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Uniquely is a Fresno Bee series that covers the moments, landmarks and personalities that outline what makes residing within the Fresno space so particular.
When Freeway 99 was the primary route between Los Angeles and San Francisco, and Fresno the midway level for weary drivers, the Hacienda was the crown jewel of motels alongside Golden State Boulevard.
The Hacienda, set off by a big signal with a vaquero on a bucking horse, was feted by some in Fresno as America’s largest motel, which suggests a automotive can park immediately outdoors of a room. Whether or not it was actually the most important is unclear, and it wouldn’t be in the top 10 today.
However in 1954, the Hacienda had all of it: a number of swimming swimming pools, big-name leisure, a sweeping banquet room and even a lounge known as the Mermaid Room the place a cocktail could possibly be had as synchronized swimmers frolicked behind a glass wall subsequent to the bartender.
Right now, these glory days are only a reminiscence. The large vaquero sign sits across town at the Fresno County Fairgrounds, and the Mermaid Room, together with the banquet corridor the place Frank Sinatra crooned and INXS rocked, are lengthy gone, as effectively.
Whereas lots of the free-standing former motel rooms stay on the location, the Hacienda advanced serves a extra utilitarian perform, as dwelling to Fresno Residence Bridge, a housing heart for households, and as a triage heart that helps the homeless get again on their ft by offering beds for as much as 90 days.
Practically 70 years in the past, the Hacienda opened its doorways after completion by Warren Bayley of Customary Motels. Then started a revolving door of possession.
The advanced was taken over by a gaggle headed by Frankie Avalon in 1969. Money move issues ensued, and in 1972, the Hacienda signal was taken down and it grew to become a Sheraton Inn.
The signal went up once more in 1977 after an Encino agency spent $4.5 million on reworking.
Leisure acts featured there by means of the years included Glen Yarbrough, Lily Tomlin, Ray Charles, Waylon Jennings and Jerry Lee Lewis.
The resort celebrated maybe its largest leisure day on Might 15, 1966, when Frank Sinatra got here to city to help the reelection of then-Gov. Edmund G. Brown with a $50-a-plate testimonial dinner. It was a fast sellout after 700 followers purchased tickets, in response to Fresno Bee reporter Eli Setencich.
“I’m the act that follows the governor,” mentioned Sinatra, who launched into “Fly Me To The Moon.”
“When Sinatra sings … even when it is just 4 songs — everyone listens,.” Setencich added.
The property grew to become a residence for seniors in 1989, and the Hacienda entered its last days as an leisure venue with a live performance by British rocker Robin Trower, well-known for his hit “Bridge of Sighs.”
As for the Vaquero signal, it was broken in a windstorm in 1998, and brought down a last time, then moved to a pole in entrance of the Mendes Normal Retailer on West Olive Avenue a few mile south from its authentic dwelling. It was moved to the Fresno Fairgrounds in 2016.
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