Century old lanterns found under Belmont Underpass reveal Fresno history

Contractors working on the Belmont Underpass discovered 82 painted sheet metal lanterns during June 2025 construction, a find that drew immediate archival interest and a five month investigation by local historians and archivists. The Historical Society has traced the fixtures to a holiday street decoration program on Fulton Street that ran roughly from 1929 to 1931, placing the lanterns at between 94 and 96 years old.

Archivist Donald Spencer identified electrical components marked Bryant Spartan, a marking that helped date the fixtures and link them to period electrical equipment used by San Joaquin Light Power Co. Archival records tied the lanterns to the company sponsored holiday illuminations that once brightened downtown commercial corridors in the late 1920s and early 1930s, a period when electrification and commercial promotion were reshaping urban retail districts nationwide.

The find is significant for Fresno County in several ways. As physical artifacts from a known municipal era of street lighting and civic display, the lanterns illuminate local patterns of commerce, public spectacle, and technological adoption between the town square era and modern retail corridors. The Historical Society said the lanterns will be conserved with the intention of restoring them for future public display, and the items are already being considered for exhibition rotation alongside current programming at The Archive. The Archive is currently showing From China to Fresno: A 150 year Cultural Journey, and curators plan to coordinate interpretation that places the lanterns in broader narratives of immigration, commerce, and urban development.

Beyond heritage value, the discovery carries economic implications for downtown Fresno. Restored artifacts and new exhibits can increase foot traffic to cultural institutions and support nearby small businesses, while preservation work will require funding decisions from municipal and nonprofit sources. City planners and preservation groups will need to balance conservation costs with potential returns in cultural tourism and education.

For residents, the lanterns offer a tangible link to Fresno's past and an opportunity to expand local museum offerings this winter and into next year. Archivists expect conservation work to take months, and display timelines will be announced as restoration progresses.