Sometimes the library writes Its own books; In this case, about one of Sacramento's great neighborhoods: Meet Alkali Flat

The Images of America series from Arcadia Publishing has availed Americans, coast-to-coast, to the imagery and lore that makes our neighborhoods so great and so rich in history. Recently, the Sacramento Room of the Sacramento Public Library put pen to paper, publishing an ode to the oldest residential neighborhood in the city: Sacramento's Alkali Flat.

The Alkali rests near a busy downtown Sacramento and is bordered by the rail yard, river, and thoroughfares that helped form its identity over a century ago. Named for the crusted alkali deposits that were left by seasonal flooding, the neighborhood has, over time, attracted governors, legislators, artists, and pioneering physicians to take up residence in some of the most exquisitely crafted homes in the American West. Neighborhood lore includes the gradual conquest of the odiferous China Slough and Federal troops billeting there during 1894's Pullman Strike, while the haunting story of little May Woolsey and a tragic tale of crime are the stories spoken of today. Boasting mills, dairies, railroads, and media as well as schools, hospitals, multiethnic churches, and local businesses in its heyday, Alkali Flat's history is characterized by contrasts-old landmarks have fallen or adapted to other uses, but the future holds promise for one of Sacramento's most unique neighborhoods.

The Sacramento Room is happy to have produced its second book in three years (see also Historic Photos of Sacramento). The best part is that partial proceeds from the book will go back to the library. Copies will appear in bookstores and other businesses around the Alkali and the greater Sacramento area starting on January 11 of 2010, with a price of $21.99. Isn't it good to know that picking up a copy will not only expand your knowledge of this great city's history, but also put much needed funding into the hands of your public library.

Sacramento history photo of the week number 33!

The two mosaic-clad obelisks on Twelfth Street, one upon entering Alkali Flat and one when exiting, were designed in 1990 by landscape architect John Nicolaus as part of the 12th Street Beautification Plan. The structure at the corner of Twelfth and "H" Streets is pictured above. Longtime Alkali Flat resident and Royal Chicano Air Force member, Juanishi Orosco, was responsible for the artistic concept on the ornamented tiles. The project was funded by the Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency.

The above photo and many more like it can be found in the Sacramento Public Library’s Sacramento Room which is open to the public Tuesday, Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday 1 to 5, and Thursday 1 to 8.

Make sure to also checkout, "Sacrachicano," showcasing historical and current works by some of the RCAF's major artists as well as emerging artists who are carrying on the cooperative's tradition. The exhibit is in partnership with Galeria Posada and is curated by Gloria Burt and the same Juanishi Orosco who created the obelisk above. View the exhibit during library open hours through January 3, 2010.

Sacramento History Photo of the Week Number 32!

In 1913, the Sacramento Lumber Company and its fifty employees opened at Twelfth and “B” Streets, where its proximity to the Sacramento River and Southern Pacific facilities kept handling costs low and profit margins wide. Pictured here are two modes of transport within the mill, horse-drawn wagon and, as evidenced by tracks, narrow-gauge engines. In the background is a shed which was designed to hold up to 1,000,000 feet of lumber. The mill was hit by fire in July of 1921, leading to the destruction of well over $30,000 in material. The warehouse, pictured above, was completely destroyed.

The company's primary timber stands, entirely virgin, enveloped Coos Bay, Oregon. The company's specialty was Port Orford cedar, which was brought by boat from Oregon to Sacramento. Similar stands in the Sacramento area had been denuded by the end of the nineteenth-century.

The above photo and many more like it can be found in the Sacramento Public Library’s Sacramento Room which is open to the public Tuesday, Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday 1 to 5, and Thursday 1 to 8.

Got Doughboy? The Great War in the Great Valley and Sacramento History Photo of the Week, Number 28...

Think about it. Not since the 14th century's Black Death had Europe experienced such a monumental loss of life. The plague claimed one of every three European. Worldwide, the Great War One killed 16 million people. It also formed the nexus of where the time-tested tactics and strategies of the Little Corporal met the buzzsaw of technology.

And though an ocean and continent away, the War touched Sacramento in so many ways. On Thursday night at the Central Library, a few days before Veterans' Day, on November 5, from 6:00 to 8:00, we will talk about World War One and how it came to claim a spot in the Sacramento Valley for nearly two years. The ways in which we ate, worked, learned, spent and related to one another were all affected.

