REPORT TO THE HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION
March 23, 2026
FROM: JENNIFER K. CLARK, AICP, Director
Planning and Development Department
BY: ASHLEY ATKINSON, AICP Assistant Director
Planning and Development Department
SUBJECT
Title
CONTINUED FROM FEBRUARY 23, 2026
Hearing to consider eligibility for listing on the Local Register of Historic Resources, the property located at 755 E Shaw Ave (Assessor Parcel Number: 427-030-37)
Body
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommend that the Historic Preservation Commission review the available evidence, hold the hearing and determine whether to initiate designation of the property located at 755 E Shaw Ave (Assessor Parcel Number: 427-030-37) as a Historic Resource.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The City has received an application for demolition of the property located at 755 E Shaw Ave., which was constructed in 1970 as Weinstock's Department Store, the eastern anchor of the Fashion Fair shopping mall. It is not a designated Historic Resource nor located in a historic district but based upon its date of construction and intact exterior, it may be eligible for listing on the Local Register of Historic Resources under Fresno Municipal Code Sec. 12-1607.
BACKGROUND
The Late Modern structure at 755 E Shaw Ave. was constructed in 1970 as Weinstock's Department Store, serving as the eastern anchor of the new Fashion Fair shopping mall. A time capsule with a plaque indicating that it contains historic items to be removed in one century was placed under the building on June 26, 1970. News reports from the time indicate that the store was designed by Charles Luckman Associates of Los Angeles and that it opened on August 31, 1970, at a construction cost of $8 million. Its construction was noted in news articles for the steel frame that allowed for a lack of interior columns; the climate-controlled interior; and an "advanced" exterior with a "series of protruding levels and planes which give a dramatic play of light and shadow in...
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