Sacramento is a river town, virtually created by the California Gold Rush. Along the bank of the Sacramento River is the Old Sacramento Historic Area, a 28-acre National Historic Landmark that attracts more than 5 million visitors annually. This atmospheric area, with wooden-slat sidewalks and horse-drawn carriages on its cobblestone streets, gives the visitor a sense of the vitality and bustle generated by the thousands of hopeful prospectors who streamed through Sacramento in the mid-nineteenth century. Old Sacramento's museums, shops, and restaurants preserve its historical character. The Old Sacramento Waterfront offers a variety of activities, including touring and riding on nineteenth-century boats, visiting the depots of the Central Pacific railroad, and exploring the bustling Public Market. In midtown Sacramento, Sutter's Fort, the first Euro-American settlement in Sacramento, has been restored and preserved. The 1839 adobe fort contains relics of pioneer and goldrush days. Exhibits include living quarters, a blacksmith shop, a bakery, a prison, and livestock areas. The State Capitol building within 40-acre Capitol Park was built in 1869; it is similar in style to the U.S. Capitol building. Underneath its 120-foot high rotunda are ornate chandeliers, imposing staircases, and marble floors. Visitors can tour the offices of the Governor, Attorney General, Secretary of State, and Treasurer, and view exhibits about the history of California's state government. In Sacramento's south side, the Sacramento City Cemetery, established in 1849, contains the graves of more than 25,000 pioneers, immigrants, their families, and descendants; among its first interments were more than 600 victims of the 1850 Cholera Epidemic.
The Sacramento Zoo displays more than 400 exotic animals in their natural settings, including red pandas, snow leopards, lemurs, zebras, chimpanzees, jaguars, and many others. The zoo emphasizes protection of endangered animals, and faithful recreation of natural habitats. Adjacent to the zoo is Fairytale Town for children, a park based on themes from fairy tales and nursery rhymes. Water World USA, the only wave pool in Northern California, has the highest water slides in the West; its "Honolulu Halfpipe" Extreme Surf Slide is scheduled to open in 2005.
Sacramento is within easy driving distance of other atmospheric Gold Country towns: Coloma has Marshall Gold Discovery State Historic Park, where James Marshall's discovery of gold in 1848 started the Gold Rush; Placerville features Hangtown's Gold Bug Mine, a fully-lighted mine shaft; Sutter Creek has a charming array of Victorian homes and balconied buildings; Jackson retains a European character from its early Italian- and Serbian-American miners; Columbia has Columbia State Historic Park, where visitors can ride a stagecoach and pan for gold. Sacramento is conveniently located for day trips to Northern California's outdoor attractions. The city is only a few hours away from Yosemite National Park; from the Napa-Sonoma Valley, where most of California's finest wines are produced; and from Lake Tahoe.
Sacramento is rich in theater. California's largest nonprofit musical theatre—The California Musical Theatre, formerly known as Sacramento Light Opera Association or SLOA—is based here. It provides Music Circus productions during the summer and Broadway Series productions during the rest of the year. Since its first performance in 1951, Music Circus has staged numerous productions of some 150 musicals; classics such as The King and I, Oklahoma!, and Show Boat are well represented. Music Circus presented its music theatre under a circus-style open-air tent until its move in 2003 to the new 2,200-seat Wells Fargo Pavilion. Performances are in the round, with 360-degree seating. California Musical Theatre's Broadway Series, begun in 1989, offers Broadway hits with national stars. Productions are at the 2,452-seat Sacramento Community Center Theater, across from the Capitol building.
The 24th Street Theatre, a 296-seat auditorium at the Sierra 2 Center for the Arts and Community, is home to the Light Opera Theatre of Sacramento (LOTS), which brings light opera, such as the works of Gilbert and Sullivan, to the Sacramento area. The Sacramento Theater Company maintains its own resident company offering classical and modern plays at its 300-seat Mainstage and 85-seat Stage Two. The B Street Theatre, Sacramento's Professional New Works Theatre Company, produces contemporary theatrical works. Garbeau's Dinner Theatre, in nearby Rancho Cordova, is housed in a restored winery. In all, more than 80 groups present live theatrical performances throughout the region.
For music lovers, the all-volunteer Camellia Symphony season runs from October through mid-May, and includes six concerts (one of which, at the Sunrise Mall on Mother's Day, is free), and several special fundraising concerts. The Sacramento Opera has performed more than 40 operas; the opera season runs from September to March and includes 3 performances. The 73-member Sacramento Philharmonic presents 5 concerts annually from November through May.
The Sacramento Ballet, comprised of 22 artists, 8 apprentices, and 4 trainees, performs both classical and contemporary ballet. They present 5 performance series annually.
