Fresno Famous

    

The hipster do-rags are all over Fresno this summer, ripping each other off like there's no tomorrow. (Relax. There's enough kitsch in America for everyone!) They're rushing to the presses to declare Fresno's Underground Gardens, that strange series of tunnels and underground dwelling, a cool destination.

A few weeks ago, Suzanne from MindHub tipped us to the May/June issue of Res Magazine (right), which had a feature on "Secret Places" that included Fresno's own Underground Gardens. Then Erin, our reader in Australia of all places, mentioned a similar story in the July/August ReadyMade (left).

The Res article lists 15 or so of these cool "secret" places, as recommended by various artisits/musicians. The UG was suggested by Aaron Espinoza, of Earlimart, which makes sense because he's from Fresno.

ReadyMade it would seem, was deeply inspired. Three of its six "Escapes" are the same as the Res article. Hmm. ReadyMade indeed.

Famous could let this slide (glass kettles and all that), were it not for the catty comments about Fresno and some blazing inaccuracies about the weather.

ReadyMade, those Res rippers, dare to say:

Unless you love flat, featureless shopping centers, for God's sake don't stay in Fresno

We're not even going to mention Tokyo Garden or the Garage Sale, because those might turn into actual stories.

Just to emphasize how little they researched, the article says the average Fresno July and August temperatures are 80 and 81 degrees! We wish! Think about it: if it were always 80 degrees, why would you live underground?

The crazy lady who runs the Underground Gardens is sure to love the increase in young hipster traffic. Famous, being the sort to pursue a kitschy vacation, visited the UG last summer. The tour is given by a strange lady with black hair and white roots, who says things like "Bend down and take a look" and then pinches your ass. (Mr. Famous was not happy.)