Not Downtown: You'll Get Mugged Down There!
by Trimbler
November 2, 2006
November 2, 2006
I have lived in Fresno all my life and as long as I can remember there has been a negative connotation associated with the downtown area. I fell victim to these connotations and steered clear of downtown. Recently I was put in a situation where I was required to go downtown on a weekly basis and my eyes have been opened to the endless possibilities that the downtown area can offer.
Walking the Fulton Mall on a weekday afternoon, I found myself alone. Where is everyone? When I talk to my friends about downtown all the have are negative things to say, "Not downtown! You'll get mugged down there." Downtown is no more dangerous then Riverpark or Fashion Fair Mall, what is with the negative connotations. Come downtown, walk the streets, meet the people, open your eyes!
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bad rep
I was telling someone that lives in the Dominion(pass Friant Rd), directions for work, & to make sure they didn't get lost, I asked what route they normally used to go Downtown, so that I could direct them from that starting point
Said, they "never go there, had no use" until then. I couldn't believe that someone that had lived most of their life in Fresno, didn't know how to get to Downtown, what a waste of talent, resources, ideas, just multiply that by 100,000 & you have what's wrong with Downtown
Listen, if people liked exciting city-life, its just waiting for the next big-thing, so try this new place on Broadway, between Sacramento & Amador
The Vagabond Lofts have the whole first floor set up for retail, ready for your art gallery, your café, your used book store, your art studio, your bicycle repair shop, your funky fashion store, your retro vinyl album store, your herbal teahouse, your tie-dye/silkscreen shop, you name it, get started, it's waiting for you
The views not the greatest; 2 seedy hotels, several car repair & tire stores, train tracks 2 blocks over, hey, but if you want real city-life, this is where it starts, the epicenter of the new Downtown
#26 bus stops right in front, takes you directly to RiverPark (if you need a mall fix), short walk (bicycle, bus, or car ride) to Courthouse Park (the starting point of 80% of FAX buses), Selland Arena, Saroyan Theater, IRS, INS, Mexican Consulate, Italian Vice-Consul, Health Dept, Fresno Community Hospital, Central Library, Hall of Records, City Hall, Central Fish, Met Museum (currently closed for renovation), Arte Americas, African American Cultural Museum
& Joe's Steakhouse
Downtown is a great place!!! And you are absolutly correct people have the wrong percepton of downtown...All it takes is for people to actually come down and see what Downtown Fresno has to offer!
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