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The State Indian Museum collections include some of the smallest traditional Native American baskets found anywhere, a redwood dugout canoe, hunting and fishing gear, beadwork, and ceremonial dress. Some of the items the museum has on display are more than 2,400 years old. In addition to being home to genuine artifacts, the museum also boasts an exhibition telling the tale of Ishi who was probably the final survivor from the Yahi Tribe. Going hand-in-hand with the Ishi display is the story of how Native American life was forever changed by the arrival of outsiders. It is estimated that before this pivotal point in time, more than half a million people, collectively speaking at least 64 separate languages, lived in what is now the Golden State. &nbsp;One of the more popular areas of the museum is its hands-on section. Visitors are able to try their hand at using traditional tools such as the mortar and pestle for grinding acorns and the pump drill that was historically used for drilling holes in shell beads.Located near Sutter’s Fort in midtown Sacramento, the State Indian Museum also has a museum store offering Native-made jewelry, baskets, gourds, dolls, and carvings along with perhaps the biggest collection of books on California Indians.

The California State Indian Museum was founded in 1940.

Indian-made gourds at the California State Indian Museum

Since opening in 1940, the California State Indian Museum has given thousands of visitors a glimpse of three primary themes of California Indian life: Nature, Spirit, and Family. Honoring the indigenous peoples who have been living on the land that became California for thousands of years, the museum presents its exhibitions in a manner that respects the Native Americans who have already passed and those who are still part of California today. 

California State Indian Museum

This tour connects residents and visitors to museums throughout the heart of Sacramento that are within a short drive of one another. 

Also known as the Sacramento River Station B, the Pacific Gas &amp; Electric (PG&amp;E) Powerhouse was constructed facing west between Interstate 5 and the Sacramento River, a quarter mile south of Sacramento’s central business district. The architect Willis Polk was commissioned to design the powerhouse building in the Classical Revival style in 1912. In the early 20th century, many public utilities company buildings were designed in the Classical Revival style, in keeping with the principles of the City Beautiful Movement, to which Polk was an adherent. Also a proponent of the Beaux Arts Movement in architecture, Polk incorporated some ornate details into the classical design for the building.Built with reinforced concreted on a steel frame, the powerhouse was surfaced with cement plaster on three sides and decorated with horizontal lines that were intended to resemble coarse stone. The building’s main archway, which faces to the west, was topped with an ornate cartouche surmounted over a huge classical door, while the southern entrance has a similar look, although not quite as ornate. Each of the building’s main facades are surfaced with a cream tinted Santa Cruz white cement plaster. Originally, the boiler room roof was topped with four large smokestacks, one over each battery of boilers. These smokestacks rose 100 feet into the air when measured from the furnace floor. The PG&amp;E Powerhouse Building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2010. As noted on the nomination form, the building was constructed in “an age typified by corporate trusts.” In the early 20th century, California’s utilities were largely unregulated, with a patchwork of service providers that competed against one another. Competition from numerous small utility companies with little regulation later gave way to state-regulated monopolies. As described on the nomination form, “giant utilities companies like PG&amp;E gained hegemonic control of entire sectors of the state’s utilities industry… and an unrivaled amount of capital flowed into California’s infrastructure [as] business entrepreneurs and risk takers fueled this gilded age culture.”Engineers from across the country came to Sacramento to see the PG&amp;E Powerhouse upon its completion, while the Journal of Electricity described Sacramento as “the first American city to demonstrate the practicability of the long-distance transmission of electricity at high voltage.” Using water from the nearby Sacramento River, the steam-powered plant generated power for Sacramento County and other parts of the region until the mid-1950s.After years of disuse, the building and surrounding land were sold in 2002 to the City of Sacramento to be managed by the Parks and Recreation Department. In the early 2000s, the long-vacant building was renovated and converted into the Powerhouse Science Center, an educational resource affiliated with the Sacramento Municipal Utilities District (SMUD). PG&amp;E Powerhouse Building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2010. The site has since been renamed the SMUD Museum of Science and Curiosity, or simply, MOSAC.

Constructed in 1912, the Pacific Gas &amp; Electric (PG&amp;E) Powerhouse Building was designed in the Classical Revival style by the well-known Bay Area architect Willis Polk. Built a quarter of a mile from Sacramento's downtown business district, the building was similar to many other public utility buildings in the region. PG&amp;E Powerhouse was upgraded in 1924, becoming the largest steam turbine power plant in the region. It produced high-voltage electricity for more than four decades, until the mid-1950s. The powerhouse and surrounding land were sold in 2002 to the City of Sacramento, which converted the site into the Powerhouse Science Center, later renamed the Museum of Science and Curiosity. The museum offers over a hundred exhibits along with programs and shows.

