Fresno Bee Building

Last updated
Fresno Bee Building
Fresno Bee Building Dec 2012.jpg
USA California location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Usa edcp location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Location1555 Van Ness Ave.,
Fresno, California
Coordinates 36°44′25″N119°47′41″W / 36.74028°N 119.79472°W / 36.74028; -119.79472
Built1922
ArchitectLeonard F. Starks
Architectural styleClassical Revival
NRHP reference No. 82000964 [1]
Added to NRHPNovember 01, 1982

The Fresno Bee Building is a historic 5-story building located at Van Ness and Calaveras Street in downtown Fresno, California. It was built in 1922 by architect Leonard F. Starks to house the offices and printery for The Fresno Bee newspaper. [2]

The building underwent numerous modifications, the natural consequence of growth and changes in the newspaper and printing industries. The 1922 structure remained virtually original until 1936 when an addition was constructed to accommodate an enlarged engraving department and studio space for radio station KMJ. Designed by Fresno architectural firm Franklin and Kump, the four-floor addition was connected to the building at the south elevation. The most significant modification came in 1951, when a new entrance wing and pressroom were designed by Lockwood Greene and Dunbar Beck. [3]

The newspaper relocated in 1975 leaving the building abandoned for many years. From 1981 to 1984, members of the community raised more than $5.5 million to open the Fresno Metropolitan Museum inside the building. The Museum opened its doors on April 8, 1984. In August 2005, the museum began an extensive interior renovation. The museum reopened on November 13, 2008. The $28 million renovation project brought the historic building into the 21st century with more accessible gallery space, new restroom facilities and elevators, and remodeled fourth and fifth floors. The building underwent significant structural enhancements, specifically on the west wall from the footings below the basement up to the fifth floor. The existing support columns consisting of steel reinforced concrete were enhanced in the basement and first floor. On January 5, 2010, the museum closed due to its inability to pay off the increasing deficit from the renovation and operations. The City of Fresno became the new owners of the building.

The Fresno Bee building sat vacant until April 13, 2012, when the Community Media Access Collaborative (CMAC) located its public, educational, and government access television station on the second floor. CMAC constructed a 900 square foot television studio in the former museum's main exhibit space which extends into the third floor, and created classroom and office spaces. As of March 2021, the first, fourth and fifth floors remain unoccupied.

Facade. Fresno Metropolitan Museum of Art and Science (exterior).jpg
Facade.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fresno, California</span> City in California, United States

Fresno is a major city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley region. It covers about 115 square miles (300 km2) and had a population of 542,107 as of the 2020 Census, making it the fifth-most populous city, in California, the most populous inland city in California, and the 34th-most populous city in the nation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roeding Park</span> Park in Fresno, California

Roeding Park is a 90-acre (360,000 m2) regional city park in Fresno, California established in 1903 via a gift from the Roeding family.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KSEE</span> NBC affiliate in Fresno, California

KSEE is a television station in Fresno, California, United States, affiliated with NBC. It is owned by Nexstar Media Group alongside CBS affiliate KGPE. The two stations share studios on McKinley Avenue in eastern Fresno; KSEE's transmitter is located on Bear Mountain.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Connaught Building</span> Historic site in Ontario, Canada

The Connaught Building is a historic office building in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, owned by Public Services and Procurement Canada. It is located at 555 MacKenzie Avenue, just south of the American Embassy. To the east, the building looks out on the Byward Market, and to the west is MacKenzie Avenue and Major's Hill Park. Today, it houses a portion of Headquarters operations for the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA). The Minister and Commissioner of the CRA have offices in the building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Warehouse (Syracuse)</span> Former Warehouse and current University building in Syracuse, New York

The Nancy Cantor Warehouse, or simply The Warehouse, is a former storage warehouse of the Syracuse-based Dunk and Bright Furniture Company in Downtown Syracuse, New York, United States. It is owned and utilized by Syracuse University.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vinton Building</span> United States historic place

The Vinton Building is a residential high-rise located at 600 Woodward Avenue in Downtown Detroit, Michigan. It stands next to the First National Building, across Woodward Avenue from Chase Tower and the Guardian Building, and across Congress Street from One Detroit Center. It was designated a Michigan State Historic Site in 1982 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fresno Metropolitan Museum of Art and Science</span> Museum in California, United States

The Fresno Metropolitan Museum of Art and Science was a Smithsonian Institution Affiliate and American Alliance of Museums accredited museum located in downtown Fresno, California, in the San Joaquin Valley. The Museum was established in 1984 and was one of the largest museums between San Francisco and Los Angeles. "The Met" was housed in the historic 1922 Fresno Bee Building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">280 Broadway</span> Historic building in Manhattan, New York

