A look inside Widow’s Walk

The name

A widow’s walk is a type of balcony that was built on the rooftops of some coastal homes in the 1800s and early 1900s. It was a place where a person could go to have a clear view of the sea and ships as they came in. The name refers to the darkly romantic lore of the loyal wife who would pace and pine on that balcony while waiting for her sailor husband to return to her. But as the name implies: he was doomed to die at sea and never return, sealing her fate as a widow.

the location

Widow’s Walk Tattoo is on Fulton Street in downtown Fresno, California, in the first floor of the historic Sun Stereo Warehouse. The warehouse was built in 1918 and its name refers to the last major tenant, Sun Stereo, which occupied the space in the 1970s and '80s. The photos and news clippings below are of the building and street in 1918, and how it looks now since being renovated over the past few years.

The shop is in the brewery district of downtown Fresno, so Widow’s Walk Tattoo is across the street from Tioga-Sequoia Brewing Company and a few doors down from Full Circle Brewing Co. Our neighbors inside the Sun Stereo Warehouse are also small local businesses, including: Downtown Society, Joy’s Velitas, and House of Morii.

Events happen along Fulton Street and inside the Sun Stereo building often, including Art Hop on the First Thursday of every month, and a flower market every Saturday from 8am to noon.