Downtown Yuma

  What is unusual about downtown Yuma is the fact that the major streets run along the edge of downtown, rather than through it. This was not always the case, but, after the city grew away from the river, the traffic was routed to the edges of the commercial core. The western edge of downtown is 4th Avenue, which is presently signed as Interstate 8 Business Loop. It was once U.S. Highway 80, which I have already talked about extensively in this series about Yuma County. The eastern boundary of downtown is Interstate 8, which flies above Old Town Yuma on an unsightly, curving viaduct, basically destroying the historical atmosphere of the area.  The northern boundary of downtown is the Colorado River, which is the border with California. The southern boundary of downtown is less well defined, but I believe it to be 4th Street (not to be confused with 4th Avenue). 4th Street is one block south of Harold Giss Parkway, which is a major east-west arterial in the city. 
  The original "main drag" of Yuma was Main Street. This street is significantly more diminished in stature and importance than it was in the early days of Yuma. It was once one of the widest streets in the United States, so wide a horse and buggy team could turn completely around in the street and still have plenty of room to spare. The street has been narrowed by constructing extremely wide sidewalks along each side with huge planter boxes containing native desert plants. Also, there is angled parking on both sides of Main Street where cars can simply pull in and back out instead of having to parallel park. On my first visit to Yuma, I noticed that the buildings on both sides of Main Street are set a long distance back from the street, suggesting that the street used to be alot wider.  Then, when I saw an old photo of Yuma from the 1800s, that confirmed my suspicion.
  The north end of Main Street used to be at the Colorado River, where it turned into a steamboat landing. Now, it  dead-ends about 100 feet north of 1st Street, about the equivalent of 3 city blocks away from the river.
  Until a few years ago, there was a 2 block street of South Main Street that had been closed off to vehicular traffic and converted into an outdoor pedestrian mall. This stretch ran from 2nd Street, just south of the Yuma County Administration Building, down to Harold Giss Parkway. As with most outdoor pedestrian malls, Main Street Mall was a miserable failure. I walked this pedestrian mall several times and, every time I walked it, I noticed that more and more businesses had closed up. Since the street's re-opening, the area has slowly come back to life. More businesses have opened and people are coming back to the area to shop.