City Spotlight presents ...

SAN LUIS OBISPO

above: The pristine Central CA coastline is one of the many reasons to visit the city of SLO. [Brady Teufel]

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 above: The landscape of SLO also features lush rolling hills and
soil perfect for farming. [Brady Teufel]
S an Luis Obispo (Span-
ish for St. Louis, the Bishop)
is a city in California, located
roughly midway between San
Francisco and Los Angeles on
the Central Coast. The city,
referred to locally as SLO or
“San Luis,” is the county seat
of San Luis Obispo County
and is adjacent to California
Polytechnic State University
(Cal Poly). As of the 2000 cen-
sus, the city population was
44,174.
The city is home to San Luis
Obispo County Regional Air-
port which offers private and
commercial air service to sev-
eral major cities in the west.
Amtrak provides daily rail
service here as the terminus of
the Pacific Surfliner line and
a stop on the Coast Starlight
line. Greyhound also main-
tains a bus terminal in San
Luis Obispo. Public transpor-
tation includes the city-wide
SLO Transit bus lines as well
as the county-wide SLO Re-
gional Transit system. Ride-
share encourages the use of
the local public transit, as well
as carpooling and biking.
Cycling is occasionally
used as a mode of transporta-
tion in San Luis Obispo. Bike
lanes are maintained on a few
of the streets and the number
of bike stands are increasing,
especially in the downtown
area.
Parking in the downtown
area can be a challenge for
those interested in finding a
spot directly in front of their
final destination. The city
provides parking in three
multistory parking struc-
tures throughout downtown
at: Chorro and Marsh street
intersection; Palm Street
between Chorro and Morro
streets; on Palm Street be-
tween Chorro and
Osos streets. Street parking
downtown is metered. The
structures are free for the
first hour and 75 cents per
hour thereafter. Because of
San Luis Obispo’s location
halfway between Los Ange-
les and San Francisco, it has
long been a stopping point
for travelers. In fact, the
word motel was coined here
when the Motel Inn of San
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 Luis Obispo was established
in 1925. Since then, the pleas-
ant year-round climate, pretty
scenery, and well-preserved,
walkable downtown have made
the city a tourist destination in
itself.
Downtown San Luis Obispo
is centered around the care-
fully restored Mission San
Luis Obispo de Tolosa, origi-
nally built in 1772. It is one of
the best preserved examples of
Spanish Mission architecture
and among the oldest build-
ings in California. Its bells are
unique in that, unlike other
California missions, the bell
ringer stands in the bellroom
with the bells when ringing the
cadences. The downtown area
also boasts many eclectic shops
and boutiques.
Another big tourist attraction
is Hearst Castle, the vast estate
of publishing magnate William
Randolph Hearst, 43 miles to the
north of San Luis Obispo. The
Madonna Inn is another famous
local landmark. Established by
Alex Madonna in 1958, the inn
is a famously eccentric building
known for its generous helping
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of pink, wildly kitschy decor,
themed guest rooms, and a
waterfall urinal in a men’s re-
stroom.
The Fremont Theater is a his-
toric Art Deco theater from
the 1940s. It has appeared
in many movies including a
three second clip in My Blue
Heaven.
One famous tourist destination
is Bubble Gum Alley. Since
about 1960, people have been
sticking their chewed gum on
the walls of this alley located
on Higuera Street, between
Broad and Garden streets.
Bubble Gum Alley has even
appeared on national televi-
sion.
Another big attraction is the
development of Edna Val-
ley 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. Some of these wineries
have won awards and acclaim
for their vintages. The wine
region extends north beyond
Paso Robles (30 miles north)
and Santa Ynez (70 miles
south).
A field station of the Marine
Mammal Center is located in
San Luis Obispo to support
sea rescue and beach strand-
ing rescue operations for
this section of the California
coast.
One of the main draws is
Farmers’ Market, a large
festival held downtown on
Higuera Street every Thurs-
day evening year-round from
6 p.m. to 9 p.m.. About three-
quarters of a mile of the
street is closed to cars. Live
entertainment is featured and
local farmers and vendors
sell goods and produce. The
Farmers’ Market was cre-
ated in 1983 to make use of
downtown streets blocked
off to end a tradition of teen/
collegiate cruising. Farmers
and vendors were allowed to
set up between barricades as
a way to bring people back
to the downtown area. Later,
all traffic was blocked off,
making the downtown Farm-
ers’ Market one long “mall,”
even rerouting part of a state
highway to accommodate the
 1 2

