Woodward and Fashion Fair (need stories!)

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clopezc
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Woodward and Fashion Fair (need stories!)

Post by clopezc » Wed Jun 26, 2019 5:43 pm

Hello everyone, this is my first post, probably of many if you all will indulge me. I'm currently recording a podcast which is travelling throughout Fresno, sampling the best and worst foods and talking about our history and our culture. We have an episode out about our current favorite pizza spot. For our next episode we will be talking about the Woodward and the Fashion Fair area.

As we all know, Fresno's history isn't well represented online. I want to know if you have any stories about growing up in Fresno related to the Woodward or Fashion Fair area. Whether it was before they were built/available to the public or after. It doesn't matter. In our podcast we want to capture the essence of our town so we want as many stories as possible, even if you think they're silly or unimportant.

Thank you all in advance!

CLC

Lost Fresno
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Re: Woodward and Fashion Fair (need stories!)

Post by Lost Fresno » Fri Jun 28, 2019 4:02 pm

Sounds like a great project. Feel free to post your podcast links here for the members to enjoy.

cmorse222
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Re: Woodward and Fashion Fair (need stories!)

Post by cmorse222 » Sun Jul 28, 2019 5:37 pm

Well, I can share this: I used to walk to the Woodward and Fashion Fair malls lots as I was too young to drive at the time. My best friend and I would trek the several miles out to do some sight seeing (girls), and to get ice cream, snacks, etc. We were poor compared to the middle class and rarely had extra cash to spend. We also trekked to Manchester Mall, and to Blakley's swimming facility all from the central Tulare area near Belmont and First.

You have to understand that during the summer families would dress up and head to the mall in the evening hours to escape Fresno's incredible heat. One of the hottest areas in California as the heat is trapped in the valley in between the Bay Area and LA Basin. The malls, like Fashion Island were air conditioned and there were nice restaurants around to have dinner. This was a huge evening, or weekend event. Going to the malls to get cooled off and to have a great dinner. People would dress up for evening mall outings.

Families now a days aren't too much interested in many of the older traditions and values, like family, we held dear in the 50s, 60s. Chock that up to Social Media changing the way people think about their lives.

Another escape from the heat, or just plain boredom was to frequent all the air conditioned cinemas that were housed in most of Fresno's larger malls, like Fashion Island. Advertising was different in those days. It was honest, straight forward and prices were reasonable compared to today's outlandish price structure. Merchandise was of a higher quality, standard.

I hope this helps.

Cary Morse
Roosevelt 1967

thebattyfold
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Re: Woodward and Fashion Fair (need stories!)

Post by thebattyfold » Mon Aug 19, 2019 2:52 pm

Hi CLC. This sounds ambitious. I haven’t taken note of your podcast, but please post again to let us know how it’s progressing. You are right that the charming history of Fresno is poorly documented. The decay of its civilization in the late 80s and 90s made people want to get away, but that is for another volume of history.

FF was the ONLY place to go in the 80s if an 80s kid wanted to experience broader cultural influences. It was great to see people flaunt their colors and attitudes, and to simply hang out. I think there was an Orange Julius there, but I may be thinking of Manchester Mall (which had become dated by that time). There was a Miller’s Outpost in the mall as well I believe. As a child of the 70s, my parents would take my brothers and I to the park to ride bikes and feed the duckies. My dad loved the park and I believe it was his getaway.

My dad was one of the engineers of Woodward Park. We didn’t know much about my dad at the time, but I have returned to Fresno to see if I could find his name on any of the dedication plaques (I don’t remember seeing it). My dad moved us across from the park in 1988 to a new housing development called The Dominion. It was cool to be in a new house, great to be close to the serenity of the park, but it was miles away from my high school, Bullard High. At the time, it seemed devoid of people and culture, but as I understand now, the River Park area is thriving.

Keith Simpson
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Re: Woodward and Fashion Fair (need stories!)

Post by Keith Simpson » Wed Jun 24, 2020 6:34 am

I remember going to fashion Fair all the time as a young person I am 51 years old right now. I can remember going there for See's Candy and going to the Orange Julius. there was a department store like Macy's but I don't remember the name of it at one end of bathroom Fair and I used to go play intellivision video game system there that's how long ago it's been lol

bunnyman21

Re: Woodward and Fashion Fair (need stories!)

Post by bunnyman21 » Fri Oct 27, 2023 8:58 pm

the store at the end of the ff mall was weinstocks. gottschallk's pruchased the site when weinstocks left. originally jc penny was the other end with gottschallks in the center. big deal when macys came out to ff mall and more stores were added. it did cause the demise of the starlight drive in if i remember correctly

bunnyman21

Re: Woodward and Fashion Fair (need stories!)

Post by bunnyman21 » Fri Oct 27, 2023 8:59 pm

the store at the end of the ff mall was weinstocks. gottschallk's purchased the site when weinstocks left. originally jc penny was the other end with gottschallks in the center. big deal when macys came out to ff mall and more stores were added. it did cause the demise of the starlight drive in if i remember correctly

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