By Andrew Rocha
Downtown Stockton has come a long way in such a short amount of time and continues to improve and attract more visitors all the time. What used to be an area people would actively avoid, is now where people come to eat great food, hang out with friends, and just enjoy their community. We here at the Downtown Stockton Alliance are so proud to see how far we have come as a district.
Then & Now
Charisse Lowry, our office manager of the Downtown Stockton Alliance, remembers how much the downtown has changed for the better in just the last twenty years. “When we first started in ‘98, we would have people who called us ugly names…It was real bad. It was dead and there was hardly any life. Now, it’s a thousand times better. By putting on different events, working with investors and property owners to get buildings leased, it’s a thousand times different than when we first started.” Just by driving through the downtown area, it is obvious that the area is not a dangerous place and is actually kind of charming. It’s hard to believe that it has changed so much from being once nearly barren.
And the Downtown Stockton Alliance has some interesting projects in the work right now. “By February 1st, we’ll be launching an audio tour that will be tied to the website. So if you want to go to any of the historic buildings, there will be a code on them and you can flash that and it will show you what that building looked like during the 20’s and 30’s and then it will give you an audio narrative of the history of the building.” shared Michael Huber. Through this audio tour, the Downtown Stockton Alliance is working to preserve not just buildings and streets, but their history.
What We Do
We get asked a lot, “So what exactly does Downtown Stockton Alliance do?”
Our executive director, Michael Huber, explains that we are, “A property-based improvement district that works for the property owners. So we try to keep the streets clean, and beautiful, and walkable, and safe…we have a thirteen man maintenance team, two powerwashing teams, and then we hire a private security company to patrol.”
As the downtown area continues to thrive and become more recognized for its culture and life, you can be sure that we here at the Downtown Stockton Alliance will continue to provide our support and care to the district. You can learn more about the Downtown Stockton Alliance through our website www.downtownstockton.org and following us on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram.
