384 The Reol,tyBlue Book of California

Fresno,the City of Opportunity

BU C. H. ANTRTM,
Realtor

tlORTy yearsago lhe Sar)JoaquinValley was a sandywasrebe-

l' !y:Sn two greal_mountainranges. Today rhe San Joaquin
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 80.000per-
sons. 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,
_ . Nearly 150.000 carsare requiredannuallyto carry {he p}oducl,s
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.
. . r'helal.gpst sugEr pinemill in the worldhasa rapacityof 500.000
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 disclosedonehundredand Lhirtymanufacturing concerns,
-are
annuallyproducing972,883,000 wofth of material. There ninetv-
seven 'wholesalehousesin 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
California-
- In 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
rvraqelatllrgauon 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 Val-
ley," 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 mil-
lionairesand of thousandsof peoplein comfo*able moderatecircum-
stancestestify 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 educationalequipmenianaloD-
portunity. 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