Self Guided Tours

START IN OLD SACRAMENTO ON J STREET AND FIREHOUSE ALLEY, LOOKING AT THE BRANNAN HOUSE

History of the Brannan House:

Built in 1853. Rumored to be haunted. Check out the middle door/window slope as a sign of the spirits living in the Brannan House.

In Old Town:

Railroad Museum (biggest in the country), Delta King (paddlewheel boat hotel) , Old Schoolhouse, Eagle Theater (first theater in CA).

STOP AT THE PONY EXPRESS STATUE

Pony Express (April 1860 - Oct 1861): Sacramento, CA to St. Joseph, Missouri. The entire trip took roughly 10 days and was necessary to keep California tied to the Union prior to the Civil War. Details: 157 Pony Express Stations, every 10 miles along the route. Horses changed every 10 miles while riders changed every 75-100 miles. Riders couldn’t weight more than 125 lbs.

The entire process took about 10 days. They were put out of business by the telegraph and actually never truly made a profit and only lasted 18 months.

RIDE SOUTH ON SECOND STREET TO CAPITOL MALL AVENUE. STOP ACROSS CAPITOL AVENUE ON THE PRESIDIO FOR A GOOD VIEW OF THE BRIDGE.

Tower Bridge

The great Tower Bridge was built in 1935. It was constructed to replace the inadequately sized M-Street Bridge that was completed about a decade earlier (1926). Its construction was funded by the federal government and is a product of New Deal money. It is an example of the Streamline Moderne architectural style popularized in the 1930s. It is a Lift Bridge, meaning that as the middle section can be raised to allow large ships and barges to enter and exit the river delta. When it was built, it was the first vertical lift bridge in the California highway system.

Color controversy: Originally, the bridge was painted a silver color. This remained for years until in 1976, the bridge was repainted with a gold/ochre color to resemble the gold lining on the inside of the re-vamped dome of the State Capitol. This color soon faded, and in 2001 the city took all citizens living within in 35 miles of the bridge. The poll asked which color the bridge should be re-painted. The options were red, blue, silver, and gold. Because California is the “golden” state, and it was important to distinguish the bridge from the tell-tale red of San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge, gold won by a landslide. Unfortunately, upon painting it, the color did not appear as gilded and truly gold as the people of the Sacramento Valley were expecting. Many complain that the color looks more yellow than gold, but some love it for its quirkiness.

NEXT STOP IS THE LELAND STANFORD MANSION. YOU WILL HEAD DOWN CAPITOL AVENUE UNTIL REACHING 7TH STREET. TAKE A RIGHT NO 7TH STREET AND THEN A LEFT ON N STREET. STOP ON N & 8TH STREETS IN FRONT OF THE LELAND STANFORD MANSION

The Stanford Mansion was built between 1856 and 1874, though it was lived in before its completion. Leland Stanford lived in the mansion during his governorship in the early 1860s, and it was in this building that Leland Stanford, Jr., the namesake of Stanford University, was born in 1868. Unfortunately, Leland Stanford, Jr. died while traveling through Europe with his parents, where he caught typhoid. He died in Italy. In order to memorialize their son, the Stanfords first attempted to name a building at Harvard University in his name. When these efforts failed, they decided they would start their own University: Stanford. When the doors of Stanford University opened in 1891, it is rumored that the Stanfords stated that in starting Stanford University, all of California’s children would be their children.

When Leland Stanford was inaugurated governor, he had to leave his house from the front porch on a rowboat. It is said that when he returned from the address, the water had risen to the level of his window and he simply entered the house through the window!

HEAD WEST DOWN N STREET AND TAKE A LEFT AT 10TH. MOVE ONTO THE SIDEWALK AND THEN WALK THE BIKES UP TO THE STATE SEAL IN FRONT OF THE WEST SIDE OF THE STATE CAPITOL BUILDING.

While standing in front of the Great Seal of the State of California in front of the State Capitol Building

It is made of bronze and was hand-crafted by prisoners at San Quentin State Prison.

The general seal, as can be seen in this bronze rendition, has several features that pay homage to the history of California.

At the top, we see the state motto “Eureka,” which in English means “I Found It.” This motto was chosen because it refers to the discovery of gold in California in 1848, an event which brought on the fabled ‘49ers and numerous gold-seekers thereafter.

The goddess depicted in this seal is Minerva, a.k.a., Athena, the goddess of love and war. What ties her to California history, in particular, is the story of her creation. Athena is said to have burst forth from the head of Zeus, and when she came into being, she was a full-grown women. In this sense, she never went through childhood. California, when it was adopted into the United States of America, was never made a territory first. Instead, California was granted full statehood, and like Athena, burst forth full-grown.

