Even before its Old Town was old enough to be called Old Town, Clovis had a bustling central business district.

The two-story K Street School opened for classes Sept. 16, 1889, with three teachers and 50 students. Made of brick, the school was designed by architect R.L. Young and built for $20,000.

As the Valley rapidly developed into the nation's richest farming area, Austrian immigrant Spiro Obradovich operated a grocery store in the growing young city of Fresno.

In 1888, the Hughes Hotel was the talk of the town.

One of Fresno’s longest-running businesses is San Francisco Floral, opened in 1913 at 1201 J St. (now Fulton Street) by an Italian immigrant named John Azzaro.

In the early 1900s, taking a Sunday drive along Kearney Boulevard was a popular pastime for Fresnans. The excursion invariably included a picnic in the country.

One of the many businesses created in Fresno at the turn of the 20th century was Buker & Colson, a drugstore that opened in 1889 at 1908 Mariposa St., along the bustling main corridor of the growing Valley city.