Memories about growing up in:

I found these on the internet and they brought back many memories. I was 12 when they tore it down but I can remember walking around Courthouse park and marveling at the structure, even as a young boy. It was crazy to tear it down but ethics regarding old buildings were much different then. Who remembers this great structure?

Sadly this is all that is left. It's sitting in my backyard and I charge 25 cents to see it (mostly neighbor kids). Well, maybe in my dreams.

I remember my dad taking my brother and I to see the destrcution of the courthouse. What a sad day.

Frank Caglia ended up with the courthouse dome. I used to rent a building from him and when he realized who my grandfather was (Kaden signs who built the Warnor theater sign), we became friends. He took me to the old Sun Maid raisin plant under the freeway and showed me the old Cupola along with the old animatrons from the Fresno fair. Remember those?? He told me the story of being a little boy in Italy listening to the bell of his old church. For years he bought big bells trying to duplicate that childhood memory of that bell. I told him he may never find it because it was in an old church and that would make the bell sound different than just by itself. I have no idea where the dome is now since I haven't lived in Fresno for many years.

The cupola (its actually the little dome on top of the dome) remains in one of the Caglia yards downtown. For the longest time it was visible in the yard of Leonard's Storage down near Broadway and 41, not sure if it's still there. I remember it being in the front of the Met Museum for years when it opened - 1985ish to several years after that. Was always fascinated by the thing, its gorgeous. Still is. Wish it were in a park somewhere. Of course then it'd just get tagged. It's likely safer where it's at.

What a beautiful building our courthouse was. So sad that they tore it down and built that God awful building that houses our court system now. That is the ugliest thing I've ever seen!

I remember reading somewhere that the demolition experts boasted that the courthouse would be brough down in 2 hrs. It was deemed "unsafe" and an "earthquake risk" by building inspectors. The courthouse did not go down without a fight, however. It took 9 hours for the wrecker's ball to finally bring it down making many wonder if it was not as structually unsafe as inspectors thought.

A sad day it was. It feel down and went BOOM!