Proposed College Addition
Historic District

Fresno, California

This small district was proposed as part of the 1990 Tower District Specific Plan. Its boundaries are Weldon Avenue on the south; Maroa Avenue on the west; the rear property line of Yale Avenue on the north, and College Avenue on the east.

The College Addition Historic District is named for the 1918 subdivision of which it represents a substantial portion. This district's blocks are lined with some of the Tower District's finest large homes. Established shortly after the opening of the Fresno Normal School (now Fresno City College) in 1913, it reflects the joint effort of experienced architects and builders to respond to the generous budgets and high social aspirations of a group of relatively affluent clients. Architecturally, it offers a concentrated glimpse of the broad range of styles common to American upper-middle-class housing in the 1910s and 1920s. Considered together, the common setbacks and general proportions of these houses override their stylistic diversity, creating a pleasant, evenly modulated townscape. Historically, the College Addition attests to the importance of the College and the Wishon Avenue streetcar lines in promoting urban growth in the northern half of the Tower District.

Historical notes adapted from the Tower District Specific Plan (1990), by Wallace Roberts & Todd, Robert Bruce Anderson, TJKM.

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