City Profile Fresno California 1924 By C.h. Antrim Realtor

384

The Reol,tyBlue Book of California

Fresno,the City of Opportunity BU C. H. ANTRTM, Realtor tlORTy yearsago lhe Sar)JoaquinValley was a sandywasrebetwo greal_mountainranges. Today rhe San Joaquin l' !y:Sn valley has 50,(J00 relidentswho are happy and prosperous in their cdtivation ol two million acresof ir gatedland or actlve in the industries dependenton the product of the soil. 'Ien yearsago. Fresno.the rnelropolis of this vast empire,wasa ..blinkinglillle city v'ith a distinct village"appearance. Today Fresnois a thriving. aggressive city wjth sky-scrapers on everysrdpand morc goingup. It is a cjlJ conscious of its dpstinyas the g"cat inland.il) in thp \ est. Its populationrodayis 80.000persons. The produ.ls of lhe valley lasr year were estimalpdat $500.000.000. The average family ircome in Fresno county is more than , $2,700.00,about three times that of the av€ragefamily incomein the United States, carsare requiredannuallyto carry {he p}oducl,s _ . Nearly 150.000 of the SanJoaquinValipylo ma-rke1.Valuesoi someof thp Cropsfor last year cre: Raisins.$38.000.000: dried figs, gl,800,OOO;'dried peaches.$5.500.0001 fresh fl.uit. $t6.000.000igr.ain 96,000,000; mineralsand o'1.$22.000,000: dairy products.$15.000,000; canned goods.$13,000.000: lumber$14.208.000: manufactu ng, $92,000,000. sugEr pinemill in the worldhasa rapacityof 500.000 . . r'helal.gpst ree[or rumoerIn plght houi"s,beganoperations in Fresno.ountyjusl oul,sideof Fresno in Julv. 1923_ A re(ent survey.o;ducted by thF FrpsnoCounty Chamberot Cornmerce disclosed onehundredand Lhirtymanufacturing concerns, -are annuallyproducing972,883,000 wofth of material. There ninetv'wholesale seven housesin the Fr€sno district with a capital invest_ ment of $10,000,000. Fresnohas a distrhj ot-fruir-Facking housesseveralmileslong: amongihem iq the Sun Maid RaisjnGrowers.ihe largestof jts kind in the world. The California Ppachand Fig Crowers also have thpir head_ qDartersrn .tr'Iesno. The new development this year in l.hefig industry will be the construcuonof a tig canncry by J. C. ForkneT. Mr. Forkner expe.ts to pack.about1,000tons of figs this year and in five years he exfects to multiply it at least five times. Still another developmentis the Olive Growers Associationof CaliforniaIn addition to the two million acr-esin the valley which now are being cultivated,there are four million acreswaiting for water, etc. . Under a comprehensivewater conser"vationpotfu there is enough w'ater to irrigate six million acres in the valley aDd to generate six million electricholse power in addition. -, .The_mosrdefinite ncw irrigarion projeclsare pine Flat and rvraqela tllrgauon

ulstllct.

Tke Redlty BIue Book af Cakfomta

385

Someof the na{ion'sgrealpsL playgrounds are wilhin threeto six hours' ride bv automobilefrom Fresno. Under intensive cultivation, it has been estimated. the San Joaquin Valley can support one and on+half personsper icre. This would give-a populationof nearly Dine million personafor the valley on the land which can be iruigated. This would meanthat Fresnowould have at least a DoDulationof ?50,000. Fresnohas a live aDd active Chamberof Commerceanil it has a scoreof civic luncheonclubs devotedto CommunityService. It is a ciry.onsciousof irs dest;n), which wel.omesrhe new settler and gives him all possibleaid to succeed. Fresnois indeeda city of opportunity.

Pasadena.Citv Beautiful By C. V. STUR.DEVANT ASADENA, "City Beautiful," "Crown of the San cebriel Valley," and heart of the richest agricultural county in the United States,nestlesat the {€et of the world renownealMt. WilsoDand Mt. Lowe pea.ks,in the beautiful Sierra Madre mountains, with their greal -ob_servatolies. majeslic canyons.sylvan dells and enrrancing wat€rfills. Lying berweel Lhebeau+ifulLa canada and lruitful po-mona valleys, about an hour's fide from the grand old pacific, with her_manycharming resorts, bathing beachesind deep sea fishing banks, Pasadenais world renownedas the cl€anest,prettiest, mosl happily situated residencecity on earth. Homesof htndreds of millionairesand of thousandsof peoplein comfo*able moderatecircumstancestestify to her fame as "the poor man,s paradise and the rich man'splaygr"ound." - FoundedJanuary 27. 1814,by somehventy-fivesturdy families and nampd April 22, l8?5, Pasadenahas chansed from a countr.v villagejo a thriving, bustting city of about ?3.000on her fifiiedr anDlvelsary. Renowned as a city of churches, Pasadenaclaims seventy-seven, representingpracl-icallyevery shadeof religious belief, seueralbeins housedin^palal ial .edifices. Thoroughly cffi.ient public and privat-e acroors.arToro. racutues tor our youlh to pr.ogressfrom kindprgaden lo and througha unlverslly.our-se at homeand the constantaim and endeavoris toward larger and better educationalequipmenianaloDportunity. Publicscboolpnrottmenr tor Ocroi,pr.tg2Siday sessionjt, is 12.977.and ihe valueof buildingand groundsin thd districi i; $4.500.000.00. The first city in Califomia to abolishsaloons,pasaalenais noted as a homeown'ng.homelovingcommunity,with no slumsand with oo "great \i/hite way" to lure our youth from homeand stud;es. In short -sheis the "City of co-operationand happy homes.. "Our home lorMn"doesclaim an exceptioniily high tlTe of ciii_ ,en€hip; the best _ofhotels; ctean family newspapers-; sti6ng banks and trust companies;snappy,up to date stores; ctean,paved",staay