The Frank J. Craycroft Home: Losing Our Past

The historic Frank J. Craycroft home and horse barn, located on the west side of N. Palm a little north of W. Sierra, is falling into ruins. It's such a shame that another piece of Fresno's past, built in 1927 and listed as City and County Historical Site #82, is being ignored and will, in time, collapse from neglect.

Many of the homes built in Fresno were made from the Craycroft Brick Works. Frank J. Craycroft, in many ways, can be remembered as literally providing the building blocks for many of Fresno's homes. His beautiful home with its handsome unattached horse barn (later used for automobiles) was at that time well out "in the county."

As a council member concerned about the boarded up residence (commonly, however, used by transients for shelter, teenagers for drinking parties, and vandals for defacing), I urged City of Fresno historical preservation director, Karana Hattersley, to have the residence secured with a fence and to actively solicit a buyer for it. Eventually, a buyer was found (I won't mention the name here), and in 2005 a sign was erected in front of the property on N. Palm proudly identifying the home. Community volunteers spent a weekend removing much of the paint sprayed inside the house by vandals, and cleared away the weeds and general clutter in the yard. A press conference was held proudly announcing that the new owners would fix up the historic building and use it both as a residence and office.

It's now October of 2009 and I have been termed out of office for a year. Four years have passed since the jubilation of that 2005 press conference. The Frank J. Craycroft home, however, again sits lifeless and abandoned. The sign so proudly erected in the front now lies face down in the dirt.

What a shame. No one seems to care as another fixture of Fresno's past slowly slips into oblivion.

Coming Soon. . .

1. Why you are safer on Fresno's streets.
2. Working together for a better region: The San Joaquin River Conservation Board, the San Joaquin River Parkway and the Sierra Foothill Conservancy.

Comments are welcome. Click on "Comments" below or e-mail me at abriancalhoun@gmail.com.