in searching the forum can probably find it.

[mgk920]

Why not?

Mike

It would be pretty funny if someone at the city council approved this two decades ago and wondered if anyone would ever notice.

That is sort of like when a plat map shows a legal ROW and marks it as a 'future street' and the name carries through to be blade signed in the field as [Future ST]

Mike

[DTComposer]

It can be hard to come up with street names sometimes

 

The Southern Pacific Railroad sure liked naming the downtown east/west streets after counties.  Kings and Imperial are both unused because they didn't exist when Fresno was founded.  Ventura Street is available now but that possibly would be touchy with how poorly renaming part of the original was received. 

Fillmore recently renamed CA-126/Telegraph Road to "Ventura Street" within the city limits. Within the past couple years or so. I didn't notice it for the longest time, until seeing some street blades.

Gee, I never noticed that either. But I'm sure that's named for the city, not the county, since Fillmore's already in Ventura County. Similar to all the Ventura Blvds that were once US-101.

It's always been Ventura Street:
https://photographs.venturamuseum.org/items/show/1223

The county road (now CA-126) used to come in from the northwest at an angle (following the railroad tracks, today's Old Telegraph Road); the westward extension of Ventura Street to Telegraph Road was built around 1950, as far as I can tell.

[hotdogPi]

Pretty sure there are many examples of a community's Main Street not being the actual main street in town.  I think we had a thread on it as well...

It may not have been a full thread. "Funniest Street Names" had a few that were on the list because they were tiny dead ends with names like Main St. or Broadway.

My search: "Braintree", filter: I made the post

https://www.aaroads.com/forum/index.php?topic=13488.msg2485512#msg2485512

[kphoger]

I think we had a thread on it as well...

You may be thinking of this one:  https://www.aaroads.com/forum/index.php?topic=34472.0

[Max Rockatansky]

I think we had a thread on it as well...

You may be thinking of this one:  https://www.aaroads.com/forum/index.php?topic=34472.0

That was the thread I was referring to.