Store
The Center for Sacramento History is proud to offer a growing number of historical publications, reproductions, and educational items to the public. All product sales help CSH in its mission to preserve, exhibit, and make accessible the history of the Sacramento region. Please visit the Center during research hours to purchase items or use the printable order form link below. CSH currently only accepts cash or check payments.
For a printable Order Form, click here (pdf).
Featured Items
The staff of the Center for Sacramento History recently authored three books on Sacramento neighborhoods. Published by Arcadia Publishing as part of the Images of America series, each title is available at CSH for $20.00.
Old Sacramento and Downtown
The discovery of gold in 1848 launched an unprecedented and epic rush of humanity to California's Sierra foothills.
Many of those miners and minerals flowed as naturally as the rivers into a settlement that grew near the confluence of
the Sacramento and American Rivers. Soon the Sacramento River, once the main traffic artery between the mines and San
Francisco Bay, was flanked by a rapidly growing Embarcadero, prompting John Sutter Jr. to authorize the surveying of
Sacramento City in 1849. A large commercial district quickly developed, later requiring the streets to be raised 12
feet to avoid the rivers' deadly recurring floodwaters. Paddlewheel riverboats, like the New World and the Delta
King, plied the waters, carrying goods, passengers, and great wealth. Besting all jealous rivals, Sacramento became
the state capital, and fittingly, a merchant's residence was transformed into the governor's mansion. Today Old
Sacramento, a 28-acre state historic district, and downtown are thriving, graced by such treasures as the restored
State Capitol Building and the art deco-style Tower Bridge. The area features scores of historic structures and such
attractions as the Leland Stanford Mansion, the Crocker Art Gallery, the Discovery Museum, and the California State
Railroad Museum.
Sacramento's Midtown
As Sacramento's 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. Sutter's 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. Today's Midtown supports numerous Victorian mansions and
Craftsman bungalows, as well as the legacies of such employers as the California Almond Grower's Exchange, California
Packing Corporation, Buffalo Brewery, Sutter Hospital, and the Sacramento Bee newspaper.
Sacramento's Elmhurst, Tahoe Park, and Colonial Heights
Originally named “Fruitvale” in the 1890s, the Sacramento suburbs now 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.
