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San LuisObispo

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San Luis Obispo (Spanish for St. Louis,the Bishop) is a city in California, locatedroughly midway between San Francisco

and Los Angeles on the Central Coast. Thecity, referred to locally as SLO or San Luis,is the county seat of San Luis Obispo Countyand is adjacent to California Polytechnic StateUniversity (Cal Poly). As of the 2000 census,the city population was 44,174.

The city is home to San Luis Obispo

County Regional Airport which offers privateand commercial air service to several majorcities in the west. Amtrak provides daily railservice here as the terminus of the PacicSuriner line and a stop on the Coast Starlight

line. Greyhound also maintains a bus termi-

nal in San Luis Obispo. Public transportationincludes the city-wide SLO Transit bus lines aswell as the county-wide SLO Regional Transitsystem. Rideshare encourages the use of thelocal public transit, as well as carpooling andbiking.

Cycling is occasionally used as a modeof transportation in San Luis Obispo. Bikelanes are maintained on a few of the streetsand the number of bike stands are increasing,

especially in the downtown area.Parking in the downtown area can bea challenge for those interested in nding aspot directly in front of their nal destination.The city provides parking in three multistoryparking structures throughout downtown at:Chorro and Marsh street intersection; PalmStreet between Chorro and Morro streets; onPalm Street between Chorro andOsos streets. Street parking downtown is me-

By Nicole Welch

This photo captures in a vintage way what SanLuis Obispo offers to visitors and locals alike,a beautiful, tranquil escape from an otherwisebustiling city life. Photo by Brady Teufel

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tered. The structures

are free for the rsthour and 75 centsper hour thereafter.Because of San LuisObispos locationhalfway betweenLos Angeles and SanFrancisco, it has longbeen a stopping pointfor travelers. In fact,

the word motel wascoined here when theMotel Inn of San LuisObispo was estab-lished in 1925. Sincethen, the pleasantyear-round climate,pretty scenery, andwell-preserved,

walkable downtownhave made the city atourist destination initself.

DowntownSan Luis Obispo iscentered around thecarefully restored Mis-sion San Luis Obispode Tolosa, originallybuilt in 1772. It is one

of the best preservedexamples of SpanishMission architectureand among the oldestbuildings in California.Its bells are uniquein that, unlike otherCalifornia missions,the bell ringer stands

in the bellroom withthe bells when ringingthe cadences. Thedowntown area alsoboasts many eclecticshops and boutiques.

Another bigtourist attraction isHearst Castle, thevast estate of publish-ing magnate William

Randolph Hearst, 43miles to the north ofSan Luis Obispo.

The MadonnaInn is another fa-mous local landmark.Established by AlexMadonna in 1958,the inn is a famously

eccentric buildingknown for its gener-ous helping of pink,wildly kitschy decor,themed guest rooms,and a waterfall urinalin a mens restroom.

One famoustourist destination isBubble Gum Alley.Since about 1960,

people have beensticking their chewedgum on the walls ofthis alley located onHiguera Street, be-tween Broad and Gar-den streets. BubbleGum Alley has evenappeared on national

A beautiful scene surrounded by blooming poppys is just one of the many land-scapes that San Luis Obispo offers its locals and tourists alike.

Photo by Brady Teufel

How can anyone resist thsome of the many things

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television.Another

big attraction is thedevelopment of EdnaValley into a well-known wine region.Just south of the city,people can spend anafternoon wine tast-ing several wineries inthe area with a very

short drive. Someof these winerieshave won awardsand acclaim for theirvintages. The wineregion extends northbeyond Paso Robles(30 miles north) andSanta Ynez (70 miles

south).One of the

main draws is Farm-ers Market, a largefestival held down-town on HigueraStreet every Thursdayevening year-roundfrom 6 p.m. to 9p.m.. About three-quarters of a mile of

the street is closed tocars. Live entertain-ment is featured andlocal farmers andvendors sell goodsand produce. TheFarmers Market wascreated in 1983 tomake use of down-

town streets blockedoff to end a traditionof teen/collegiatecruising. Farmers andvendors were allowedto set up betweenbarricades as a wayto bring people backto the downtownarea.

Later, all traf-

c was blocked off,making the down-town Farmers Marketone long mall, evenrerouting part of astate highway to ac-commodate the streetclosures. The Farm-ers Market brought a

great deal of revenueand has becomeinternationally known.

San LuisObispo has beenhome of several otherevents, including astop on the way ofthe Olympic Torch,the Tour of Californiabicycle race, Cinco de

Mayo celebrations,as well as a long-standing ChristmasParade. A Mardi Grasparade that was wellattended has beenfraught with difcul-ties related to crowdcontrol and alcohol

ass, teal oceans, and blue skies,ee from their windows everyday.

Photo by Brady Teufel

Lying in the grass and looking up at the big blue sky makes any localwonder, why would you chose to live anywhere else?

Photo by Brady Teufel

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consumption. Debateabout the cost of theparade, and the asso-ciated crowd control,continues.

Mardi Grashas not been theonly local eventreined in after gain-ing acceptance. CalPolys open house,Poly Royal, was heldevery April until a1990 riot of drunkenrevellers, many visi-tors to town, caused

damage throughoutresidential neigh-borhoods and thebusiness district. Theuniversity cancelledthe event for severalyears before rein-troducing a scaled-down Open House.

While Poly

Royal welcomed thecommunity for hikes,carnivals, magicshows put on by theChemistry Depart-ment, and other pub-lic performances, therevamped version isdesigned for stu-dents and parents.

Jamba Juice,famous for its fruitsmoothies, wasfounded in this town.Formerly called JuiceClub, Jamba Juice isnow a national chain.Although Juice Clubwas not a Cal Polysenior project as

some claim, three ofthe four co-founders,Joe Vergara, KevinPeters, and LindaOlds did graduate

from the university.Jamba Juice still ex-ists at the originalJuice Club location:17 Chorro Street #C.

City ordi-nance prevents busi-nesses of any sort(including fast-foodrestaurants) fromconstructing new

drive-up or drive-through windowsor services. Twobranches of one localbank are the only lo-cations in the entirecity with drive-upservice; their drive-up service existedbefore the ordinance

became law.The dentist

ofce on the cornerof Santa Rosa and Pa-cic streets is one ofvery few commercialbuildings designed byFrank Lloyd Wright.A horse race on turfnamed the San LuisObispo Handicap isrun at the Santa AnitaPark in honor of thiscity.

San LuisObispo was the rstAmerican town to banindoor smoking in alllocations, including

bars and restaurants.

Green, green grass growing everywhere during thespring in SLO, inviting you in for long afternoon walks.

This peaceful, country-style home shows off the calm-ness of the small city and its rolling hills.

Come hike me, beckons the famous Madonna Moun-tan peak to all who visit San Luis Obispo.

Photo by Brady Teufel

Photo by Brady Teufel

Photo by Brady Teufel