Old Sacramento State Historic Park
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Old Sacramento State Historic Park is the historic region of Sacramento, California, which has been designated as a state park. It is generally referred to as Old Sacramento, and since the 1960s has been restored and developed as a significant tourist attraction.
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The city of Sacramento grew up in the mid-nineteenth century as a development from Sutter's Fort. However, the Fort was some way from the Sacramento River, which was the main means of transport to the coast of California, and what was to become the modern city developed along the waterfront. The State Historic Park covers the area between the river frontage and Interstate 5, between I Street and the Capitol Mall.
Virtually all the buildings in this area date from the nineteenth century, the most notable from immediately after the disastrous fire of 1852, and show a reasonable approximation to their original appearance, though they have required varying degrees of reconstruction to restore to them to that state. However, few if any are in their original use, most of them now housing restaurants, gift shops, or other businesses catering to tourists. Notable buildings include:
- The B. F. Hastings Building, the western terminal of the Pony Express and the first location of the California Supreme Court
- The Big Four Building, constructed through the joint efforts of California's railroad pioneers: Collis Huntington, Mark Hopkins, Leland Stanford and Charles Crocker.
- Sacramento Engine Company No. 3, the oldest remaining firehouse in Sacramento
- The Schoolhouse
- The Eagle Theatre, which only survived from 1849 to 1850 but has been reconstructed
The district contains many memorials to the founders of the city and of the California and transcontinental railroad and other transport systems, including the Theodore Judah monument and the Pony Express Statue.
Old Sacramento is also the site of the California State Railroad Museum. Other attractions available for visitors include rides in horse drawn carriages, historic trains from the former Central Pacific Railroad passenger station, and cruises on historic riverboats. A historic sternwheel riverboat, the Delta King, is moored in the river and serves as a hotel, restaurant and theater.
Old Sacramento State Historic Park attracts over 5 million visitors annually.
External links
- California State Parks official site relating to Old Sacramento SHP (http://www.parks.ca.gov/default.asp?page_id=497)
- Old Sacramento Management site (http://www.oldsacramento.com/home.html)