280 Broadway – also known as the A.T. Stewart Dry Goods Store, the Marble Palace, the Stewart Building, and the Sun Building – is a seven-story office building on Broadway, between Chambers and Reade Streets, in the Civic Center neighborhood of Lower Manhattan in New York City. Built from 1845 to 1846 for Alexander Turney Stewart, the building was New York City's first Italianate commercial building and one of the United States' first department stores. The building also housed the original Sun newspaper from 1919 to 1950 and has served as the central offices for the New York City Department of Buildings since 2002. It is a National Historic Landmark and a New York City designated landmark.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New York Times Building (41 Park Row)</span> Office building in Manhattan, New York

41 Park Row, also 147 Nassau Street and formerly the New York Times Building, is an office building in the Financial District of Manhattan in New York City, across from City Hall and the Civic Center. It occupies a plot abutting Nassau Street to the east, Spruce Street to the north, and Park Row to the west. The building, originally the headquarters of The New York Times, is the oldest surviving structure of Lower Manhattan's former "Newspaper Row" and has been owned by Pace University since 1951.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Globe Tobacco Building</span> United States historic place

The Globe Tobacco Building is a manufacturing building located at 407 East Fort Street in Downtown Detroit, Michigan. It is the oldest tobacco manufactory extant in Detroit, and is listed by the National Register of Historic Places.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">American Fine Arts Society</span> Building in Manhattan, New York

The Art Students League of New York Building is a building on 57th Street in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. The structure, designed by Henry Janeway Hardenbergh in the French Renaissance style, was completed in December 1892 and serves as the headquarters of the Art Students League of New York. The building was developed by the American Fine Arts Society (AFAS), formed in 1889 by five organizations including the Art Students League, the Society of American Artists, and the Architectural League of New York.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Heritage (Oklahoma City, Oklahoma)</span> United States historic place

The Heritage, formerly known as the Journal Record Building, Law Journal Record Building, Masonic Temple and the India Temple Shrine Building, is a Neoclassical building in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. It was completed in 1923 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980. It was damaged in the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing. It houses the Oklahoma City National Memorial Museum in the western 1/3 of the building and The Heritage, a class A alternative office space, in the remaining portion of the building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">J. Marvin Jones Federal Building and Mary Lou Robinson United States Courthouse</span> United States historic place

The J. Marvin Jones Federal Building and Mary Lou Robinson United States Courthouse, formerly known as the Amarillo U.S. Post Office and Courthouse, is a courthouse of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas built in Amarillo, Texas in 1937. It reflects Art Deco architecture and Moderne architecture, and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2000. In addition to its continuous use as a courthouse, it has served as a post office, as a customhouse, and as a government office building.

The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Fresno, California, USA.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Camayo Arcade</span> United States historic place

The Camayo Arcade is a historic shopping arcade located along Winchester Avenue in downtown Ashland, Kentucky. It opened in July 1926 and was the first indoor shopping mall built in the state of Kentucky. The building is part of the Ashland Commercial Historic District.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Macdonald-Harrington Building</span> Building in Quebec, Canada

The Macdonald-Harrington Building is a building located at 815 Sherbrooke Street West, on McGill University's downtown campus in Montreal, Quebec. Designed and built in Renaissance Revival style by Sir Andrew Taylor between 1896 and 1897, Macdonald-Harrington was one of the many donations made to the university by Sir William Macdonald. Today it houses the McGill School of Architecture and the School of Urban Planning, and prior to 1987, contained the Department of Metallurgy and Mining laboratories and the Department of Chemistry.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saks Fifth Avenue flagship store</span> Department store flagship in Manhattan, New York

The Saks Fifth Avenue flagship store is a department store in Midtown Manhattan, New York City on Fifth Avenue between 49th and 50th Streets. The original 10-story structure at 611 Fifth Avenue has served as the flagship store of Saks Fifth Avenue since its completion in 1924. The store also occupies part of 623 Fifth Avenue, a 36-story tower completed in 1990.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lescaze House</span> House in Manhattan, New York

The Lescaze House is a four-story house at 211 East 48th Street in the East Midtown and Turtle Bay neighborhoods of Manhattan in New York City. It is along the northern sidewalk of 48th Street between Second Avenue and Third Avenue. The Lescaze House at 211 East 48th Street was designed by William Lescaze in the International Style between 1933 and 1934 as a renovation of a 19th-century brownstone townhouse. It is one of three houses in Manhattan designed by Lescaze.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rustigian Building</span>

The Rusitigian Building, at Fulton and Mono Streets in Fresno, California, was built in 1920 in Classical Revival style architecture. Originally built as a bus depot, it was renovated and reopened 2019 for retail and restaurant tenants. It is listed as a historic place by Fresno's Local Register of Historic Resources.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Meux Home</span> Historic mansion in Fresno, California, US

The Meux Home is a historic mansion located in Fresno, California. It was the residence of Thomas Richard Meux, a physician who served Fresno in the initial stages of the city's growth.

References

  1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
  2. "Fresno Bee Building (1922)". A Guide to Historic Architecture in Fresno, California. Retrieved 2014-01-18.
  3. Hunter, Pat; Stevens, Janice (September 2007). Fresno's Architectural Past: Volume II. Craven Street Books. ISBN   9780941936972.