Also on the seal you see the state animal, a grizzly bear, eating grapes, which represent California’s prolific wine country. There is wheat, a reference to state agriculture, a miner (gold mines), the Sierra Mountain Range, and the Sacramento River.

The building itself: originally built between 1860 and 1874, it was restored to make it earthquake safe and re-finish much of its interior. The original architect of the building was Reuben Clark. He was obsessed with getting the building exactly right, but his efforts were continuously thwarted by the frequent fires and floods that plagued Sacramento during the 19th century. After being accused of disloyalty to the Union, and after seeing his efforts continually thwarted, Clark was committed to a mental hospital in 1866 where he died later that year of “paralysis.” Before the building was restored in the 1970s, there was a debate over how it should be re-built: would the restore and reinforce the original design? Or would they instead tear the whole thing down and opt for two modern sky-scraper style towers? Their final choice is obvious.

Fun facts about the building: American Neoclassical style architecture. Columns are from the original building, they were brought over from Philadelphia and had to be transported around the tip of South America because they were transported prior to the building of the Panama Canal. The flags flying on over the building are the following: 1. US Flag 2. Bear Flag (flag of CA) 3. POW Flag originally flown in ‘70s but stands to this day.

JERRY BROWN’S APARTMENT AND CAPITOL PARK

Our next stop is 14th & N Streets, right in front of Jerry Brown’s apartment, where he lived as governor in the 1970s. This apartment is interesting because it represents Brown’s attempt to eschew the typical trapping of the governorship. It is rumored that he slept on only a mattress in the apartment, a symbol of his professed commitment to frugality.

Don’t forget Capitol Park, which is just across the street from Jerry Brown’s apartment. Capitol park is filled with trees from around the world as well as several monuments. There is a Vietnam Memorial monument, a Firefighters monument, as well as a monument to a Franciscan missionary, among other things. At the east end of the park there is an International World Peace Rose Garden, one of five around the world.

NEXT YOU’LL BE HEADING FURTHER EAST, GOING A COUPLE MORE BLOCKS ON N STREET, TAKING A LEFT, THEN TURNING RIGHT ON CAPITOL AVENUE.

Capitol Avenue Victorians

As you make your way down Capitol Avenue, look for a nice spot to stop where you have a good view of the Victorian style homes. Make sure the Victorians you are looking at have the tell-tale “story-up” architectural style, where they are built with the first floor up a story or about 10 or so feet.

When looking at these Victorians, take this opportunity to recall the history of flooding in Sacramento and the failed levy systems. These Victorians were built up, as you can see, because it was important that they not flood. When the flood waters came in during the winter, the interior of the homes were protected because of the added height.

YOUR NEXT STOP WILL BE SUTTER’S FORT. YOU WILL BE TAKING A LEFT TURN AROUND 27TH STREET.

Sutter’s Fort

Sutter’s Fort was established in 1938 by John Sutter. Sutter is an interesting and controversial historical figure. Though he is lauded by many Californians today because of his bravery, he is also known for his dishonesty and shady business. It’s true that he was bold in building a fort in the previously uninhabited Sacramento Valley, he did have another side. Sutter was from Switzerland, and when he left Switzerland for the United States, he let behind a wife, children, and a mountain of debt.

However, what you see is the product of his determination: a bustling fortress that housed a bakery; woodshop; gunsmith; blacksmith; canons; Indian laborers; a small, one room hospital, textile looms, and more. When Sutter employed Indians, he paid them in currency that could only be used at his fort thereby ensuring that they would not escape with their earnings. Also notable, on the other side of Sutter’s Fort, is the CA State Indian Museum which pays homage to the natives of the region (the Nisenan and Miwok Indians) and houses a number of artifacts.

Sutter’s Fort was also the long sought after destination of the Donner Party as they tried to cross the Sierras to arrive in California. Sutter sent several relief parties to meet the group, but they had to turn back because of inhospitable conditions. One of the most prized items currently inside the fort is the doll of one of the girls who made it successfully to California.

Gold was discovered in 1848, which spurred the 1849 gold rush. Though from the outside, it may appear that Sutter was in the right place at the right time, in reality, the opposite was true. Sutter sent a man named Marshall to establish a saw mill in the foothills of the mountains nearby. When Sutter arrived with his team of workers, they found gold almost immediately. Marshall invited Sutter to look at the gold, the two verified that it was, indeed, real gold, and they decided they would keep their discovery a secret. However, one of the workers decided that he could treat himself to a bottle of whiskey by taking a gold nugget down to a store in town. As soon as he presented the shopkeeper with the gold, the secret was out. Not only this, but Sam Brannan, the person who used to do business in the Brannan House where Practical Cycle is located, decided that he could get rich by “mining the miners” as they say, and he traveled to San Francisco and shouted on the streets that gold was discovered in the hills near Sacramento.

