Fresno, California

Fresno is the county seat of Fresno County, California. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 427,652. 2005 estimates by the California Department of Finance approximate a city population of 464,727 and a metropolitan area of 1,002,284. Fresno is the sixth-largest city in California and the largest inland city in the state. It is located at 36°47' North, 119°48' West, in the San Joaquin Valley portion of California's expansive Central Valley. Its ZIP Code is 937xx. It is also the largest city in the United States that is not directly served by an Interstate highway (although there are long-term plans to upgrade California State Highway 99, the main freeway through the area, to Interstate standards; it is unofficially proposed to be designated Interstate 9).

Notable residents

Fresno has given the world talents that include inventor James Porteous; Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright and novelist William Saroyan; songwriter David Seville (aka Ross Bagdasarian); and actors Mike Connors (born Krekor Ohanian), Robert Beltran ("Star Trek Voyager"), and Broadway's Audra McDonald (also an acclaimed singer). Frank Chance, the first-baseman in the famous "Tinker to Evers to Chance" double-play combination of the early twentieth century Chicago Cubs, was born in Fresno in 1877. Major leaguer Frenchy Bordagaray lettered in four sports at Fresno State College in the 1920s. Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author Deborah Blum honed her craft as a reporter for the Fresno Bee in the 1980s. Poets Philip Levine and his student Larry Levis lived and wrote in Fresno. Historical scholar, author, and cultural-political columnist Victor Davis Hanson grew up on a farm near Fresno and founded the classics department at California State University, Fresno. "War Nerd" columnist Gary Brecher hails from, and writes about Fresno. The names Brad Basmajian (Monsters that fight fame...) and Rademacher have been associated either with Brecher or with the city, although the context is not clear.

Related Topics:
James Porteous - William Saroyan - David Seville - Mike Connors - Robert Beltran - Audra McDonald - Frank Chance - Chicago Cubs - Frenchy Bordagaray - Deborah Blum - Fresno Bee - Philip Levine - Larry Levis - Victor Davis Hanson - California State University, Fresno - Gary Brecher - Brad Basmajian - Rademacher

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