The photo above is of the 1917 Cadet Corps at Sacramento High School. In the spring of 1918, Sac High and several other area high schools, gathered their forces at Del Paso Park near present day Auburn and Watt Avenues to learn how to make war. The exercises lasted for a week.

This photo and many more like it can be found in the Sacramento Public Library’s Sacramento Room which is open to the public Tuesday, Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday 1 to 5, and Thursday 1 to 8.

Sacramento History Photo of the Week Number 27!

Pictured above, in the fall of 1917, are Helen and Janet Kay, the daughters of David and Janet Kay. The picture was taken at a rally, held at the State Armory, located underneath what is today Interstate Highway 50.

As soon as the Great War started, interest in the Red Cross (ICRC) grew – folks who couldn’t pick up a rifle, because of age, gender or disability wanted an army to join and the ICRC was there. And, by the end of April, a headquarters had been established at Fourth and “J.”

What was required of Sacramento members early on was the ability to type, lift, sterilize and prepare surgical equipment, and drive (especially if you had your own car) so as to collect supplies and donations. Sewing was also in demand and Sac High offered 125 female pupils to do as much.

The Southern Pacific shops immediately signed up 1,700 members. And while the capital city had formed its own chapter, Walnut Grove, North Sacramento, Auburn, Loomis, Newcastle and Stockton were all quick to establish chapters as well.

Fund drives were organized around the ICRC – in early May, county employees had raised $600.00 while Weinstock-Lubin had donated $3,034. The earliest goal for the IRC in Sacramento was $30,000.

The city also voted to levy a property value tax of two cents, just to fund the local chapter – for a total of $14,000. An additional method of funding came from a Red Cross thrift shop on Front Street. Clothing, books, scrap iron, even bones, donated by a local butcher shop, brought in funding for the organization.

Learn more about the Sacramento Red Cross as, on November 5 at 6:30, the Central Library will be presenting The Great War in the Great Valley: Sacramento During the First World War. The program will include discussion on the city and War and a presentation of photos of Sacramento during World War I.

This photo and many more like it can be found in the Sacramento Public Library’s Sacramento Room which is open to the public Tuesday, Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday 1 to 5, and Thursday 1 to 8.

Sacramento history photo of the week number 25!

Pictured above in 1918 is Mather Field's first graduating class of airmen.

In January of the same year, a group of Army officers traveled to the Sacramento area to view prospective sites for aviation school. Although North Sacramento lobbied hard for the field, the military opted for a spot 12 miles southeast of Sacramento known as Mills Station, right on the Southern Pacific line. In its original form, the base would encompass over 700 acres and include over 50 buildings, a machine shop for repairs, a PX, a 100 foot “swimming tank,” and a machine gun target range. Once completed, it would service roughly 1,000 aviation cadets. The construction project immediately brought 2,500 jobs to the area’s economy with the contract went to McDonald and Kahn. Overall, the base was projected to produce an annual payroll of $200,000 and construction was complete in 70 days!

Apparently, upon arriving, the first thing the first cadets did - having just graduated from the UC Berkeley 'ground school' - was build a baseball diamond. Other diversions to follow were a field band and a football team that was good enough to beat the big, bad Presidio 45-0 at Buffalo Park in October 1918. Boxing was also big on base. The many vineyards that surrounded the base also provided a ready source for jam. The base newspaper was originally called the “Fly Paper,” but was soon changed to “Air Currents.”

The specter of Mather for Sacramentans was enormous – how many Sacramentans had actually seen an airplane (ship) before let alone be close to an airport? The first official flight from Mather – conducted by Lieutenant John F. Buffington - took place on the evening of June 12th – in a plane built at North Sacramento's Liberty Iron Works, a JN-4 or "Jenny". Weeks later, during 4th of July festivities in Sacramento, a squadron of planes from Mather was armed with hundreds of small, American flags which they dropped over business and residential sections of the city.

Learn more about Mather Field as, on November 5 at 6:30, the Central Library will be presenting The Great War in the Great Valley: Sacramento During the First World War. The program will include discussion on the city and War and a presentation of photos of Sacramento during World War I.

This photo and many more like it can be found in the Sacramento Public Library’s Sacramento Room which is open to the public Tuesday, Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday 1 to 5, and Thursday 1 to 8.

Sacramento history photo of the week number 24!

