Lodinews.com Visitors Guide 2003

Visitors Guide 2003

Lodi: It’s more than a place to sip zin


	JENNIFER MATTHEWS-HOWELL/News-Sentinel Lodi’s Hutchins Street Square (center, right), the General Mills plant (top, center) along with many businesses, homes and vehicles can be seen for miles in this aerial view.

By News-Sentinel staff

By any standard, Lodi is a major wine center. It leads the state in production of the top five premium wine varieties.

But Lodi is more than a place to sip zin.

It boasts a bustling downtown with a savory collection of cafes and restaurants.

It is a destination for bird-lovers who seek avian delights in woodlands or the Delta.

It’s an antique-hunter’s paradise, with many shops and regular auctions.

It is a recreational center where golf flourishes and where a dizzying range of sports, from softball to tennis to cycling to fishing, can be enjoyed.

It is a community that boasts a rich cultural scene, including a state-of-the-art cinema and a stately performing arts center.

Though it offers many blandishments to the visitor, Lodi grew up as a farming town.

Early settlers, many of German stock, planted vineyards and orchards, opened stores and showed a raw-boned work ethic.

Before these agrarian residents moved in, Lodi had a reputation as a “sporting center.” That meant there were plenty of bars, a fair number of ladies of the evening, and even a dog racing track. (To this day, there is debate over whether Lodi is named for the scene of a Napoleonic victory, or a racehorse.)

But the farming folk changed that rough-and-tumble persona. Lodi, through the early-to-mid 1900s, steadily gained more churches and schools and a reputation as a good place to raise a family.

The rowdy dog races gave way to high school football games and the annual Grape Festival, a wholesome and orderly fair boasting murals crafted from real grapes.

Lodi is still known as a family oriented town, a place with safe streets, well-clipped lawns and the sweet smell of Cheerios and other products being produced at the local General Mills plant, one of the town’s top employers.

With a population of roughly 58,200, Lodi is now a size many residents feel is ideal; large enough to offer a variety of shops, restaurants and cultural amenities, but small enough to feel neighborly.

Much of Lodi’s charm and cultural patina can be found in downtown Lodi. There, city leaders and property owners have invested aggressively to preserve a nostalgic streetscape while embracing contemporary offerings. A redevelopment project was crowned with the creation of a 12-screen cinema at School and Elm streets, considered a catalyst for the many new cafes and boutiques which have blossomed downtown.

Though many downtowns have been neglected in favor of sprawling shopping centers on the periphery, Lodi’s downtown remains the community’s focal point. It is the location of the city’s main government buildings, many major local businesses (including the News-Sentinel) and it is fringed by older, distinctive homes with broad porches and mature trees.

Downtown Lodi, as it has been for decades, remains a wonderful place to stroll.

At the edge of downtown is Hutchins Street Square, formerly Lodi High School. Fire destroyed much of the high school so community leaders agreed to rebuild the charred frame as a community center. Today, Hutchins Street Square boasts an elegant auditorium, a senior center, meeting rooms and even a second-story heated pool.

Hutchins Street Square is the hub of the annual Sandhill Crane Festival, held each November, which highlights the variety of wildlife in the area. Lodi and environs form a unique bird-watching locale, and winged specimens from Arctic swans to bald eagles grace the skies.

Of course, Lodi is most widely known as a producer of premium wines. The area’s crop of 600,000 tons of grapes if valued at over $300 million.

The town’s first winery was founded in 1900 and was called the Urgon Winery. Today there are numerous wineries, some large and well-known, others small and family-operated. More than 60 leading California wineries, including Fetzer, Napa Ridge, Kenwood and Beringer, buy grapes from the Lodi area.

The community’s central location makes it a natural springboard for day trips to the Delta, the Bay Area or the Sierra.

Getting around Lodi Airports

Lodi is 30 minutes from the Stockton Metropolitan Airport and less than an hour from Sacramento International Airport. The major airports are all within two hours drive. Phone contacts: Lodi Airport, 369-9126; Sacramento International Airport, (916) 929-5411; Stockton Metropolitan Airport, (209) 468-4700; San Jose International Airport, (408) 501-7600; San Francisco International Airport, (650) 876-7834; Oakland Inter-national Airport, (510) 577-4000.

GrapeLine and Dial-A-Ride transit service

Operated by the city, the GrapeLine offers bus service throughout the community. GrapeLine buses also connect with regional transit systems, primarily the San Joaquin Regional Transit District, with links to Stockton, Manteca and Tracy. Dial-A-Ride offers door-to-door service, similar to a taxi. Pickups are made within 60 minutes of the call. 333-6806.

Amtrak

Lodi is served by Amtrak at the Lodi Station, 24 S. Sacramento St. The station is not staffed by Amtrak personnel, but a ticket sales machine is available. For more information and reservations, call Amtrak 24 hours a day at (800) USA-RAIL or visit the Amtrak Web site.

Taxi service

Taxi service in Lodi and environs is provided by City Cab at 327-2963.

Limousine service Several area firms provide limousine service and some specialize in providing transportation to airports in Sacramento, San Francisco and Oakland. Area services include Central Valley Limousine, 369-1313; Destiny Limousine Service and Sales, 463-5466; Elite Sedan and Limousine, 367-0949; Gemini Limousine, 334-5812; Lodi Limousine, 369-4546; Prestige Limousine, 478-9500; Vintage Limousine Service, 333-2657 and Wine Country Limousines, 339-9999.

Greyhound