Old Sacramento

The oldest part of the city was saved and cut in half in the same decade. Redevelopment in the 1960s made this the first historic district in the West, after eighty years as a skid row that reformers complained about and nobody fixed. The same programme ran Interstate 5 through the eastern edge of it, taking four landmarks with it. What was preserved and what was demolished were decided in the same offices at the same time.

What the plaque says

Old Sacramento Founded in December 1848 by John A. Sutter, Jr., Sacramento was an outgrowth of Sutter's Fort established by his father, Captain John A. Sutter, in 1839. State capital since 1854, it was a major distribution point during the gold rush, a commercial and agricultural center, and terminus for wagon train, stagecoach, riverboat, telegraph, Pony Express, and the first transcontinental railroad. California Registered Historical Landmark No. 812 Plaque placed by the California State Park Commission in cooperation with the City and County of Sacramento, April 20, 1966

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Sacramento — steps away
  The Gold Rush river port that became the state capital, and jacked itself ten feet into the air to stop drowning.

More markers nearby

• B. F. Hastings Building — steps away
• Overton Building — steps away
• Site of Sacramento Union — steps away
• First Transcontinental Railroad — steps away