Fresno Off The Beaten Path

  William Saroyan Grave in Fresno
by RedEaredPanda
 
  • William Saroyan Grave in Fresno
      William Saroyan Grave in Fresno
    by RedEaredPanda
  • Partial Chinatown tunnel map.
      Partial Chinatown tunnel map.
    by sennaya
  • Kathi Omachi of CRI looks at tunnel
      Kathi Omachi of CRI looks at tunnel
    by sennaya
  • Staircase to cellar and tunnels
      Staircase to cellar and tunnels
    by sennaya
 

Best Rated Off The Beaten Path in Fresno

William Saroyan's Gravesite
RedEaredPanda profile photo

2.5 out of 5 starsHelpfulness

RedEaredPanda 258 reviews
William Saroyan Grave in Fresno

For those of you who don't know William Saroyan (1908-1981), he is an American author and playwrite who was born in Fresno, California. William was a son of an Armenian immigrant and a small vineyard owner in Fresno who died shortly after William was born. Perhaps the most famous novel written by Saroyan is "The Human Comedy" read by most students attending high school in America. His works also include "My Name is Aram" and "The Laughing Matter"...

While in Fresno, we visited the Ararat Armenian Cemetery in search of another Armenian historical figure's grave. Instead to a nice surprise we stumbled upon William Saroyan's Grave.

The Ararat Cemetery in Fresno is located at 1929 W. Belmont Ave in Fresno California.

Written Sep 9, 2004

Related to:
 Backpacking
 Historical Travel
 Budget Travel

Was this review helpful?

World's Smallest Catholic Parish
MarshallFritz profile photo

2 out of 5 starsHelpfulness

MarshallFritz 2 reviews

St. Genevieve's Catholic Church was built in 1938 for the Chinese community. It was given one block of real estate as parish boundries, making it the smallest parish in the world. It is, I believe, the only Catholic church in the USA specifically a Chinese parish. You can drive by and see it at the corner of Tulare & C street, just west of Chinatown. --- Mass is on Sundays 10:30am; we sing the Lord's prayer in Chinese on 1st, 2nd, and 4th Sundays. About a 70 attend Sunday Mass, then retire downstairs for coffee, donuts, and chit chat. ---Today, the church's demographics are about a third Chinese-American, a third Mexican-American, and a third "Gringo." :-)

Updated Mar 17, 2007

Related to:
 Historical Travel
 Religious Travel
 Architecture

Was this review helpful?

Chinatown tunnels
sennaya profile photo

2 out of 5 starsHelpfulness

sennaya 575 reviews
Staircase to cellar and tunnels
2 more images

The stuff of urban legends, the chinatown tunnels are mostly passageways between the basements in old buildings. Radar archaeology in 2007 verified their existence. Many have been partially closed by various property owners. There are no organized tours, though a guided tour of Chinatown tunnels was auctioned of at the Chinatown Jazz Festival to be led by members of the Chinatown revitalization Board.

Updated Apr 4, 2011

Phone: 559-441-7915

Related to:
 Historical Travel
 Study Abroad

Was this review helpful?

Comments

Top 3 Hotels in Fresno

Radisson Hotel Conference Center Fresno

 1 Review and 169 Opinions  Although the check in time was 3:30pm and we were rushing to make it to a wedding at 4 o'clock, the... 

 Hotels in Fresno

Show Prices

La Quinta Fresno Hotel

 1 Review and 92 Opinions  goo La Quinta Inn Fresno is a great hotel. It was very clean, the bed was very comfortable, and... 

 Hotels in Fresno

Show Prices

Best Western Village Inn Fresno

 2 Reviews and 68 Opinions  These were far from the nicest accommodations, or even the best neighborhood, but you can't beat the... 

 Hotels in Fresno

Show Prices
Map of Fresno