San Luis Obispo (Spanish for St. Louis, the Bishop) is a city in Califor-nia, located roughly midway between San Francisco and Los Angeles on the Central Coast. The city, referred to locally as SLO or “San Luis,” is the county seat of San Luis Obispo County and is adjacent to California Poly-technic State University (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 private and commer-cial air service to several major cities in the west. Amtrak provides daily rail service here as the termi-nus of the Pacific Surfliner line and a stop on the Coast Starlight line. Greyhound also maintains a bus terminal in San Luis Obispo. Public

transportation includes the city-wide SLO Transit bus lines as well as the county-wide SLO Regional Transit system. Rideshare encourages the use of the local public transit, as well as carpooling and biking. Cycling is occasionally used as a mode of transportation in San Luis Obispo. Bike lanes are main-tained on a few of the streets and the number of bike stands are increas-ing, especially in the downtown area.

San Luis Obispo: Behind the Scenes in the Happiest Place on Earth

Photos by Jennifer Jenkins Story by Wikipedia

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Parking in the downtown area can be a challenge for those interested in finding a spot directly in front of their final destina-tion. The city provides parking in three multi-story parking structures throughout downtown at: Chorro and Marsh street intersection; Palm Street between Chorro

and Morro streets; on Palm Street between Chorro and Osos streets. Street parking downtown is metered. The structures are free for the first hour and 75 cents per hour thereafter. Because of San Luis Obispo’s location halfway between Los An-geles and San Francisco, it has long been a stop-ping point for travelers.

In fact, the word motel was coined here when the Motel Inn of San Luis Obispo was established in 1925. Since then, the pleasant year-round cli-mate, pretty scenery, and well-preserved, walkable downtown have made the city a tourist destination in itself. Downtown San Luis Obispo is centered

around the carefully restored Mission San Luis Obispo de Tolosa, origi-nally built in 1772. It is one of the best preserved examples of Spanish Mission architecture and among the oldest build-ings in California. Its bells are unique in that, unlike other California missions, the bell ringer stands in the bellroom with the

Front page photos, top right to bottom:The road to Montana de Oro in San Luis Obispo County, Surfers walking on Pismo Beach at Sunset af-ter a surf session, Pismo Beach volleyball nets at sunset, Pismo Surfer Sean Carroll, and the Bluff ’s Trail at Montana de Oro in San Luis Obispo County.

Pictured: Among some of the favorite spots in San Luis Obispo County is Bishop’s Peak. Hikers can climb the steep peak all the way to the top, their prize being a gorgeous view of San Luis Obispo from a bird’s eye persepctive.

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bells when ringing the cadences. The downtown area also boasts many eclectic shops and bou-tiques. Another big tour-ist attraction is Hearst Castle, the vast estate of publishing magnate Wil-liam Randolph Hearst, 43 miles to the north of San Luis Obispo. The Madonna Inn is another

famous local landmark. Established by Alex Madonna in 1958, the inn is a famously eccen-tric building known for its generous helping of pink, wildly kitschy decor, themed guest rooms, and a waterfall urinal in a men’s restroom. The Fremont Theater is a historic Art Deco theater from the

1940s. It has appeared in many movies includ-ing a three second clip in My Blue Heaven. One famous tourist destina-tion is Bubble Gum Alley. Since about 1960, people have been sticking their chewed gum on the walls of this alley located on Higuera Street, between Broad and Garden streets. Bubble Gum Alley has

even appeared on national television. Another big attraction is the development of Edna Valley into a well-known wine region. Just south of the city, people can spend an afternoon wine tasting several wineries in the area with a very short drive. Some of these wineries have won awards and

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acclaim for their vintages. The wine region extends north beyond Paso Robles (30 miles north) and Santa Ynez (70 miles south). A field station of the Marine Mammal Center is located in San Luis Obispo to support sea rescue and beach stranding rescue opera-tions for this section of the California coast. One of the main draws is Farmers’ Mar-ket, a large festival held downtown on Higuera Street every Thursday evening year-round from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.. About three-quarters of a mile of the street is closed to cars. Live entertainment is featured and local farmers and vendors sell goods and produce. The Farmers’ Market was created in 1983 to make use of downtown streets blocked off to end a tradi-tion of teen/collegiate cruising. Farmers and vendors were allowed to

and has become interna-tionally known. San Luis Obispo has been home of several other events, including a stop on the way of the Olympic Torch, the Tour of California bicycle race, Cinco de Mayo celebrations, as well as a long-standing Christmas Parade. A Mardi Gras

parade that was well at-tended has been fraught with difficulties related to crowd control and alco-hol consumption. Debate about the cost of the parade, and the associated crowd control, continues. Mardi Gras has not been the only local event reined in after gain-ing acceptance. Cal Poly’s open house, Poly Royal, was held every April until a 1990 riot of drunken

revellers, many visitors to town, caused damage throughout residential neighborhoods and the business district. The uni-versity cancelled the event for several years before reintroducing a scaled-down Open House. While Poly Royal welcomed the community for hikes, carnivals, “magic” shows put on by the Chemistry Department, and other public performances, the revamped version is designed for students and parents. Jamba Juice, fa-mous for its fruit smooth-ies, was founded in this town. Formerly called Juice Club, Jamba Juice is now a national chain. Although Juice Club was not a Cal Poly senior proj-ect as some claim, three of the four co-founders, Joe Vergara, Kevin Peters, and Linda Olds did gradu-ate from the university. Jamba Juice still exists at the original Juice Club location: 17 Chorro Street #C. City ordinance prevents businesses of any sort (including fast-food restaurants) from con-structing new drive-up or drive-through windows or services. Two branches of one local bank are the only locations in the entire city with drive-up service; their drive-up service existed before the ordinance became law. The dentist office on the corner of Santa

“The Farmers’ Market brought a great deal of revenue and has

becomeinternationally known.”

set up between barricades as a way to bring people back to the downtown area. Later, all traffic was blocked off, making the downtown Farmers’ Mar-ket one long “mall,” even rerouting part of a state highway to accommodate the street closures. The Farmers’ Market brought a great deal of revenue

Above: A busy San Luis Obispo Farmers’ Market Photo by Flickr user roncw42

Below: San Luis Obispo’s Famous Fremont Theater Photo by Flickr user Fonggren1

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Rosa and Pacific streets is one of very few commer-cial buildings designed by Frank Lloyd Wright.A horse race on turf named the San Luis Obispo Handicap is run at the Santa Anita Park in honor of this city. San Luis Obispo was the first American town to ban indoor smoking in all locations, including bars and restau-rants.

Top 5 Outdoor Places to Visit in San Luis Obispo

Right: Famous sticky tourist destination Bubble Gum AlleyPhoto by Flickr user angelsx4

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1. Montana de Oro in Los Osos provides amazing sights and good trails along the bluffs2. Pismo Beach is a big tourist destination with many small shops and good surf 3. Avila Beach provides a quaint town feel combined with beach front shops4. Morro Bay is a great spot for kayaking and to see the giant Morro Rock5. Cambria is a cute small town with antique stores and other small shops not far from the ocean

Map courtesy of calpoly.edu