PG&E Powerhouse Building (1912-1957); Museum of Science and Curiosity

The land where the American River flows into the waters of the Sacramento has long been home to the Nisenan and Maidu tribes, but its history as the City of Sacramento has its genesis in the arrival of John Sutter in 1839. Sutter, a Swiss-American immigrant, had gained a land grant from the Mexican government of Alta California in order to develop the land at Mexico’s rugged northern frontier, curb Russian territorial ambitions from their nearby base in Fort Ross, and inhibit the movement of American settlers south from Oregon. Paying lip service to these requirements, within a few years Sutter had built a massive agricultural empire spanning tens of thousands of acres, built for the most part on the backs of Native American laborers--little better than slaves and housed in squalid conditions--perhaps as many as 800 at the height of Sutter’s territorial expansion.Gold was discovered near one of Sutter’s sawmills on the American River, however, and rather than enriching the agricultural magnate, it soon bankrupted him. His laborers fled to the riverbanks and goldfields to make their fortunes, and squatters moved into the area by the thousands. Despite being one of the strongest outposts in California during the Mexican War (with fifty armed guards and two dozen cannon), Sutter’s Fort now lacked the means to repel the “Forty Niners” pouring into Sutter’s land and setting up camp on the banks of the American and Sacramento Rivers. Property destroyed, crops ravaged, and cattle herds now butchered by Americans keen to mine their way to prosperity, Sutter gave his property to his son to divide and sell as he saw fit. These divided lots, stretching a three mile stretch span near the rivers’ confluence, soon began to grow into Sacramento City.Many of the city’s inhabitants had no intention of staying longer than it took to get rich, and the city’s first four years were dominated by wooden and canvas buildings. Devastating floods and fires repeatedly decimated the city in 1850, 1852, and 1853; despite a volunteer fire department and growing levee system, the matchstick city on a floodplain simply could not withstand the elements. Funds were raised to elevate the city above the rivers’ flood-prone waters. Vast amounts of soil were carted in by wagon and merchants moved their storefronts up a story (giving birth to the Underground, which can be toured to this day). Newer buildings were often built of brick to increase their resistance to flood and fire.Thus the “modern” three-story City Hall came into being in 1854, constructed entirely of brick and housing a panoply of the budding city’s municipal services. The move signaled Sacramento’s need to grow with the times: it was selected that year as the state’s capital. Ground was broken for the building in October 1853, and it was completed on April 1, 1854.The building’s thick walls were crowded with various offices of government. On the ground floor, one half belonged to the county jail, the other half to the city jail. The second floor held both city and county offices, including the mayor and city council. The upper levels held pumps and a 200,000 gallon tank to pressurize the city’s growing municipal water system, supplying 39,100 gallons an hour--the building had been designed from the ground up as the city’s central pumping station, and indeed is referred to often in contemporary literature as the “Water Works,” not City Hall.As a water works, it proved to have flaws. The pumps were insufficient for the fast growth of the city, and as the amount of pipe laid quadrupled from 1854 to 1856, complaints began pouring in about poor water pressure in outlying areas. In 1870, the system failed altogether, and the city moved quickly to condemn the property next door to build an expanded pump system, then extended the huge rooftop tank upward an additional fifteen feet. By 1873, even this had proved wanting, and additional water works were built around the city to take up the slack.Sources from the early 20th Century state that “since 1880 there has been no material change made in the works,” but in reality the building itself had begun to suffer structural damage, having not been originally designed to hold so much weight on its roof, and constantly rattled by passing freight and passenger trains only a few feet away. In 1906, the property was sold to Southern Pacific Railroad, which had desired the space to expand their rail lines. In 1913, when the new City Hall was finished, the Water Works was torn down.In 1985 however, the building was resurrected as the Sacramento History Center, transitioning through several iterations over the next two decades before being renamed the Sacramento History Museum. Despite the fluctuating monikers, it has been dedicated to telling the story of Sacramento’s early farmers, miners, pioneers, merchants, Native Americans, Chinese Americans, and more for over thirty years. Located in the heart of the Old Town district, the Museum provides a unique opportunity to encounter the city’s history along the streets where it took place with a variety of permanent and temporary exhibits. The Museum also hosts Sacramento Underground tours, offering rare glimpses into some of the city’s oldest surviving structures.

On the exterior, the Sacramento City Museum is an exact replica of the city’s original City Hall, constructed in 1854 as a municipal catch-all that held the mayor’s office, city council, police department, and the city’s waterworks. The original was torn down in 1913 due to structural problems, but the new Sacramento History Museum was constructed on the precise spot in 1985, presiding over the renewed Old Sacramento historic district just as it once did. Today the museum commemorates the history of the first inhabitants of the city of Sacramento through a wide variety of permanent and temporary exhibits, special programs, and tours of Old Town Sacramento, including the Sacramento Underground.

