Thought by many to be the grandest building in the central San Joaquin Valley, the old Fresno County Courthouse might also have been the most controversial.

As the nation sank into the Great Depression, Fresnans got a needed lift in 1931 when the legendary George Herman "Babe" Ruth came to town.

For the brilliant, eccentric Kenzie Whitten "Blackhorse" Jones, the journey into the afterlife was an obsession. It also became his legacy at the Grangeville Cemetery at Armona.

Built on the birthplace of Fresno, the Southern Pacific Railroad depot represents the city's transition from a dusty plains outpost to the West's leading agribusiness center. The 1889 depot is the city's oldest commercial building.

A wave of relief must have swept over early day motorists when they negotiated their way to the top of the windy old Tollhouse Road and Cressman's at Pine Ridge came into view.

Decades before today's water-themed amusement parks, Zapp's Park was the place to be on the Fourth of July. Fireworks lit up the north Fresno sky. The Fresno Portuguese community used the holiday to put on their annual feed. Kids would stand in line for a block for free refreshments.

Thousands of miles from the front lines, U.S. military members gave Valley folks a reminder of how much their support was needed during the depths of World War II.

By the time Fresno's first high school graduating class took the stage at the old Barton Opera House in 1891, the seven students were well-schooled in English, science, history, math and four years of Latin.

The grandfather of today's Fresno Convention Center and Exhibit Hall was the Fresno Auditorium.

It was a quiet Tuesday noon hour on Feb. 5, 1924, when a stranger entered the First State Bank at 401 Pollasky in Clovis. Assistant cashier Thomas Howison, who was alone in the bank, greeted the stranger with his usual "How do you do?" as the man threw down a $20 bill and asked for change.

A young Scottish blacksmith made his fortune in late-1800s Fresno with a knack for business and an invention that would make history.