The Spirit of Sacramento and the smaller Matthew McKinley provide daily cruises on the Sacramento River. Courtesy Sacramento CVB
By Le Datta Grimes
Location: 90 miles northeast of San Francisco on the Sacramento River
Size: 460,000, nearly 2 million in the metropolitan area Sites worth seeing: Old Sacramento is a 28-acre area along the Sacramento River that boomed during the gold rush of the late 1840s. The revitalized area features cobblestone streets, wooden sidewalks, horse-drawn carriages, shops, offices, restaurants and museums, many located in gold rush-era buildings.
The Spirit of Sacramento and the Matthew McKinley depart for cruises of the Sacramento River from Old Sacramento.
The state-of-the-art Discovery Museum’s Gold Rush History Center in the reconstructed 1854 City Hall in Old Sacramento gives a good insight into the gold rush and includes California’s largest gold collection.
Sacramento was the western terminus of the Transcontinental Railroad, and the California State Railroad Museum in Old Sacramento has nearly two dozen restored locomotives and cars in a reconstructed 1876 train station.
Other museums in the area are the California Military Museum, with more than 30,000 artifacts about the state’s militia and military heritage, and the Wells Fargo History Museum, whose artifacts include gold scales and a working telegraph.
The Crocker Art Museum, founded in 1885, is the oldest public art museum in the West. The museum is located in a Victorian mansion, and among its collections are European paintings, 19th-century California paintings, sculptures, Asian art, and contemporary art and photography.
More than 150 antique and classic vehicles tell the story of the development of the automobile at the Towe Auto Museum.
In the 1980s, the Victorian state Capitol, built in 1869, underwent what was at the time one of the largest public restorations ever, and it is now a showcase museum. The renovation included the Capitol’s large dome, marble mosaic floors, crystal chandeliers and impressive staircases.
The Capitol is surrounded by Capitol Park, a two-square-block area filled with more than 100 labeled botanical specimens native to California.
Sacramento’s central location makes it an ideal hub for day trips to California’s gold country and wine country.
Events worth attending: Time magazine has dubbed Sacramento “America’s most diverse city.” A look at its schedule of festivals gives one indication why it was so named.
Sacramento Juneteenth Festival: Third weekend in June, William Land Park, two stages of live entertainment and Sunday Juneteenth Gospel Extravaganza
Festival de la Familia: Latino music, food, and arts and crafts from 26 Latin American countries
Pacific Rim Festivala: May, traditional Asian American foods, arts and crafts, and entertainment
Fiesta Italiana: First weekend in August, Italian culture celebrated with entertainment, food, games, a marketplace, bocce, and cultural and historical displays
61st Annual Buddhist Bazaar: Aug. 11-12, authentic Japanese foods and cultural programs
Greek Food Festival: Labor Day weekend, traditional Greek foods and entertainment
Other festivals and annual events include the Sacramento Jazz Jubilee, Gold Rush Days, the California State Fair and the Waterfront Festival.
Did you know: The Aerospace Museum of California opened in January at McClellan Park. The $7 million facility, which resembles an airport terminal, houses 30 aircraft and showcases pro-powered planes, helicopters and jets.
The California Hall of Fame, which opened in December, honors legendary individuals and families in the state’s history. On view are the flight suit and helmet worn by Amelia Earhart on her transatlantic solo flight in 1932 and Hewlett Packard’s first personal computer from 1980.
Little known facts: Tower Records, America’s second-largest record retailer, began in a Sacramento drugstore.
The world’s largest almond processing plant, Blue Diamond, is in Sacramento.
The transcontinental railroad started in Sacramento with a meeting of the “Big Four” — Leland Stanford, Charles Crocker, Collis P. Huntington and Mark Hopkins — in a downtown hardware store in November 1860.
Group contact: Gary R. Simon Director, Multicultural Affairs Sacramento Convention and Visitors Bureau (916) 808-7739 www.sacramentocvb.org
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