Visalia sits in California's Central Valley as a gateway to the giant sequoias, a farm city with a historic downtown. Founded in 1852, it is among the oldest cities in the San Joaquin Valley, and its downtown keeps the Fox Theatre, a restored 1930s movie palace, as a landmark. Mooney Grove Park, one of the region's oldest parks, gives residents oak trees and open lawns, and Kaweah Oaks Preserve protects valley oak woodland nearby. Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks lie to the east, and Tulare County farms surround the city with orchards and fields.