Sacramento is home to the oldest art museum in the West. Established in 1873, the Crocker Art Museum's permanent collection features European paintings by such masters as Rembrandt and Bruegel; a renowned collection of drawings; Indian and Persian miniature paintings; American (especially Californian) paintings; decorative arts and ceramics; photography; and contemporary art. The California State Railroad Museum displays the history of the railroads and makes special note of the fact that Sacramento was once the terminus of the transcontinental railroad. The 100,000 square-foot museum displays 21 locomotives and railroad cars, half of which may be walked through, as well as 46 exhibits. On weekends between April and September, visitors can ride the Museum's Sacramento Southern Railroad on a six-mile route along the Sacramento River. The Discovery Museum features interactive history, science, and technology exhibits examining the evolution of everyday life in Sacramento, on such topics as the gold rush and other periods of local California history, the history of the Sacramento Valley's topomorphology, and food processing technology. The Towe Auto Museum explores car culture and automotive history, and has more than 150 vintage automobiles on display. The State Indian Museum, on the grounds of Sutter's Fort, displays the jewelry, art, clothing, baskets, and other artifacts of the native Americans who lived in the area.
Sacramento Jazz Jubilee, the world's largest congregation of jazz bands, takes place during Memorial Day weekend; it features more than 100 bands and attracts more than 100,000 listeners. The Bridge to Bridge Waterfront Festival in July is a two-day event featuring boat races, boating exhibitors, and Coast Guard and wakeboard demonstrations. From mid-August through early September Sacramento hosts the California State Fair, one of the largest agricultural fairs in the country, at the California Exposition; the fair's features include a concert series, rides, horse racing, numerous competitions, extreme sports demonstrations, indoor and outdoor exhibits and shows, and a kids park. During the four-day Gold Rush Days festival over Labor Day weekend, the Gold Rush era is recreated in Old Sacramento, with historic characters, covered wagons and horse-drawn carriages, street dramas, musicians, dancers, arts and crafts, and exhibits; the streets of Old Sacramento are covered with dirt and only horse-drawn vehicles are permitted. The California International Marathon in December starts in Folsom and ends at the Sacramento State Capitol building.
The NBA Sacramento Kings and WNBA Sacramento Monarchs bring professional basketball to Sacramento; they play at Arco Arena, a 442,000 square foot venue that seats 17,317. The Kings won Pacific Division titles in 2001-02 and 2002-03, and advanced to the 2002 Western Conference Finals. In 2000, professional minor league baseball returned to Sacramento after a 27-year absence when the Sacramento River Cats, formerly the Vancouver Canadians, moved to 11,092-seat Raley Field. The River Cats have won four Pacific Coast League South Division titles (in 2000, 2001, 2003, and 2004) and PCL Championships in 2003 and 2004. Professional tennis is represented by the Capitals of the World TeamTennis League. As of 2005, the 20-year-old team has been five-time champion of the World TeamTennis (WTT) League Championship and King Trophy. The Sacramento State Hornets are among the Sacramento area's college sports teams.
Sacramento, the "River City," provides many forms of water recreation. The American River offers boating, swimming, and calm- and white-water rafting. Nearby Folsom Lake and Lake Natoma offer sailing and windsurfing. All the waters in the Sacramento area are stocked with fish; king salmon run in the American and Sacramento Rivers. The American River Bike Trail, stretching from Sacramento's Discovery Park to Folsom Lake, provides nearly 35 miles of scenic trail used by cyclists, walkers, joggers, and bird watchers. More than 120 city parks dot Sacramento encompassing over 2,000 acres, and Sacramento is roughly two hours from five national forests. The Sacramento area's municipal golf courses comprise 540 acres. Sacramento has several equestrian centers and many horseback riding trails. More than two dozen ski resorts, most within 120 miles, are located in the nearby Sierra-Nevada Mountains.
Sacramento is home to several shopping malls and hundreds of boutiques and specialty shops. Old Sacramento is a popular and atmospheric shopping area; its Public Market is a European-style, open-air market featuring bakeries, fish, poultry, meat, produce, flowers, and assorted ethnic shops. Other major shopping areas in Sacramento include: Downtown Plaza, with more than 150 shops, many restaurants, and a cinema; Town and Country Village with 55 shops was built in 1946, making it Sacramento's oldest shopping center; Arden Fair has more than 150 shops, restaurants, a cinema, and foodcourt; Pavilions offers cosmopolitan shopping and fine dining; Sunrise Mall and Florin Mall each have approximately 100 shops and restaurants and a cinema; and Folsom Premium Outlets has more than 80 stores.
Restaurants are plentiful in Sacramento, featuring cuisine ranging from traditional American, to inventive Californian, to a wide variety of ethnic fare. Many eateries are concentrated in Old Sacramento, as well as along J Street and Capitol Avenue between 19th and 29th streets, and Fair Oaks Boulevard between Howe and Fulton streets.
Visitor Information: Sacramento Convention and Visitors Bureau, 1608 I Street, Sacramento, CA 95814; telephone (916)808-7777.