FRESNO, Calif. (FOX26) \u2014 What makes Fresno… Fresno? It depends on whom you ask.<\/p>\n
But whether it’s the industries, the ag, or the cultures, one place aims to provide insight into what shaped Fresno County.<\/p>\n
FOX26 News Anchor Liz Gonzalez took a trip to the Fresno Fairgrounds to explore the Fresno County Historical Museum in this week’s celebration of Amazing America 250.<\/p>\n
AMAZING AMERICA 250: Stepping into Fresno County’s history (FOX26)<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
There are the sights of Fresno, of times long ago, and the people \u2014 lots of them, through the years, that have led us to the city of more than half a million people, as we know it today.<\/p>\n
“I think it\u2019s important to go to museums to recognize and respect your history, in order to recognize and respect your future,” said Fresno Fair Program Coordinator Taylor Collins.<\/p>\n
The two-story, 14,000-square-foot museum offers something for everyone, inside and out.<\/p>\n
For starters, the Paul Paul Theater at the fairgrounds is part of the museum, too.<\/p>\n
“All of these signs have been restored to their original glory,\u201d said Collins.<\/p>\n
For hotels, like the Hacienda and Fresno Motel, once along Highway 99, now Golden State Boulevard.<\/p>\n
Other signs of markets and restaurants, long gone but not forgotten.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen people come, they\u2019re like, \u2018I had no idea this was here. I had no idea this was even an option,” said Collins<\/p>\n
There\u2019s even the cupola that topped the original Fresno County Courthouse.<\/p>\n
And inside, nostalgia nirvana. The original furniture from an old courtroom before the courthouse was demolished. The statue from its outdoor fountain, too.<\/p>\n
Downstairs \u2014 a 100-year-old fire engine.<\/p>\n
A primer to the Fresno Athletic Hall of Fame, a tribute to race car builder and hot rod enthusiast Blackie Gejeian.<\/p>\n
And a flume that helped move logs to the mill, and once powered the economy of our local mountains.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019ve got commerce. You\u2019ve got factories. You\u2019ve got a lot of things that are here. Tthere\u2019s a lot to be proud of,” said Nat Dibuduo, who sits on the board of directors for Friends of the Fair.<\/p>\n
He\u2019s worked to see the museum grow into what it is today, making connections to expand exhibits and representation.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s unbelievable and what it represents, the history of cultures,” said Dibuduo.<\/p>\n
Which he considers the crown jewel of the museum.<\/p>\n
From Hmong to Mexican \u2014 \u201cWe would not survive without our farmworker base,” he said.<\/p>\n
Japanese, Armenian, Sikh, and, near and dear to Dibuduos’ heart, the Italian community.<\/p>\n
You talk about immigrants today. My grandparents were immigrants in the early 1900s.<\/p>\n
Interactive displays explain the history of the founding families, with pride at the core of the museum and its message to visitors.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou forget. This is to keep you from forgetting,” said Dibuduos. “It\u2019s to help families remember their roots and not only their nationalities by what Fresno County means to them as individuals.\u201d<\/p>\n
And how all of this has helped shape who we are \u2014 and where we\u2019re going.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"FRESNO, Calif. (FOX26) \u2014 What makes Fresno… Fresno? It depends on whom you ask. But whether it’s the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":155425,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[112,114,113],"class_list":{"0":"post-155424","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-fresno","8":"tag-fresno","9":"tag-fresno-headlines","10":"tag-fresno-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/155424","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=155424"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/155424\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/155425"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=155424"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=155424"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=155424"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}