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History - page 3

Turlock’s history, historic places, institutions and the people who shaped the region.

Highway 152: Los Banos, Pacheco Pass & the Road to the Coast

Highway 152 curving through the dry hills at Pacheco Pass in July 2015
Highway 152 at Pacheco Pass, July 2015. Photo: Chevy111 / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0; resized and cropped. This crop is also CC BY-SA 4.0.

The reservoir beside Highway 152 looks as though it has always been there. It hasn’t. Before San Luis Reservoir filled, this was ranch country; before cars crossed Pacheco Pass, travelers paid a toll and stagecoaches worked their way through the hills. From Turlock to Los Banos Olive Avenue connects with Lander Avenue at downtown Turlock. Follow Lander south and, beyond Highway 99, the state-highway portion is Highway 165, serving Hilmar, Stevinson and Los Banos. The… Keep Reading

Highway 99 in Turlock: The Old Road, the Overpass and the Freeway

Trees and paths at Central Park in downtown Turlock.
Central Park in downtown Turlock, December 2013. Photo: peter boy12qq12 / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 3.0.

Before Highway 99 meant on-ramps and a fast trip to Modesto, it meant driving through Turlock. Golden State Boulevard carried the highway, and a dangerous railroad crossing stood between motorists and town. The freeway took decades to arrive. Its route helped decide where the next Turlock would grow. The old highway is still part of town The familiar name Golden State Boulevard is a piece of road history. It was the through-town route of U.S.… Keep Reading

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HBO’s Looking in Modesto: A Homecoming, a Funeral and the Brave Bull

The Modesto Arch and its Water Wealth Contentment Health sign against a blue sky, photographed in January 2016.
Modesto Arch after renovation, January 15, 2016. Photo: Amy Vickery / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0. Cropped and resized.

HBO's Looking gives Modesto a full homecoming episode: a funeral, a swim, a night at the Brave Bull and a few memories that hurt more than expected. The series usually follows a group of gay friends in San Francisco. In “Looking for a Plot,” it follows Dom and Doris back to the city where they grew up—and the production really did come to Modesto. The episode to queue up “Looking for a Plot” is Season… Keep Reading

American Crime: The ABC Drama That Put Modesto at the Center

The Modesto Arch and its Water Wealth Contentment Health sign against a blue sky, photographed in January 2016.
Modesto Arch after renovation, January 15, 2016. Photo: Amy Vickery / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0. Cropped and resized.

American Crime gave Modesto a leading role in prime-time television. The first season of John Ridley’s ABC drama, which premiered March 5, 2015, places a devastating home invasion in the city and follows the families pulled into its aftermath. For local viewers, the connection lasts much longer than a passing mention: Modesto is the setting for the entire eleven-episode story. Read the original season preview. The Modesto connection starts with a phone call In “Episode… Keep Reading

Christian Mingle: Three Dates and a Starring Role for Turlock

Director Corbin Bernsen at San Diego Comic-Con in July 2013.
Christian Mingle director Corbin Bernsen at San Diego Comic-Con, July 2013. Photo: Gage Skidmore / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0. Resized.

Coffee at Lisa’s Cookie Jar. Sushi on Monte Vista. Hotdogs at Footers. In Christian Mingle, romance comes with a restaurant tour and a few movie tricks. The 2014 comedy gave downtown Turlock a starring role, then brought its premiere home. Lacey Chabert plays Gwyneth Hayden, a marketing executive who joins a Christian dating website despite having little faith of her own. Jonathan Patrick Moore plays Paul, the man she hopes to impress. As Home Theater… Keep Reading

George Lucas: The Modesto Memories Behind American Graffiti

George Lucas speaking, photographed in 2005.
George Lucas, photographed in 2005. Photo: Beatrice Murch / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 2.0. Cropped and resized.

George Lucas’s most local film was made somewhere else. Modesto supplied the memories behind American Graffiti; Bay Area streets supplied the locations. The town that inspired it later turned its own cruising history into a walking route, public art and a summer tradition. Lucas was born in Modesto in 1944 and grew up on a walnut ranch, the son of a stationery-store owner. The Academy of Achievement’s biography and interview cover his childhood and early… Keep Reading

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