Today I launch an occasional series “If They Can Do It, Why Can’t We?” about things other cities did to spiff up their urban life. Things Stockton could do but, mysteriously, never does.
Let’s start with a good example of a waterfront attraction, something Stockton’s semi-vacant waterfront sorely needs: Turtle Bay Exploration Park in Redding.
“Turtle Bay Exploration Park has become the premier cultural and environmental educational center for Northern California,” boasts a park history.
Turtle Bay combines several museums, a hotel, public art, a restaurant and café, gift shop, botanical gardens, arboretums, hiking trails, and a wowser of an iconic bridge, all on Redding’s Sacramento River.
The bridge, called the Sundial Bridge, opened in 2004 as a “bold statement” by Spanish engineer Santiago Calatrava, is a pedestrian bridge, public artwork, and working sundial. It put Redding on the map.
The gleaming white, above-deck support tower thrusts up 217 feet at a dramatic angle, anchoring the bridge cables and doubling as the gnomon of a sundial.
Pedestrians cross a deck of translucent green glass embedded in steel to reach the north shore and some park attractions. En route, they experience the bridge’s aesthetic partner, so to speak, the beautiful Sacramento River.
Up there the Sacramento runs clean and cold, teeming with trout that make it popular for fly fishing anglers. The riverbed is not channeled nor is the bank urbanized. Hikers enjoy miles of trails.
For years longtime Stocktonian Mel Corren has promoted the idea of not one, but two bridges over Stockton’s inner harbor, a car bridge and a pedestrian bridge.
“Stockton is notorious for not being able to get from the north to the south,” Corren said. “Other cities have more bridges across channels and rivers than we have. Stockton would be a whole lot better if you could cross over from the north to the south side from Pershing (Avenue) or one of those streets.”
Such a vehicle bridge would ease travel to Stockton’s new City Hall, help residents of proposed south-bank housing to cross north, as well as help reinvigorate south Stockton, Corren said.
Corren also envisions a pedestrian bridge stretching from the Events Center — the arena, ballpark, and hotel — across McLeod Lake to Weber Point.
“Then you could go across the very, very end of the channel into town, catch a local bus and go anywhere in Stockton,” Corren said.
Either bridge would offer the opportunity to make an audacious aesthetic statement, one that would be visible to thousands of motorists crossing over the channel on I-5.
Turtle Bay came into being because Redding’s museums were all struggling and needed city subsidies. Merging them on the river near the foot of the bridge revived them.
The museum features science, art, and history; forestry; wildlife, including animal habitats, an aviary, and a self-guided “interpretive forest.”
The museum building also holds multipurpose rooms that host touring art and science exhibitions and are popular venues for community events.
Turtle Bay attracts around 1 million visitors a year, said Kim Niemer, Redding’s director of community services.
“The combination of the bridge and the museum — which opened up within a couple years of each other — really lifted Redding’s identity and reputation from being another Central Valley community to being a real city that has arts and entertainment, that takes pride in its riverfront,” Niemer said.
If Redding can do it, why can’t Stockton?
It’s easy to gainsay the idea. Redding is in a scenic part of California. Stockton, less so. The Sacramento River is clean. The San Joaquin at Stockton is a mess. Stockton’s economy is weak, its politics toxic, I had a flat tire, my dog ate it, etcetera. And when we’re done shooting down ideas, what’s left? A waterfront as newsworthy for fires as for a special waterfront experience.
An experience such as:
- A museum of immigration and Stockton ethnic diversity
- Of the Delta, including an aquarium
- Of the Gold Rush
“If we had makers events it would grab some energy in the museum and arts world,” said Susan Obert, CEO of The Haggin Museum.
- A museum of Stockton’s historic vice
- A boat house with classes and programs
- Your turn. Do the vision thing.
Fitzgerald’s column runs on Wednesdays. His views do not represent those of Stocktonia’s management and staff. On Twitter and Instagram as Stocktonopolis. Email: mfitzgeraldstockton@gmail
Put water in Morman Slough and develop a park and city walk ala Stockton Architect Glen Mortensen.
I like that idea too.
Mikes, observations and comments we’re RIGHT ON. The Time is Now. There are so many organizations and Individuals working on POSITIVE CHANGE. It Takes ALL Of Us to get things done. D. Lee
Why can’t we? A challenge to vision makers and private/public partnership.
Downtown has so much potential.
Youll never change this town.
I left STOCKTON in 1977 to work in LA.
I fully believed then that when I returned this would be the emerald of the valley.
These ideas should have been proposed 50 years ago.
Stockton is chock full of conceited deceitful people.
Politicians and builders.
They always rise to the top.
They need to be skimmed .
Reality prevails.
This is a town of illiterate hillbillies.
Ignorance abounds here.
Look at the board of supervisors.
