I think Ceil Cirillo is one of the true heroes of the downtown, Schmidt said recently. Sales taxes are up again. Movie theater ticket sales have more than doubled since before the 1989 quake. And even the most prophetic visionaries couldn t have predicted the prosperity that the recent technology boom would bring to Santa Cruz. No one knew.
Downtown is packed with residents and tourists.
Cirillo regularly fields calls from other communities struggling to match Santa Cruz s success. Evidence of the revival Downtown businesses set up shop in tents while the first stages of reconstruction began. The tents above were on Cedar Street. Today it s rare to walk down Pacific Avenue and not find crowds. Early morning commuters leap from cars for cappuccinos.