The grand opening celebration draws crowds of people in Downtown Fresno

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- For the first time in more than fifty years, Fulton Street has officially reopened to traffic and the Fulton Street reconstruction project is finished, a celebration going into the night on Saturday.

The ribbon cutting ceremony Saturday afternoon followed with live music, a car show, and people bustling in and out of pop-up shops.

Richard Powers says he has lived in Fresno for 52 years, he came out to see Fulton Street for himself tonight with his wife.

"We were original supporters of the original mall and still supporting the concept of a downtown, " said Powers.

Joe Manning is from Philadelphia and says he moved to Fresno a little over a year ago and he says the big city feel Saturday night on Fulton Street made him feel like he was back at home.

"You have the Bay area and then you have L.A. but Fresno has its' own unique culture, it's alive, I'm not mad at Fresno at all," said Mannings.

The reopening is being called a milestone for the downtown area by the City of Fresno and is now open to two-way traffic with street parking and wide sidewalks for pedestrians.

The city says this is not the finish line for Fulton, but rather the starting gates and the rate of revitalization will depend on investments, but they are hoping over the next few years to bring more live entertainment, parades, retail shops, restaurants and more.

"It looks real beautiful, it looks pretty I like it, it's really nice we will be back," said Hilda Herrara of Kingsberg.