As Sacramentos neighborhoods grew eastward from Fifteenth Street to Thirty-first Street (later Alhambra Boulevard), the area evolved into a complex mix of housing and businesses known as Midtown. Sutters Fort was still popular, and community groups like the Native Sons of the Golden West restored its last remnants for future generations. In 1927, the city built Memorial Auditorium, a tribute to fallen soldiers, as a large central venue that continues to serve as an important setting for graduations, concerts, and conventions. The J and K Street business corridors expanded from downtown, and identifiable neighborhoods such as Poverty Ridge, Boulevard Park, and New Era Park developed as people settled and established businesses in these growing areas. Todays Midtown supports numerous Victorian mansions and Craftsman bungalows, as well as the legacies of such employers as the California Almond Growers Exchange, California Packing Corporation, Buffalo Brewery, Sutter Hospital, and the Sacramento Bee newspaper.
Spurred into action by the attack on Pearl Harbor, Sacramento dragged itself out of the morass of the Great Depression and joined the war effort. Local citizens trained for Japanese attacks through Civilian Defense, cultivated thousands of acres of victory gardens and harnessed the agricultural riches of the region. Tens of thousands engaged in war work at local bases like the new McClellan Field, while Sacramento's diverse servicemen distinguished themselves in combat overseas. They would later return and transform the city into the modern Sacramento of today. Exclusive images and stories from the Special Collections of the Sacramento Public Library bring this story to life.
Going back to its Native American origins, Sacramento has withstood flood, fire, and plague to honestly earn the moniker Urbs Indomita or "Indomitable City." Such grit--enhanced by an unmatched embrace of diversity and the strength that comes with it--has powered the Sacramento area's role as gold rush epicenter, railroading Goliath, purveyor of hydroelectric power, world war and Cold War arsenal, agricultural hub, and policy center for one of the nation's most innovative states. Truly, the impact of the Capital City extends so much farther than the Central Valley. It is through exploring the pages within that the reader will truly understand why, as stated by Sacramento historian and developer Gregg Lukenbill, "America may have been born in Philadelphia, but the American West was born in Sacramento.
When the First World War thrust the United States into a dire global conflict, the Sacramento Valley was quick to mobilize. Many of America's first air units for combat were trained at Mather Field, while local farms filled some of the largest food supply orders for the Allies. Many women eschewed tradition and joined the industrial workforce at Liberty Iron Works, Southern Pacific Railroad and more. Though many banded together, the region's homefront was not without tension. Gripped by xenophobia, groups like the Liberty League formed local chapters to hunt spies, and local police forced displays of patriotism from suspected German sympathizers. With exclusive content from the Sacramento Public Library's Special Collections, librarians Amanda DeWilde and James Scott reveal the struggles and triumphs of the Sacramento region during the First World War.
As early as 1839, Sacramento, California, was home to one of the most enduring symbols of the American West: the saloon. From the portability of the Stinking Tent to the Gold Rush favorite El Dorado Gambling Saloon to the venerable Sutter's Fort, Sacramento saloons offered not simply a nip of whiskey and a round of monte but also operated as polling place, museum, political hothouse, vigilante court and site of some of the nineteenth century's worst violence. From librarian James Scott and the Special Collections of the Sacramento Public Library comes a fascinating history of Sacramento saloons featuring the advent of all types of gaming, the rise of local alcohol production and the color and guile of some of the region's most compelling personalities..
The Sacramento suburbs known as Elmhurst, Tahoe Park, and Colonial Heights were once home to the California State Fair, the Sacramento County Hospital, and the Sacramento Army Depot. On May 8, 1910, the Central California Traction Company opened interurban passenger service to Colonial Heights, connecting the neighborhoods to the rest of Sacramento. Today the region is home to the Coca-Cola Bottling Company, the University of California, Davis Medical Center, and Proctor and Gamble. These neighborhoods began to thrive after 1945 as many wartime workers remained in Sacramento and looked for affordable housing. Bounded by Highway 50, Stockton Boulevard, Fruitridge Road, and Florin-Perkins Road, the area today is a mixture of mature housing tracts, a sprawling medical campus, a converted military facility, commercial service centers, and light industrial operations. The area's recent resurgence, led by groups like the Tahoe Park Neighborhood Association and numerous community leaders, has made the district a true success story.
As Sacramentos neighborhoods grew eastward from Fifteenth Street to Thirty-first Street (later Alhambra Boulevard), the area evolved into a complex mix of housing and businesses known as Midtown. Sutters Fort was still popular, and community groups like the Native Sons of the Golden West restored its last remnants for future generations. In 1927, the city built Memorial Auditorium, a tribute to fallen soldiers, as a large central venue that continues to serve as an important setting for graduations, concerts, and conventions. The J and K Street business corridors expanded from downtown, and identifiable neighborhoods such as Poverty Ridge, Boulevard Park, and New Era Park developed as people settled and established businesses in these growing areas. Todays Midtown supports numerous Victorian mansions and Craftsman bungalows, as well as the legacies of such employers as the California Almond Growers Exchange, California Packing Corporation, Buffalo Brewery, Sutter Hospital, and the Sacramento Bee newspaper.
The discovery of gold launched an unprecedented rush of humanity to Californias Sierra foothills. Many of those miners and minerals flowed as naturally as the waterways into a settlement that grew where the American and Sacramento Rivers meet. The Sacramento River, the main traffic artery between the mines and San Francisco Bay, was soon flanked by a burgeoning Embarcadero and commercial district that became Sacramento City in 1849. Paddlewheel riverboats, like the New World, carried goods, passengers, and great wealth. Besting all jealous rivals, Sacramento became the state capital, and a wealthy merchants residence was transformed into the governors mansion. Today downtown and Old Sacramento, a 28-acre state historic district, are thriving, graced by such treasures as the restored State Capitol Building, the art deco Tower Bridge, and scores of historic structures and attractions like the Leland Stanford Mansion and the California State Railroad Museum.
Flowing through Sacramento County, the American River has long been a dynamic neighbor to those living along its waters. As the American River flooded, its banks were leveed, and its course was corrected to allow for further settlement and industry. Sacramento, in a feat of civic engagement, raised its business district above the floodplain, echoing the earthen mounds the Nisenan people used to raise their homes. Massive dredgers tore the riverbed in search of California's famous mineral. Railroad tracks, and later roads, were built to accommodate for more and more people living along its banks. The American River pressed those banks, but the residents of the Sacramento Valley persisted and created a vibrant capital for one of the world's largest economies.
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