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Clovis "Gateway To The Sierras" sign and Tarpey Depot

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Within Oldtown Clovis a fixture of the original alignment of California State Route 168 can be found in the form of the "Clovis Gateway To The Sierras" sign. The sign was erected along Clovis Avenue in 1940 and was in use along California State Route 168 until the highway was relocated circa 1999-2001.

Nearby Tarpey Deport can be found at the northeast corner of Clovis Avenue and 4th Street. The depot was constructed in 1892 as part of the San Joaquin Valley Railroad between Fresno and Friant. The depot structure was one previously located at the southeast corner of Clovis Avenue and Ashlan Avenue.


Part 1; the history of the Gateway To The Sierras sign

The "Clovis Gateway To The Sierras" sign located in Oldtown Clovis along Clovis Avenue between 4th Street and 5th Street. During 1933 Legislative Route Number 76 was extended with a second segment plotted between Huntington Lake and Fresno. The new segment passed through Oldtown Clovis westbound via Tollhouse Road, 3rd Street, Clovis Avenue and Shaw Avenue. During August 1934 the Huntington Lake-Fresno segment of Legislative Route Number 76 would be announced as a component of California State Route 168.
The "Gateway To The Sierras" sign would be added to Clovis Avenue during 1940. The sign is a porcelain design which was fabricated by the Fresno Neon Sign Company. California State Route 168 can be seen passing by the location of the Gateway To The Sierras sign along Clovis Avenue on the 1946 United States Geological Survey Map of Clovis.


Between 1999-2001 California State Route 168 would be relocated onto the Sierra Freeway and would bypass Oldtown Clovis. The Gateway To The Sierras sign would be restored in 2010 and remains a fixture of Oldtown Clovis.




Part 2; Tarpey Depot

Tarpey Depot can be found at the northeast corner of Clovis Avenue and 4th Street. The depot was constructed in 1892 as part of the San Joaquin Valley Railroad between Fresno and Friant. The depot was originally located at the site of Tarpey Ranch at the southeast corner of Clovis Avenue and Ashlan Avenue. The structure would be moved to Oldtown Clovis and was restored in 1999. The Fresno-Friant line was sold to the Southern Pacific Railroad in 1893 which is why Tarpey Depot.







Tarpey Depot can be seen located at the southeast corner of Clovis Avenue and Ashlan Avenue on the 1946 United States Geological Survey Map of Clovis.

Comments

Anonymous said…
pretty nice
4:25 AM
Daniel Stober said…
Hi Tom: Hwy 168 originally entered Clovis via 5th Street. The USGS topo map shows that, too. You can see that the Tollhouse Road diagonal continues west of Sunnyside Ave before turning west.
The change to Third Street occurred sometime in the early 1970s when the Clovis Civic Center was built. At the time, the Clovis Library was the eastmost building, and vestiges of the Tollhouse diagonal could be seen in the parking lot.
Thanks for this article. I lived in downtown Clovis right after I got married in the early 1990s, and I never realized that the Tarpey Depot was right there.
2:57 AM
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