Shows / Central Valley Roots
Central Valley Roots
KVPR's Central Valley Roots explores the history, people and places of Central California. Discover something new about our region, past and present, with each episode. From Fresno and Bakersfield, to Visalia and Merced, the Central Valley is full of rich stories that make the place we call home special. Send us your question about local history or places to roots@kvpr.org and we might answer it in a future episode. Hear the series on the radio weekdays at 5:06 a.m., 7:42 a.m., 9:04 a.m. and…
Episodes
- Central Valley Roots
Fresno's foremost founding father: Anthony Easterby
Anthony Easterby's farm proved the potential of irrigated agriculture and led the Central Pacific Railroad to found the new town of Fresno nearby.
- Central Valley Roots
The curious case of Fresno State's search for a new campus
After World War II, leaders agreed Fresno State needed to move to a new campus. But where to build it proved to be a big problem.
- Central Valley Roots
The birth of CSU Bakersfield
When state leaders decided to build a new state college in Kern County, they evaluated sites all over the county.
- Central Valley Roots
From Green Bush Spring to Fresno Station: The birth of a new town
The Fresno plain was a harsh, nearly featureless landscape in the 1860s. But one site stood out: a large green bush near what is today downtown Fresno.
- Central Valley Roots
Royal Porter Putnam and the birth of Porterville
Nestled close the Sierra foothills in Tulare County, Porterville began as a ferry crossing on the Tule River.
- Central Valley Roots
Fresno's Maynard Dixon: A pioneering artist of the American West
Dixon's landscape paintings ranged in styles from impressionism to angular modernism, all while capturing the beauty of the Southwestern landscape.
Central Valley RootsA man-made landmark in Yosemite: The Ahwahnee Hotel
The grand hotel has been a Yosemite Valley icon since 1927, and has hosted presidents and royalty.
- Central Valley Roots
Two Fresno-area musicians who had counterculture rock hits in the 1960s: Barry McGuire and Terry Talbot
Barry McGuire and Terry Talbot had their own big hits during the anti-war movement, before they both moved to Fresno and shifted their careers into worship…
- Central Valley Roots
Fresno's Duncan Ceramics Building: a colorful landmark for over 50 years
Fresno-area artist Stan Bitters designed the collection of glazed ceramic reliefs starting in 1969.
- Central Valley Roots
The history behind Fresno's Fig Garden Village shopping center
Fig Garden Village was built in the "Town and County" style in the 1950s using reclaimed timbers, bricks and an eclectic design that has made it popular for…
- Central Valley Roots
The Mariposa County gold country town with Latino roots: Hornitos
This gold country town was built around a central plaza, in the Mexican tradition.
Central Valley RootsTulare's Mefford Field & historic B-17 Flying Fortress
Countless pilots trained at Mefford Field during World War II, and a vintage B-17 nearby is a popular roadside attraction on Highway 99.
- Central Valley Roots
Downtown Fresno's Farmer's Market Shopping Center, gone but not forgotten
Patterned after LA's Original Farmer's Market, it was a Fresno landmark from the 1940s through the 1990s.
- Central Valley Roots
The story of Fresno's Tower District
The neighborhood is much older than its namesake theater, which was built in 1939 in Fresno's first "streetcar suburb."
- Central Valley Roots
The craftsman-style bungalows of the Central Valley
Look in older parts of Fresno, Bakersfield and other cities, and you're likely to find a Craftsman-style bungalow.
Central Valley Roots1953: When Fresno workers rebuilt America's top fighter jet
North American Aviation established a plant at the Fresno Air Terminal to rebuild F-86 Sabrejets returning from the Korean War for the U.S. Air Force.
Central Valley RootsBakersfield's iconic Sill Building: A downtown landmark since 1940
The Streamline Moderne-style building was built in 1940, and once housed a giant neon Coca-Cola sign on its roof.
- Central Valley Roots
Merced County's historic town of Snelling
The historic courthouse in Snelling is the oldest in Merced County.
- Central Valley Roots
The day in 1953 when 12 different arson fires set downtown Fresno ablaze
Fresno's Hughes Hotel was destroyed on July 10, 1953, and numerous other buildings were damaged in an arson spree that remains unsolved to this day.
- Central Valley Roots
She broke the California's Senate's glass ceiling: Dinuba's Rose Ann Vuich
Before Rose Ann Vuich was elected in 1976, the California State Senate was "male, pale and stale."
- Central Valley Roots
How the actor who played the Wizard of Oz's Tin Man transformed Madera
Actor Jack Haley was the developer behind several Madera-area projects, including the Madera Ranchos.
- Central Valley Roots
This Madera County community was once a World War II-era bombing range
The Bonnadelle Ranchos development was built on the site of a former World War II bombing range.
- Central Valley Roots
Route 466: Route 66's Kern County cousin
Decommissioned in the 1960s, U.S. Route 466 traveled on portions of today's Highways 58, 99, 46 and 41, from Barstow to Morro Bay.
- Central Valley Roots
Old Red: How a Fresno machine helped revolutionize cotton harvesting, and wound up in the Smithsonian
A red International Harvester from Fresno sits in the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C.