Downtown Fresno until the 20th century never had a street signed as a "Main Street." Traditionally the downtown grid was signed with lettered north/south streets and east/west streets named after the California counties. This changed in 2002 when Civic Center Square was completed between the blocks of Tulare Street, O Street, Inyo Street and N Street. The 220-foot-long street branching west of O Street to the N Street Parking Pavillion was approved by the city council as Fresno's first and current "Main Street." This blog serves not only examine how Main Street came to be but also how the original downtown Fresno street grid was plotted by the Southern Pacific Railroad in 1872. Part 1; the history of Main Street in Fresno Traditionally there has been no Main Street in the city Fresno. When the city plot was laid out by the Southern Pacific Railroad in 1872 it did not include a Main Street. The main north/south roadways through downtown have trad...
Las Pilitas Road is an approximately 7-mile rural highway located in the La Panza Range of San Luis Obispo County. This corridor begins at Pozo Road (former California State Route 178) and crosses the Salinas River. From the Salinas River the roadway continues eastward following Pilitas Creek to a terminus at Park Hill Road. Las Pilitas Road was originally constructed in 1886 and has been largely known as "Rinconada-Pilitas Road" historically. This highway originally crossed the Salinas River via fords constructed in 1886 and 1898. In 1916 San Luis Obispo County would install a truss span at the Salinas River which was lengthened in 1948 with a timber post span. The 1916-era Salinas River Bridge was closed in 2006 when a modern concrete span was installed directly to the south. Part 1; the history of Las Pilitas Road What is now Las Pilitas Road was surveyed by San Luis Obispo County in 1886. The roadway (originally called Rinconada and Pi...