Built-in the 1930s as a suburb accessible by Fresno’s (since retired) streetcars, the luminous Tower District is the city’s leading nightlife destination. The district is named for the neon-lit Tower Theatre, a 1939 art deco masterpiece and national historic landmark designed by S. Charles Lee, the architect of many of Hollywood’s most famous theaters. It’s now the 761-seat Tower Theatre for the Performing Arts, which hosts a busy lineup of local and national rock, jazz, and comedy concerts and film screenings. When you come for a show, give yourself time to take in such architectural details as the lobby’s bas-relief etched-glass panel depicting hunters and blacklight-illuminated circular murals painted with fluorescent pigments.
For more live theater, book a table nearby Roger Rocka’s Dinner Theater, home to the Good Company Players, a troupe that also stages productions a block away at the 2nd Space Theatre. Music fans should check the schedule at Strummer’s, a concert hall, restaurant, and club named for Joe Strummer, The Clash’s late frontman.
History
The Tower District is an older, central city neighborhood in Fresno, California. In the 1880s, the Tower District was quite far from downtown Fresno, nearly 45 minutes away by a good horse and buggy and an hour by foot. The district emerged in the early 1900s as a streetcar suburb of a rapidly growing Fresno, CA. By the 1940s, its namesake (the Tower Theatre) had been built, and the district had evolved into a dense, diverse, thriving neighborhood.
Although it struggled during the post-World War II years, it remained in complete abandonment and disrepair that many other older neighborhoods experienced during the same period. Instead, in the late eighties, the Tower District began a renaissance, spurred mainly by an active citizenry, the draw of unique, pedestrian-friendly neighborhoods, and the lively, pedestrian-oriented atmosphere of the neighborhood’s commercial core along Olive Avenue. This renaissance spawned the creation of the Tower District Specific Plan, which was adopted by the city ordinance in 1991. Junk Removal Fresno
Today, the Tower District commercial center is Fresno’s predominant arts and entertainment district. Unique for its art deco architecture and its pedestrian-oriented design, its character is set by entertainment uses and restaurants, including cafes, nightclubs, performing arts facilities, theaters, bakeries, delis, and a wide variety of specialty retail establishments selling used books, designer clothing, gourmet foods, and other goods. Immediately adjacent to the commercial core is a dense arrangement of offices, apartments, and single-family homes.
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