In January of 1918, as America's involvement in the First World War was ratcheting up, bond drives were a common sight around the nation. In the case of Sacramento, millions of dollars were accrued. Motivational tools would abound as bond-buyers had their names printed in city papers while it was the community's responsibility to build this "Soldier of Freedom," as he stood against the wall of Sacramento's first and only (at the time) Federal building, the U.S. Post Office. Each section of the body represents a county within the Sacramento Valley. Sacramento County was represented by the soldier's rifle. The trick was simple - the more bond monies won by the county, the faster the respresentative body-part or accessory were placed on the soldier.

Mark your calendar as, on November 5 at 6:30, the Central Library will be presenting The Great War in the Great Valley: Sacramento During the First World War. The program will include discussion on the city and War and a presentation of photos of Sacramento during World War I.

This photo and many more like it can be found on the Central Library's Third Floor, which is where one can view both the Sacramento Bee and Union back into the mid-nineteenth century.

Sacramento History Photo(s) of the Week: Issue No. 21!

In 1950, men still wore hats, ties were bold and wide, and women's dresses were long. In order to display ties in line with the merchandising methods of the day, the manager of the largest Dobbs Hat Shop in Northern California designed the "Ty-namic." It could showcase up to six-dozen ties at the same time while also being able to display matching tie bars, tie tacs and cuff links.

As a senior in high school, Mary Louise Waggoner posed with the "Ty-namic" for this promptional photograph. One year later, she would marry her high school sweetheart, Al Babayco, who also worked at the store.

This photo and many more like it can be found in the Sacramento Public Library’s Sacramento Room which is open to the public Tuesday, Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday 1 to 5, and Thursday 1 to 8.

Sacramento History Photo of the Week: Issue No. 19!

By 1915, the City Brewery had grown to occupy nearly an entire city block with storage, coopering, racking, washing, bottling, and transportation facilities. So noisy had the complex and its hearty denizens gotten, that Alkali residents like Fannie Goddard of 1227 “H” Street found it a nuisance and went so far as to sue for $5,000 in damages. She also told the Sacramento Bee in March 1912 that the brewery’s crew used “obscene and common swearing and cursing which assails the site and hearing of my family and visitors.” These fellows hardly look concerned.

This photo and many more like it can be found in the Sacramento Public Library’s Sacramento Room which is open to the public Tuesday, Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday 1 to 5, and Thursday 1 to 8.

Sacramento Area Authors

It wouldn't be hard to deduce that libraries in, say, California might have a fairly good collection of Californiana, and that Nevada libraries might have a similar collection about that state. But what happens if the connection to the location is more tenuous – not necessarily about the state; not necessarily set in the state, but written by someone who lives in the area? Enter the Sacramento Area Authors collection! Single copies of titles in this special collection reside in the Sacramento Room, where such works are actively collected, but additional copies of the works may be borrowed from Central Library and other branches in our library system.

Who are Sacramento Area Authors? What do they write? You might recognize these luminaries who lived in Sacramento County when their books were published: Sharon Davis (wife of former Governor Gray Davis), Herb Caen, Biba Caggiano, Joan Didion, and Ernesto Galarza. There are many other authors, both old and new, represented in the collection, with titles ranging from the sublime through the everyday to the fringe, such as Historic Photos of Sacramento, Last chance for justice, Midlife Bible: a woman's survival guide, and Deluxe transitive vampire.

To find and explore this collection of over 2000 titles, go to the library's catalog and click the Subject tab, and then type Sacramento area authors. Come and visit during the Sacramento Room's service hours – prepare to be delighted!

Sacramento History Photo of the Week: Issue No. 16!

This March 1942 photo shows a recently modernized Globe Mills building. Its renovation – started in August 1941- came via the Federal Government’s wartime plan to increase grain storage capacities and overcome nationwide shortages. At completion, the building’s 46 signature silos measured 125 feet in height and, at capacity, could hold up to 500,000 bushels of grain.

At five-stories-high, Globe was perhaps the highest profile of Sacramento’s four flour feeds. By the mid-1930s, the city’s grain industry, drawing off nearly 73,000 acres of Sacramento County grain stands, was producing well over 3 million dollars in product. Just prior to the Great Depression, Sacramento’s roughly 200 mill workers could rely on a gainful wage of between $4.00 and $4.25 an hour.

This photo and many more like it can be found in the Sacramento Public Library’s Sacramento Room which is open to the public Tuesday, Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday 1 to 5, and Thursday 1 to 8.

"Sacramento History Photo of the Week: Issue No. 15!"

