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SLOTHE
CULTURETHE
HISTORYTHE
FOODWhat makes this small town
along California’s central coast so unique?
Learn about the origins of San Luis Obispo from the mission to
the first motel.
SLO is establishing itself as one of the most prominent culinary
cities on the central coast.
EXPLORE
MAY 2016
EXPLORE SLO | MAY 20162
SSan Luis Obispo (Spanish for St. Louis, the Bishop) is a city in California, located roughly midway between Los Angeles and San Francisco on the Central Coast. Founded in 1772 by Spanish Fr. Junípero Serra, San Luis Obispo is one of California’s oldest communities. The city, referred to locally as San Luis or SLO, is the county seat of San Luis Obispo County and is adjacent to California Polytechnic State University.
Earliest human inhabitants of the local area were the Chumash peoples. One of the earliest villages lies south of San Luis Obispo, and reflects the landscape of the early Holocene when
ALL THE
HISTORYestuaries came farther inland. These Chumash people exploited marine resources of the inlets and bays along the Central Coast and inhabited a network of villages including sites at Los Osos and Morro Creek.
San Luis Obispo was also a popular stop on both U.S. Route 101 and California State Route 1 with the
By: John Jacobs
Cal Poly’s first women’s basketball team.
Recognize this street? Historical San Luis
Obispo looks slightly different from the SLO
we know today.Photo: The Tribune
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HISTORYrise of car culture. Due to its popularity as a stop, it was the location of the firstmotel, the Milestone Mo-Tel.
Among San Luis Obispo’s historical buildings is the former San Luis Obispo Carnegie Library, located at 696 Monterey Street. The San Luis Obispo Carnegie Library was built in 1905 with a grant of $10,000 from Andrew Carnegie, who funded the establishment of 142 California libraries in the early 1900s. The Romanesque style building was designed by architect W. H. Weeks of Watsonville, California and was built by contractor Joseph Maino of San Luis Obispo. ∽
Traditional house on Higuera.
ALL THE HISTORY
Photo: The Tribune
Photo: The Tribune
MMadonna Inn is a famous local
landmark. Established by Alex
Madonna in 1958, the inn is famously
eccentric. The Fremont Theater, a
historic Art Deco theater from the
1940s, still plays first run movies on the
huge screen. Murals adorn the walls
of the main theater while neon swirls
light the ceiling. The Palm Theatre
boasts solar heating and is home to the
San Luis Obispo International Film
SMALL TOWN
CULTURE
Festival. Another destination
is Bubblegum Alley. Since
about 1960, people have been
sticking chewed gum on
the walls of this alley. The
doctor’s office on the corner of
Santa Rosa and Pacific streets
is one of very few commercial
buildings designed by Frank
Lloyd Wright. San Luis also
has a Carnegie Library which
is now home to the San Luis Obispo
County Historical Museum.
A sculpture of a child and bear at
the Mission in downtown San Luis
Obispo. A fish was added after the
photograph was taken. Lots of
mystery surrounds the “underground
city”, or the series of tunnels that
exists beneath the city. One of the
largest Mardi Gras parades West of
the Mississippi used to be held in
By: Sarah Marshall
The charm of San Luis Obispo wcan be
seen everywhere from Thursday Farmer’s
Market to the famous Madonna Inn.
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San Luis Obispo, but it has been canceled recently
because of difficulties related to crowd control and
alcohol consumption.
Cal Poly’s open house, Poly Royal, was held
annually from 1933 to 1990. It was canceled in
1945 due to war rationing. It began as a show-and-
tell for students to display their projects. It traces its
origins to the 1904 Farmer’s Institute and Picnic
Basket. By the 1980s, as the college became “the
most popular...university in the 19-campus CSU
system”, Poly Royal began drawing over 100,000
people from throughout the state, including
126,000 people in 1985. Concerts, parties,
and other entertainment were added and it
earned $3–4 million in revenue for the city
every year.
Following a “mini-riot” in 1989 at an off-
campus apartment during Poly Royal,
the events in 1990 would cancel the event
“indefinitely.” Two nights of rioting on April
28–29 led to 127 arrests, over 100 injuries and
Local vendors set up stands full of fresh
produce along Higuera Street every Thursday for Farmer’s Market.Photo: San Luis Obispo Collection
5SMALL TOWN CULTURE
14 police injuries on top of “several hundred
thousand dollars” worth of damage. A liquor
store near campus, Campus Bottle, was
destroyed by revelers demanding alcohol. The
second night was much larger than the first
as people were leaving a concert on campus
and parties off-campus were broken up and
revelers flooded the streets. Mayor Dunin
called the events “the worst experience in the
history of San Luis Obispo.” After a meeting
between Mayor Dunin and University
President Warren Baker the following
Monday, Poly Royal was canceled from
that point forward. The name Poly Royal
returned in 2001 as “Open House Presents
Poly Royal”, a scaled down version that
was designed for students and parents. San
Luis Obispo has been home of several other
events, including a stop on the way of the
Olympic Flame Relay, the Tour of California
bicycle race, Cinco de Mayo celebrations, an
annual Mozart festival, held every July, and
a long-standing Christmas Parade. Another
attraction is the development of Edna Valley
into a well-known wine region. Just south
of the city, people can spend an afternoon
wine tasting several wineries in the area with
a very short drive. The wine region extends
north beyond Paso Robles (30 miles north)
and south to Santa Ynez (70 miles south).
During Summer months, local residents and
visitors congregate in the Mission Plaza for a
free outdoor concert every Friday evening.
The event is called Concerts in the Plaza. Other
noteworthy events include the San Luis Obispo
International Film Festival, Festival Mosaic, and
the Plein Air Festival.
San Luis Obispo hosts a Farmer’s Market every
Thursday night from 6-9PM on Higuera Street,
between Osos and Nipomo Streets. During this
weekly event, the street is closed to vehicle traffic
while vendors sell food and goods and various
visual and music artists perform for the crowds.
Since June 2000, the first Thursday of every
month is The Bike Happening (also known as
Bike Nite) in San Luis Obispo. People gather
after the Farmer’s Market at the Mission Plaza
with their bikes. The bikers then go around on
multiple circuits on the main streets of downtown
adhering to the traffic laws (for the most part).
The ride is considered a fun/social ride meant to
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encourage people to get back on their bikes and to have fun. Each Bike Happening
has a theme and a large portion of the crowd is in some costume adherent to the
theme.
One of the cultural focal centers of San Luis Obispo is the Christopher Cohen
Performing Arts Center built on the Cal Poly Campus, which was constructed
utilizing the donations of local businesses and individuals. The Performing Arts
Center consists of multiple venues, including the original Spanos Theatre. The
largest venue, Harmon Hall, seats 1,300. Many high school and college programs
are scheduled. Local artists perform plays, music and dance. The addition of the
Performing Arts Center attracts many touring performances which are usually not
found in communities of comparable size to San Luis Obispo. The Summer of 2007
was the opening concert of the Forbes Pipe Organ, which was built elevated into
a side wall of Harmon Hall and required the donation of a further $3 million for
purchase and installation. ⁓ Article credit: Wikipedia
Local band performing at
Concerts in the Plaza.
Photo: San Luis Obispo Collection
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