Soon the gold rush was in full swing, as the 1849 ‘49ers rushed the city and began mining. At first, Sutter got an economic boost out of the whole operation. However, once the miners started coming in hordes, they overtook his fort and refused to pay for materials he was selling. So in the end, Sutter got very little out of being the first courageous person to settle in the Sacramento Valley. He ended up dying with little money, and he continually made appeals to the government for cash as a reward for settling such a fundamental region of the United States.

Take note of the weaponry and arms at the fort and the history of those weapons. To fire a musket in 1839, they used a “flint-lock” starter to ignite the gunpowder.

Notice the flagpole outside the fort and the current version of the bear flag that flies on the pole.

The red strip at the bottom is a subtle reference to the red and white stripes of the US flag. The star is believed to be a symbol of solidarity with Texas - the lonestar state - which also seceded from Mexico and fought in the US/Mex war. The choice of the bear is somewhat debated. Some say it was to intimidate the Mexicans, because they were afraid of the ferocious grizzly bears, while others say they simply adopted it because the grizzly bear is a courageous and vicious animal. Today, the grizzly bear can no longer be found in CA.

AFTER SUTTER’S FORT WE RIDE AROUND THE FORT, NEXT TO THE CA STATE INDIAN MUSEUM, AND BACK TOWARD OLD SAC. THE NEXT STOP IS ON 16TH & H STREETS AND IS THE GOVERNOR’S MANSION. WE GET THERE BY TRAVELING WEST ON ANY LETTER STREET. IT IS GOOD TO TURN RIGHT DOWN 20TH STREET, THE HEART OF MIDTOWN. NEXT TURN LEFT ON H STREET (ONE-WAY GOING WEST) AND STOP AT THE MANSION.

The Governor’s Mansion (16th & H)

The Governor’s Mansion was purchased by the State of CA in 1903 from a local businessman for $32,500. After adding an additional wing and an office for the governor, the total cost was $56,000 to the state.

The first governor to live there was Governor Pardee. In total 13 governors lived at the mansion, including Earl Warren, who later became the Chief Justice of the US Supreme Court, and Ronald Reagan (the last governor in residence) who became US President.

Various governors throughout time have left their respective marks on the place. The first major change to the mansion came from Minnie Johnson, the wife of Hiram Johnson, who was elected in 1910. She decide that the carved mahogany walls were too dated and chose to modernize the place by painting the interior a battleship gray color. They say that they have never been able to get the walls back to their original finish since. Another mark was left by Kathleen Brown, the daughter of former Governor Pat Brown and the sister of former Governor Jerry Brown. She painted the claws on the claw foot bathtub outside the master bedroom a bright red color.

As previously stated, the last governor living in the Mansion was Ronald Reagan. Reagan and his wife, Nancy, moved out of the mansion because they claimed it was not earthquake safe. They moved into a house in the “Fab 40s” region of the city.

TO GET TO THE CATHEDRAL (OUR NEXT STOP), WALK THE BIKES TO 17TH STREET. TAKE 17TH STREET SOUTH AND TURN RIGHT IMMEDIATELY ONTO I STREET. FOLLOW I STREET UNTIL YOU HIT 13TH STREET AND HANG A LEFT ON THIRTEENTH FOLLOWED BY A RIGHT ON K STREET. STOP AT THE CATHEDRAL ON K & 11TH STREETS.

The Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament (K & 11th Streets)

The Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament - the name is associated with the name of the city: Sacramento. The city was named such because a missionary named Moraga (which is the name of a nearby town) called the valley sacred.

The cathedral was built by Patrick Manogue, who got rich during the gold rush. Unlike his fellow gold rushers, Manogue mined gold in order to fund his goal of becoming a Roman Catholic Priest. He used some of the money he made to fund a trip to Paris where he attended seminary school. While there, he became enchanted with European cathedrals and decided to use his remaining funds to build such a cathedral in Sacramento. The cathedral was started in 1887 and completed in 1889 and is the largest cathedral west of the Mississippi. It is directly modeled after the Cathedral of the Holy Trinity in Paris. Inside there is a 2,000 lbs cross.

After the Cathedral, head back down K Street. When you get to the mall, we either take a nice stroll through Westfield and get on your bikes on the other side, or take a left at the mall and head back toward Old Sac via L Street. Either way, you will go by the cell phone clock tower, the archway, and into the tunnel that leads back into Old Sacramento. While in the tunnel you can stop to admire the timeline of Sacramento History that showcases key figures from the region.