Nisenan Village on the American River. The Nisenan or Southern Maidu formed the earliest Native American presence in Sacramento. Dating as far back as 11,000, pre-common era, this hunting, gathering and fishing culture occupied the villages of Momol on the northern-most edge of Alkali Flat, near Richards Boulevard, and Sa’cum to Alkali Flat's southern frontier, below what is today known as Cesar Chavez Plaza. What is more, a 2003 excavation of the area containing the current City Hall, at the intersection of Tenth and “H” streets, yielded enough evidence to suggest that the site may have been used as a hunting/fishing camp. No surprise, knowing the proximity of the camp to Sutter Slough, an inlet that attracted fauna.

This image and many more like it can be found in the Sacramento Public Library’s Sacramento Room which is open to the public Tuesday, Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday 1 to 5, and Thursday 1 to 8.

Sacramento History Photo of the Week: Issue No. 12! The Sacramento Room Steps Up in Preparation for National Archives Month

October will be National Archives Month. To promote the role of archives in our local communities, the California State Archives is putting together a poster, one that describes what archives do and shows a few of the prime artifacts that are held in archives around the state. It just so happens that the SPL's own archives, the Sacramento Room, will be represented on said poster. The Room's contribution is the 1921 photo of a batboy for the Sacramento Senators baseball team. One word - precious.

This photo and many more like it can be found in the Sacramento Public Library’s Sacramento Room which is open to the public Tuesday, Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday 1 to 5, and Thursday 1 to 8.

Sacramento History Photo of the Week: Issue No. 9

Jalisco Mexican Grocery / Tortilla Factory.

A bright symbol of the Alkali Flat neighborhood’s increasing diversity, Jalisco, at 318 12th Street, saw considerable growth after being purchased by Guadalajara, Mexico, native Raul Mercado in 1957 and its subsequent conversion into Jalisco Tortillas, Inc. Up into the mid-1980s, Jalisco distinguished itself as one of the state’s top producers of tortillas and, at its height, was shipping units throughout northern California, Nevada and Oregon. The factory closed in the late 1980s with the retirement of Mercado.

During his tenure with Jalisco, Mercado served as President of the Sacramento Hispanic Chamber of Commerce for 1985 and was recognized in 1987 for his contributions to community life by the California Human Development Corporation.

The photo above is of Juan Guiterrez, a worker at Jalisco. It was taken in the spring of 1983 by freelancer photographer, Craig Lee.

This photo and many more like it can be found in the Sacramento Public Library’s Sacramento Room which is open to the public Tuesday, Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday 1 to 5, and Thursday 1 to 8.

Sacramento History Photo of the Week: Issue No. 8

Residence of William R. Strong, circa 1880. Strong shared his "G" Street residence with wife Jane, son Charles, and daughter Ella. A New Yorker by birth, he came to Sacramento during the Gold Rush. Having found no luck in mining, Strong became a merchant, only to see three business ventures foiled - two by fire, one by flood. In time, however, he found stability in a produce business that would draw from its own nursery and orchard. A life that symbolized the dauntlessness of a city that he would come to call home came to an end in 1905 at 88 years.

This photo and many more like it can be found in the Sacramento Public Library’s Sacramento Room which is open to the public Tuesday, Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday 1 to 5, and Thursday 1 to 8.

Golden Grains, Harvested at Central

On Wednesday, January 28th, an enthusiastic group of history, brewing and winemaking buffs (not to mention an archaeologist and a brewmaster) got together for a presentation on alcohol production in pre-Civil War Sacramento. Librarian, James Scott, gave the talk.

Content ranged anywhere from the general pre-1861 Nisenan and Miwok experience with alcohol to the introduction of the cool, German-style lager beer to Sacramento's hot, dry summers.

Also discussed was the galvanizing influence that alcohol production could have on community building, especially when it came to George Weiser and George Zins. Zins was a Frenchman, coming from Alsace-Lorraine, while Weiser was a German, coming from Baden-Wurttemberg. These regions bordered one another, and Zins' home region had changed hands several times between the Holy Roman Empire (pre-Germany) and France. Certainly, there was plenty reason for hostility to exist between the two, but not enough for them to not go into business with one-another. What this illustrates is the clearly universal appeal and draw of drink-making:  it could bring culture groups together, even to the point of joint capital venture, where trust was an indispensable. It also meant that a singly momentous event like the Gold Rush could attract some of the finest artisan brewmasters in the world to the shores of the Sacramento River. Their brewery was one of the first in the city's history.

Thanks go out to those who came down to the presentation. Questions were great and interjection invaluable.