Look at our ‘mayor’
Look at our ‘citizens’
Look at the horrible quality of journalists in our city.
A real mess.
It’s a pipe dream and useless but not hopeless situation.
So much potential.
Greg, your “horrible quality of journalists in our city” doesn’t include Mike Fitzgerald, does it? I think he does excellent work.
I get your cynicism about Stockton, however. It’s heartbreaking for a lot of us to watch the never-ending clown show that is Stockton, California. So much potential, yet so many dreams dashed.
I should have separated that.
I am saying g that the stockton record was tacitly at least part of the problem.
Their oversight and 4th estate responsibilities were missing.
Fitzgerald has done great work especially at stocktonia.
He also has a GREAT mind.
Wow
I’ve lived here all of my 73 plus years, what you write is the absolute best definition of Stockton (someplace special) I have ever read. Many people have great ideas but nothing ever gets done.
Look on the bright side: Redding may have the Sundial Bridge, but it also has Sean Feucht and a lot of Talibama-style Christian nationalist drama, the kind of nonsense that has been working overtime to demolish the wall between church and state. Aside from a few like-minded local pols, we have managed to avoid that particular flavor of craziness here in San Joaquin County.
I always have hope that things will get better, especially concerning the downtown and marina area. We need people with vision and I dont think they are here in Stockton. We are stuck with a bitter website trying to shoot down anything that could be good. We are stuck with a shill of a mayor with no vision. Supervisors with election denial attitudes. People that simply take for truth the bitter words of a website and do no research. thank you Mr. Fitzgerald and Stocktonia.org, for your high journalist standards.
I am certain that when voters refused to re-elect Mayor Tubbs that we lost the last forward thinking person to grace City Hall & County Bldgs. We have a cast in City Hall that after almost 4 years of promise have yet to have streets that do not rattle your teeth as you drive. The Biden Administration has $ for info-structure; and the mayor who wants to be in Congress apparently could not figure out how to access the $ to update our streets & roads.
We need to elect city leadership that will commit to such a vision and foster public support — not run around taking selfies and pointing at programs and services that already exist.
As long as our City Leaders continue to pilfer funds, screw with our 1st responders monies, allow City Manager to abuse his power and city employees , do NOTHING of substance for our homeless, its tough to think of a bright future.
#CanHarryBlack
Sure the Sundial Bridge is a nice thing to look at. Compared to bridges around the world, the Sundial Bridge is well, nothing spectacular. And if you take in the whole story of Redding you will see that the homeless population is one of the highest in the State. The crime rate is also very high. Most of the offenders are let go because of lack of jail space. The police force is very thin. What officers we do have aren’t encouraged to work because of the politics. Over one third of the population is on some form of public assistance.
Oh, and by the way, I’ve lived in Redding for over 26 years so I know what is going on.
If Stockton doesn’t have a few pretty bridges, then maybe you should look at what it does have.
The grass isn’t always greener in the other city!
old ou are all positive ideas and of course the challenge is to generate support and funding. The perceived negativism of Stockton is self destructive and I think we need to counteract that with positive thinking. Stockton is a complex city and yes we have problems, but not insurmountable. Our strength lies in geography and diversity and we should build on that. We have missed the boat a couple of times on our maritime history (pun unintended) but it still has possibilities for the waterfront combined with natural history of the Delta ecosystem.
Comparing Redding to Stockton probably in not the point of Fitzgerald’s article, it is just pointing out that Turtle Bay is a good example of what can be accomplished even by a small city. Yes, Redding is a hotbed of political shenanigans highlighting libertarian notions of establishing the sovereign state of Jefferson, but that is not a problem in the more liberal, diverse Stockton. Sure, we can make our waterfront a destination for residents and visitors alike. It is a matter of gathering great ideas, and obtaining the critical mass of supporters. Thanks for raising the issue on Stocktonia.
These are all positive ideas and of course the challenge is to generate support and funding. The perceived negativism of Stockton is self destructive and I think we need to counteract that with positive thinking. Stockton is a complex city and yes we have problems, but not insurmountable. Our strength lies in geography and diversity and we should build on that. We have missed the boat a couple of times on our maritime history (pun unintended) but it still has possibilities for the waterfront combined with natural history of the Delta ecosystem.
Comparing Redding to Stockton probably in not the point of Fitzgerald’s article, it is just pointing out that Turtle Bay is a good example of what can be accomplished even by a small city. Yes, Redding is a hotbed of political shenanigans highlighting libertarian notions of establishing the sovereign state of Jefferson, but that is not a problem in the more liberal, diverse Stockton. Sure, we can make our waterfront a destination for residents and visitors alike. It is a matter of gathering great ideas, and obtaining the critical mass of supporters. Thanks for raising the issue on Stocktonia.