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FAIRFIELD A
public art event in 1995 asked “Where is Fairfield?” and a plane flew over the city with that question on a banner. At NorthBay Medical Center, babies were given T-shirts that posed the same question. Halfway between San Francisco and Sacramento is the easy answer – although residents might note that description overlooks the rich history of Fairfield. The city is the Solano County seat and home to Travis Air Force Base – along with attractions that include Jelly Belly, Solano Town Center mall and the Rancho Solano and Paradise Valley golf courses. Fairfield began in 1856 when nearby Suisun City had waterfront shipping access crucial for pioneer-era communities. A treeless plain is how one writer described Fairfield. But an offer to the county of land to build a government center was too good a deal for voters to pass up and in 1858 they approved moving the county
seat from Benicia to Fairfield. The city’s population doubled between the late 1850s and 1880. A century later, more than 44,000 people lived in the city – a number that more than doubled by 2000. Buildings constructed for government are among Fairfield’s most impressive structures. Renovation of the 1911 county courthouse was recently completed while the modern six-story county Government Center dominates downtown. By World War II, after decades of playing second fiddle to Suisun City, Fairfield was on its way to becoming the second largest city in Solano County. The U.S. Air Force decision in 1942 to build a major base installation on land east of Fairfield boosted the area economy. Travis Air Force Base was annexed to Fairfield in 1966. The city now is targeting development on two fronts. The FairfieldVacaville train station for Amtrak and bus riders, located about a mile from Travis Air Force Base, is seen as a boon
for residents and the economy and is the site of current development. A project to help the city’s central business district to grow and match the downtown turnarounds that other Bay Area cities is in its formative stages. Recent projects to support the effort include ongoing work to update Allan Witt Park on West Texas Street and a project completed in Spring 2022 to modernize and update the streetscape at the downtown’s entrance on the west end of West Texas Street at Interstate 80. Fairfield at nearly 40 square miles is almost the physical size of San Francisco, if not a match in population or cable cars that climb halfway to the stars. Its location along Interstate 80, Interstate 680 and Highway 12 between the Bay Area and Central Valley makes it a regional crossroads. The rich past of Fairfield may be rivaled only by its future. In 2003, as Fairfield celebrated its 100th anniversary as a city, officials buried a time capsule at City Hall, with an opening date of 2103.
Chamber of Commerce: Fairfield-Suisun Chamber of Commerce, 1111 Webster St., Fairfield; 707-425-4625, https://www.fairfieldsuisunchamber.com. Fairfield Conference and Visitors Bureau: 877-793-7386, www.visitfairfieldca.com. 18 |
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SUMMER 2022