Anyone who's interested in acquiring a the PowerPoint version of the presentation can send an e-mail to the Sacramento Public Library's Correspondence Team at askus@saclibrary.org.

In case you missed the talk, watch this video for a 'sampling' of what we talked about:

Sacramento History Photo of the Week: Issue No. 6

City Brewery, circa 1900. Resting at the northeast corner of Twelfth and “H” Streets, the brewery was established in 1856/57 by German expatriates Wilhelm Borchers and Benedict Hilpert. The two-story structure was made of brick, rested on a lot measuring some eighty by 160 feet, and possessed a forty foot by eighty foot cellar for cooling what almost exclusively lager-style beer. Much like the Ohio, the City rode the city’s lust for lager - a much cooler and refreshing drink than the traditional English ale - and, by 1858, the brewery was producing nearly 800 gallons of beer per week.

This photo and many more like it can be found in the Sacramento Public Library’s Sacramento Room which is open to the public Tuesday, Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday 1 to 5, and Thursday 1 to 8.

Sacramento History Photo of the Week: Issue No. 5

Washington Primary School, circa 1895. Located at Thirteenth and “G” streets, Washington School was built in 1869 at a cost $13,720 to replace two wooden structures felled by arson – less than two weeks after they were completed – and to meet the needs of the city’s burgeoning northern wards. Upon opening, it housed Intermediate No.3 and Primaries 5 and 8. Its architect, Seth Babson, pursued a style and brick shelling that matched the Union School on Seventh and "G" Streets. As the nineteenth century came to a close, the Washington School possessed a teacher-student ratio of 1 to 30. In 1922/23, the school’s name and occupants relocated to a newer and bigger building at Seventeenth and “E,” but its use – as a continuation school, training center for the Army Signal Corps and headquarters for the American Red Cross – continued well into the 20th-century.



This photo and many more like it can be found in the Sacramento Public Library’s Sacramento Room which is open to the public Tuesday, Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday 1 to 5, and Thursday 1 to 8.

Sacramento History Photo(s) of the Week: Issue No. 4

917 “H” Street, circa 1890. The residence was built in 1882 by architects Seth Babson and James Seadler in the style of ‘Victorian Stick,’ characterized by rectangular shaping, wood siding, and a steep, gabled roof with overhanging eaves. Its first resident was city pioneer Llewellyn Williams. In 1891, it was sold to H.G. Smith for $30,000 in gold. Well after Smith’s departure, it was converted into a funeral home in 1907, and then acquired by the University Club in 1971. Today, it serves ably as a youth hostel. Sacramento Room.

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Halsey G. Smith, circa 1890. While the promise of the Gold Rush drew Smith to Sacramento from New York, it was business – most notably the Pioneer Milling Company at Front and “G” Streets – that brought him enormous wealth. His residence at 917 “H” Street offered not just a clear to his president’s post at the river front mill, but entry into Sacramento’s business aristocracy. Sacramento Room.

These photos and many more like them can be found in the Sacramento Public Library’s Sacramento Room which is open to the public Tuesday, Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday 1 to 5, and Thursday 1 to 8.

Sacramento History Photo(s) of the Week: Issue No. 2

Central Pacific Railroad Hospital, circa 1887. Built in 1869 at the corner of 13th and “C” streets at a cost of $64,000, the CPR hospital was a result of the company’s desire to fill a healthcare and morale vacuum for its employees, many of whom were migrants, solitary, and without sufficient funds to acquire proper care. In fact, by 1883, 125 Irishmen had matriculated though CPR care, as compared to the 65 native Californians who had. Facility and medical costs were funded by a “hospital due” which, by 1890, came out to roughly 50 cents a month. Free care was predicated on injury sustained in service of the CPR. The hospital, which gained the reputation for being one of the finest medical facilities on the west coast, succumbed to fire in 1904.

Thomas W. Huntington, MD, circa 1890. One of the best medical talents in the early American West, Huntington was Staff then Chief Surgeon at the Central Pacific Hospital from 1882 until his death in 1929. His adherence to the principles of English physician Joseph Lister and the early use of antiseptics during patient recovery were groundbreaking. Overnight, Central Pacific deaths from infection from traumatic accidents dropped from 30 to 40 percent to 5 to 7 percent. Huntington also lived in Alkali Flat, first at 515 13th Street, then at 1215 “H” Street.

These photos and many more like them can be found in the Sacramento Public Library’s Sacramento Room which is open to the public Tuesday, Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday 1 to 5, and Thursday 1 to 8.