Photos
A winding path through the
3
1 countryside of San Luis Obispo
County. [Brady Teufel]

A man makes balloon animals

2
for excited childern at the
Thursday night Farmers’ Mar-
ket. [Brady Teufel]

3 A view of the scenic grassy

hills from a farm. [Brady
Tefufel]

4 In the Spring, poppies (the

California state flower) can
be seen in full bloom. [Brady
Teufel]
5 During the rainy winter
season, the mountains and
hillsides turn a lush, deep
green. [Brady Teufel]

4 5

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 above: A view of the quaint downtown shopping area. [Brady Teufel]
oppostie page: A panoramic shot of the Cal Poly campus. [Brady Teufel]
street closures. The Farmers’
Market brought a great deal
of revenue and has become
internationally known.
San Luis Obispo has been
home of several other events,
including a stop on the way of
the Olympic Torch, the Tour
of California bicycle race,
Cinco de Mayo celebrations,
as well as a long-standing
Christmas Parade. A Mardi
Gras parade that was well at-
tended has been fraught with
difficulties related to crowd
control and alcohol consump-
tion. Debate about the cost of
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the parade, and the associated
crowd control, continues.
Mardi Gras has not been the
only local event reined in af-
ter gaining acceptance. Cal
Poly’s open house, Poly Roy-
al, was held every April until
a 1990 riot of drunken revel-
lers, many visitors to town,
caused damage throughout
residential neighborhoods and
the business district. The uni-
versity cancelled the event for
several years before reintro-
ducing a scaled-down Open
House. While Poly Royal
welcomed the community
for hikes, carnivals, “magic”
shows put on by the Chem-
istry Department, and other
public performances, the re-
vamped version is designed
for students and parents.
Jamba Juice, famous
for its fruit smoothies, was
founded in this town. Former-
ly called Juice Club, Jamba
Juice is now a national chain.
Although Juice Club was not
a Cal Poly senior project as
some claim, three of the four
co-founders, Joe Vergara,
Kevin Peters, and Linda Olds
did graduate from the univer-
sity. Jamba Juice still exists
at the original Juice Club lo-
cation: 17 Chorro Street #C.
City ordinance prevents
businesses of any sort
(including fast-food res-
taurants) from constructing
new drive-up or drive-
through windows or ser-
vices. Two branches of one
local bank are the only loca-
tions in the entire city with
drive-up service; their drive-
up service existed before the
ordinance became law.
The dentist office on
the corner of Santa Rosa and
Pacific streets is one of very
few commercial buildings
designed by Frank Lloyd
Wright.
A horse race on turf named
the San Luis Obispo Handi-
cap is run at the Santa Anita
Park in honor of this city.
San Luis Obispo was
the first American town to
ban indoor smoking in all
locations, including bars and
restaurants.
Ms. Wikipedia

California polytechnic state university

For the 17th programs."

ranked the second best pro-
year in a row, Cal Poly Cal Poly’s College
gram at a public university.
has been rated the best of Engineering program
Cal Poly ranks third
public-master's univer- ranked third among pub-
nationally among public
sity in the West by U.S. lic engineering programs,
universities in a Forbes.com
News & World Report, bested only by the U.S.
ranking of college campus-
in its 2010 America 's Military and Naval Acad-
es, based on a recent study
Best Colleges guide- emies, for schools whose
that looks at earnings of
book. highest degree is a bach-
alumni at colleges around
Cal Poly moved elor's or master's. The
the country.
up four spots from 10th university’s industrial and
Cal Poly followed
to 6th in the magazine's manufacturing, computer,
only Berkeley and Univer-
overall list of the West's electrical and mechanical
sity of Virginia in the pub-
best universities, in- engineering programs were
lic rankings, tying for the
cluding both public and each ranked as the top pro-
third spot with UCLA and
private institutions, that gram at a public university
UC San Diego.
provide "a full range in their respective special-
of undergraduate and ty categories. Cal Poly’s Mr. Calpoly
master's-level programs civil and environmental
but few, if any, doctoral engineering program was