Fresno at the center of California

Fresno today

Fresno Chaffee Zoo and Roeding Park

Where people go in Fresno

• The Big Fresno Fair

  Fairgrounds, 1121 S Chance Ave

  Held each October since 1884, when it began as a 5-day horse-racing meet, the fair now runs 12 days. Attendance was about 500,000 in 2025, and the 165-acre grounds host more than 250 events a year.

• Save Mart Center

  2650 E Shaw Ave, at Fresno State

  The campus arena drew 481,435 people to 37 concerts and other non-sports events in 2024.

• Christmas Tree Lane

  N Van Ness Blvd, Old Fig Garden

  About 140 homes along 2 miles of N Van Ness Blvd take part each December, a tradition since 1920. ABC30 reports it draws hundreds of thousands of visitors a year.

• Chukchansi Park

  1800 Tulare St, downtown

  The 10,650-seat home of the Fresno Grizzlies drew 241,709 fans in 2025 and also hosts concerts.

• Valley Children's Stadium

  1620 E Bulldog Ln, at Fresno State

  The 40,727-seat stadium drew 228,178 people to 6 Fresno State home football games in 2025.

• Woodward Park and Shinzen Japanese Garden

  Friant Rd and Audubon Dr, off SR 41

  About 300 acres along the San Joaquin River, with the 5-acre Shinzen garden and about 6 miles of the Lewis S. Eaton Trail. It has hosted the CIF state cross-country championships since 1987. See our Woodward Park guide.

• Forestiere Underground Gardens

  5021 W Shaw Ave

  Baldassare Forestiere dug about 65 underground rooms here by hand between 1906 and 1946. The gardens draw about 40,000 visitors a year, most from out of town.

What the homes are like

Older areas

The Tower District, just north of downtown around Olive and Wishon avenues, has California bungalows and Craftsman, Spanish Colonial Revival, Mission Revival and storybook-style homes. Downtown keeps commercial buildings from the 1880s to the 1940s.

North and northeast

North and northeast Fresno grew after World War II, as orchards and row crops along Blackstone Ave gave way to development. Pinedale, a former railroad community, was later annexed, and neighborhoods near Woodward Park sit along the San Joaquin River bluffs.

HOA and taxes

Builders, gated sections, HOA dues and Mello-Roos or CFD taxes vary tract by tract, so check each listing. Our neighborhood guides cover Fig Garden, Woodward Park, The Bluffs, Van Ness Extension, Copper River Ranch, Sierra Sky Park and Fort Washington.

City or county

The city surrounds unincorporated county islands, including Old Fig Garden. Check whether a listing is inside city limits.

Getting around, and schools

Freeways

SR 99 is the main north–south freeway. SR 41 runs north toward Yosemite, SR 168 east to Clovis and Huntington Lake, and SR 180 east toward Kings Canyon and Sequoia.

Distances

Los Angeles is about 220 miles away, San Francisco about 185 and Sacramento about 170. Yosemite Valley is 94 miles on SR 41, about 2 hours 15 minutes, and the Kings Canyon and Sequoia entrances are about 1¼ and 1¾ hours from the airport.

Air, rail and bus

Fresno Yosemite International had 8 nonstop airlines as of August 2025. Amtrak's Gold Runner stops at the restored Santa Fe Depot, and FAX buses include the Q rapid line on Blackstone.

Shopping

River Park (70 El Camino) has more than 75 stores and a Regal 19 with IMAX. Fig Garden Village sits at the north edge of Old Fig Garden, and the Tower District has Piemonte's Italian Delicatessen, in business since 1929 and on Olive Avenue since 1966.

Schools

Fresno Unified serves most of the city, plus Old Fig Garden and most of Sunnyside. Clovis Unified covers much of north and northeast Fresno, including Clovis West and Clovis North. Central Unified serves areas west of SR 99, and Washington, Sanger and Fowler Unified serve smaller parts. Colleges include Fresno State, Fresno City College and Fresno Pacific University. Look up an address with the Fresno Unified School Locator or the Clovis Unified boundary map. Boundaries change, so confirm any address with the district.

Fresno SR 99 SR 41 SR 168 SR 180 1Downtown 2Fresno Chaffee Zoo 3Woodward Park 4Fresno Yosemite International Airport 5Save Mart Center

1. 1Downtown
2. 2Fresno Chaffee Zoo
3. 3Woodward Park
4. 4Fresno Yosemite International Airport
5. 5Save Mart Center

A railroad town that started the raisin industry

1. 1856Fresno County is formed, with Millerton as its first county seat.
2. 1872The Central Pacific sets up a station, and Fresno is founded as a railroad town.
3. 1874A county election on March 23 moves the county seat to Fresno.
4. 1884The first Fresno Fair is held in October.
5. 1885Fresno incorporates as a city.
6. 1889The Meux Home and the brick Southern Pacific depot are built, and Fresno High is founded.
7. 1939The Tower Theatre opens on December 15.
8. 1944Friant Dam is completed, and old Millerton ends up under Millerton Lake.
9. 1968Woodward Park opens.

Fresno, by the numbers

Stories from Fresno

• Where the credit card started

  Bank of America launched BankAmericard in Fresno in September 1958. It was the first successful credit card and later became Visa.

• California's first community college

  Fresno City College opened in 1910 as Fresno Junior College, the first community college in California and the second in the nation.

• A water tower with a library that never was

  The 109-foot Old Fresno Water Tower, built in 1894, was designed with a library that was never built. It stopped supplying water in 1963 and became a visitor center in 2001.

• The first modern landfill

  The Fresno Municipal Sanitary Landfill, open from 1937 to 1987, is described as the first modern landfill in the U.S.

• No Interstate

  Fresno is the most populous U.S. city without a direct Interstate link. SR 99 is its main freeway.