Congratulations go out to Ed Stewart who was first to get the latest mystery spot identified. It was the old Railway Express Agency building at 225 No. Garden. It is now on The Depot Restaurant property and is the separate building on the southwest corner of Oak and Garden. Good job Ed, this was a tough one!
1) It is on the site of the first church building in Visalia
2) The building is just south of the Fred Uhl building
3) It is just north of the old telephone company building
4) If you add the number together in the address it totals 7
Good luck.
Well, the new chapter in the life of the Mearle’s building is now beginning. For the last several months, we have witnessed the old-timer go from eyesore to eye popping and I know the community is grateful. We are so fortunate Dana Lubich has spent many hours with his still and video camera capturing the amazing transformation. Dana has pictorially documented the building in hundreds of photos showing the wonderful change. Here Dana gives us about a 3-minute slide show showing the transformation. Dana, your work is a community gift and we can’t thank you enough for the hundreds of slides/videos you took and the hundreds of hours you spent at that building. You have become an important part of the buildings history and we thank you. Turn your speakers up and watch Mearle’s become a Habit through Dana’s camera lens.
Visalia Aerial Photos Surface
Recently Mayor Bob Link told me of some copies of photographs of Visalia that had been given to him. Most of them are aerial shots from the 1950s. The one shown here is dated 1950. In this photo the view is looking southbound on Mooney Blvd. from about Mineral King. I have marked some streets with reference points. There is so much to learn and enjoy from these amazing old photos. Thanks, Mayor, for sharing them. As always, if any of you would like to see any of these photos or others that I have, I love sharing old Visalia. Just let me know.
Historic Buildings Will Get Plaques
For the past few years, Visalia has kicked around the idea of mounting identifying markers on historic buildings in town. Now the Visalia City Council has just approved the Historic Recognition Program (HRP). Buildings at least 75 years old are eligible for a plaque. See this design sample from another city. The plaque is not what ours will look like, but gives you an idea. This program is a great way to identify and appreciate Visalia’s great old buildings. We owe much to the Kaweah Kollectors who are the sponsors of this program and the Historic Preservation Advisory Committee who will oversee it. Nancy Loliva, Andy Chamberlain and a few others did the administrative work to get the program off the ground. Everyone did a great job on it. This is what the “Inside City Hall” electronic newsletter said about this program: “Historical Recognition Program Approved: The City Council approved a Historic Recognition Program (HRP) that allows interested building owners an opportunity to be considered for a plaque to identify buildings with local historical significance to the community. To qualify for an interpretive marker, the building must be at least 75 years old, researched for its authenticity, and at a minimum, the date of construction must be reasonably determined. The research and documentation must be conducted by qualified historical research personnel approved by the City of Visalia Historic Preservation Advisory Committee, and submitted with the application. Once mounted, all plaques become the property and responsibility of the building owner. The structure does not need to be within the City of Visalia Historic District or on the Local Register of Historic Structures. The estimated cost of each plaque with installation is $750, and funding is currently available through a $10,500 grant from Kaweah Kollectors.” For more specifics about the program go to http://www.ci.visalia.ca.us/civica/filebank/blobdload.asp?BlobID=11420
By the way, if you want to stay informed on general business/ activities within the city you can subscribe free to the “Inside City Hall.” Newsletter. It’s easy to sign up and a great way to stay informed. If interested go to the city’s website at http://www.ci.visalia.ca.us/ and click on About Visalia and go to Inside City Hall Newsletter. For help contact Community Relations Manager Nancy Loliva at nloliva@ci.visalia.ca.us or call 713-4535.
Harvey May, the principal of Paloma Development and his investment group has been working hard on the old Togni-Branch building, formerly Cross Horlock at 116 E Main. It is a nice century-plus old building in the heart of downtown. They removed the metal sheeting off of the front months ago (thank you for that) and gave us back the upstairs windows. The ground floor interior has been remodeled and the upstairs interior is in the works. Much of the ground floor is occupied and anyone interested in possibly occupying space in the nice old building should contact Harvey at hmay@palomadev.com or 713-0202. By the wa
y, Harvey is working on a historical display in the common areas as part of the building’s restoration and would like to make sure the Togni family is included. Stay tuned, there will be an open house down the road. Harvey, the work of your group is appreciated!
y, Harvey is working on a historical display in the common areas as part of the building’s restoration and would like to make sure the Togni family is included. Stay tuned, there will be an open house down the road. Harvey, the work of your group is appreciated!
***Speaking of the town whistle/horn, Eleanor Bergthold recalls, “During the 1940s, my mom’s extended family got together at my grandparents’ house for Sunday dinner. On what must have been Sunday, September 2, 1945, several of my cousins and I were sitting in my grandparents’ front yard when the town whistle started blowing multiple times—a most unusual happening. Before long we were told by our parents that the war was officially over – a great relief since four of my mother’s brothers and one of my dad’s were in the service. (My mom’s 19-year old brother had very recently been killed in Okinawa in what would be the final assault of the war.”
***Steven Cullen, after reading the HH item about Visalia Olive Oil, shared that at some point, the U. S. changed olive oil import laws that had protected U.S. olive growers. He said the new import laws favored poor European countries (Italy) and California olive growers were economically hurt by it.
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