Redevelopment, Destroying Downtown Fullerton
Downtown Fullerton was once an enchanted part of the city, complete with significant buildings and full of character. Comparing a photo of downtown in the late 1950’s to the same street today is like looking at two completely different places. The before pictures depict a hip and high-energy part of Fullerton. As opposed to the after snapshots, which show mundane building colors and sparse streets. An apparent combination of incompetence and ignorance has ruined the urban feel of our city and possibly the last piece of originality that Orange County had to offer. Where are we supposed to look for our city’s history and former glory, if not in our downtown area?
We need to take a look at our city’s recent history and begin holding people accountable for their mistakes and in turn, create a new thought process that can revive Fullerton to it’s original state.
Pajarita, great post and welcome to the blog roll.
Where’s that plan to restore parking on Harbor? Someone wrote something like that awhile back.
An otherwise authentic and organically grown downtown, like a horse, becomes something else entirely when redesigned by a committee. Thanks but no thanks to Fullertons Redevelopment Agency and our local “Chamber of Horrors.”
JJ–
Slidebar owner Sean Francis still has the plan, done by a traffic firm that actually does business with the City. Sean did some political legwork with it w/merchants and preservationists, but staff refused to put it before the traffic commission.
Sean has pull w/the council. He needs to use it.
It restores some short-term parking, plus loading/unloading zones, handicapped zones and space for valet parking along Harbor between Wilshire & Commonwealth. It can be done while keeping the trees and 4 lanes. One median island would have to go.
The handicapped access for those business does NOT meet ADA standards–we need access on Harbor.
Fullerton is the only downtown in OC that bans parking on its main thoroughfare. Why?
We always had parking on Harbor before City Engineer Hugh Berry got his hands on it.
We got rid of those concrete arcades after a couple of years (anyone remember those mutli-million $ monstrosities?). Then we got rid of those dangerous spiked trees. But undoing the no parking damage has taken a lot longer.
Give the council some credit, though. The agency did design damage to downtown (the 2 ugliest building in Fullerton, both RDA designed–Commonwealth & Harbor, the Fake 2nd Story Bldg. & Heirlooms/now/Church’s).
But the they did not physically obliterate it like Anaheim did.
Norby still sucks.
Not only did redevelopment destroy the buildings downtown, but look at what they did to the cars! From colorful classy designs to an arrangement of black, white and gray blocks with wheels.
Though I must admit, I think the addition of the traffic lights were beneficial to the community :).
Snore.
Are we there yet?
Yea this is especially relevant in today’s Fullerton.