Stockton Beautiful was established in 1993 by Gerry Dunlap and Charles Lester. They recognized a need for more civic pride in the city of Stockton and were inspired to gather a group of civic-minded leaders to band together to promote beautification projects in Stockton.
Over the last two decades, Stockton Beautiful has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for civic improvements. Gerry was the driving force for the design and construction of our keystone project, the delightful Stockton Beautiful Rose Garden in Victory Park, which was dedicated in May 2007.
The Pacific Avenue Median Improvement projects at the north and south ends of the Miracle Mile were recently completed. This streetscape enhancement was the brainchild of Charles Lester. He designed and found resources to fund this project.
We have assisted in many beautification projects and civic endeavors, most recently the complete redesign and installation of the garden at the Community Center for the Blind, planting roses at the old trolley turnaround on Yosemite Street and the landscape design for the new Health Career Academy.
Other projects through the years include: growing and distributing Valley Oak trees; design of gardens for school yards; roses at our freeway on-ramps; street tree planting (including downtown and Banner Island Ballpark); garden projects for county jails; Mormon Slough renovation studies; annual Neighborhood Home Awards and maintenance of the Rose Garden and many more.