Fresno, California. City and Business guide.

Welcome to Fresno, California.

Fresno is the county seat of Fresno County in the U.S. State of California. Estimates by the California Department of Finance (2005) approximate a city population of 464,727 and a metropolitan area of 1,002,284. Fresno is the sixth-largest city in California. Fresno, the only city surrounded by three national parks, provides easy access to Yosemite, Sequoia, and Kings Canyon. Also, Fresno provides comfortable day trips to San Francisco, the California Coast and the Los Angeles area.

Fresno has all the amenities of a large city, combined with the wonderful qualities of a small, familiar community. A new gust of wind has blown through downtown Fresno, one that is sending the downtown area into a whirlwind of changes. One of the most recent projects is the building of a new federal courthouse, adding beauty to Fresno's skyline. Fresnans will soon see the building of the Central California Regional Medical Network. Allowing the central valley community to have hospitals like those at UCLA and Stanford. There is also the hope of a new Amtrak Station and the most exciting news of Triple A Baseball/Entertainment Stadium.

A view of the fresno skyline by Murphjames
The City's current economy is led by Fresno's position as the hub for education, healthcare, government and professional services for the Central Valley of California. Construction employment has rapidly expanded as residential and commercial construction underwent a recent prolonged period of expansion. Food processing has led the manufacturing sector with such notable companies as Sun-Maid, Kraft Foods and Foster Farms. Non-food companies specializing in machinery manufacturing, medical devices and water technology are also prevalent. Distribution has many centers in the city, led by the 80 acre site of the Gap Stores. Public sector employment is also a major contributor to the city's economy with The City of Fresno, Fresno Unified School District, the County of Fresno, Community Hospitals and the IRS as the largest employers.

The Met displays traveling exhibitions, shows from its own collection, lectures and other outreach programming. The museum also has a science center called the Reeves ASK Science Center that was developed in partnership with San Francisco's Exploratorium. The museum's historic home in The Fresno Bee Building is currently closed for renovations, and is scheduled to reopen in Fall of 2006. In the meantime, the Reeves ASK Science Center has been relocated to 933 Van Ness Avenue in downtown Fresno. The Met participates in Fresno's ArtHop program, and hosts outreach events and fundraisers on an annual basis, including First Friday Films, Christmas at the Met and a science-education based Bubble Festival.

The Save Mart Center is a newer professional-level indoor arena (cap:18,000) completed in 2003, located at the Shaw Avenue and Hwy 168 interchange in NE Fresno. It has hosted a wide range of music acts, from The Rolling Stones to Andrea Bocelli, as well as a huge variety of other events. It has also hosted various WWE events including WWE Royal Rumble 2005 and many WWE Raw and Smackdown events. It is currently the home of the Fresno State Men's & Women's Basketball teams and the Fresno Falcons hockey team of the ECHL. The arena was recently ranked among the top 25 in the world for number of tickets sold.

The Woodward Park area is in northeast Fresno. It is home to one of the city's largest parks, Woodward Park (Fresno) and is one of Fresno's most rapidly growing communities. It extends from near River Park shopping center northward, incorporating the Woodward Lakes neighborhood as well. The Woodward Park Area has tried to incorporate itself as its own city twice, but has failed both occasions. It is also home to many upscale shops and restaurants.

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