Sacramento History Museum

Citizens passionate about preserving California’s unique railroad history had been actively agitating for a public facility since&nbsp;1937, when the Pacific Coast Chapter of the nationwide Railway and Locomotive Historical Society was founded with “ultimate goal of a museum celebrating railroading in the West.” They began acquiring historical locomotives that&nbsp;year, and in 1969 donated over 40 locomotives and cars to the State of California’s Parks and Recreation division.This rare collection formed the core of a new museum unveiled to the public during the United States centennial celebrations of 1976. The facility is more than a museum, however: a number of the most historic railyard buildings in California are restored and preserved as a part of the the complex, including the nearby Central Pacific Railroad Passenger Station (in fact, the Central Pacific, which eventually built the western half of the Transcontinental Railroad, was born mere steps away from the Railroad Museum itself, in the Big Four House).The Railroad History Museum building was completed in 1981&nbsp;and houses the majority of the complex’s artifacts and curated exhibits--with highlights such as a number of the American West’s most historic locomotives. Included in the collection is the Central Pacific’s very first locomotive, the Governor Stanford, built in Boston and shipped around South America’s Cape Horn to California in 1862.Offering a wide variety of activities to help museum-goers experience the magic of railroading, the California State Railroad Museum brings to life the history of railroading with its authentic train rides, special events, and regularly rotating exhibits. Additionally, since 1982 excursion trains have been a popular offering along the Sacramento River waterfront. The route, once operated by a subsidiary of Southern Pacific Railroad known as the Sacramento Southern, was purchased by the State Parks in the 1980s when it no longer proved economically feasible for the company. The Railroad Museum not only provides these scenic, educational rides to over 60,000 passengers annually, new generations of preservationists are trained in the construction, refurbishment, operation and maintenance of trains and railways.Rotating museum collections and special events encourage visitors to return time and again. Additionally, the California State Railroad Museum operates the Railtown 1897 State Historic Park two hours away in Jamestown, which features historic locomotives and railcars that have been featured in hundreds of films through the decades. For researchers, the Railroad Museum maintains an extensive archive.

The California State Railroad Museum is one of Sacramento's largest and most popular visitor destinations. Opening in 1976, the museum complex has grown steadily over the decades and now consists of six original, reconstructed, and new buildings completed at a cost of $30 million and located at the heart of Old Sacramento. The museum’s exhibits, knowledgeable guides, and restored railroad cars and locomotives illustrate railroad history in California and the West--and include training programs for steam locomotive engineers and rides for museum patrons along the Sacramento Southern Railroad.

California State Railroad Museum

Originally part of John Sutter’s substantial land grant from the Mexican government in the 1830s, the area of present-day Old Sacramento was quickly occupied by squatters when the first wave of fortune-seekers arrived to begin the California Gold Rush of 1848-49. Unable to eject the thousands of erstwhile gold miners consuming his crops and livestock, Sutter’s once-mighty estate fell rapidly into ruin, and in 1850 he gave his son permission to divide the land into lots and sell it off. This development gave rise to the modern city of Sacramento, expanding out from the original core of Sutter’s “New Helvetia” estate near Sutter’s Fort and the American River.This population explosion quickly gave rise to all the industries necessary to support growth. A grocery was first built at the corner of 2nd and J Streets in 1851, but burned to the ground during the terrible fire that gutted the area in autumn 1852. Its proprietor was unable to fund a new structure at the site, and the property soon sold to entrepreneur Benjamin Franklin Hastings in March 1853. Hastings moved quickly, erecting a new structure and opening his eponymous bank the following month.Hastings also leased office and store space to a variety of early Sacramento businesses, the roll call of which is instructive as to the the needs of a booming young city: lawyers, bankers, engineers, telegraph companies and clothiers all occupied space at one time or another. Distinguished tenants included Wells Fargo Bank (1854-57) and Theodore Judah (1854-55). The latter, a young engineer then known as “Crazy Judah” for his scoffed-at dream of a transcontinental railroad through the Sierra Nevada Mountains, later became chief engineer for the Sacramento and Central Pacific Railroads, and was the western architect of that very Transcontinental Railroad--though he would die of illness in 1863 before it was completed.Before this dream of a coast-to-coast railroad was completed, without a similarly far-reaching telegraph line in place, mail usually required just under a month to make passage from New York to Panama, across the Isthmus to a waiting ship in the Pacific, and northward to San Francisco. From this difficult situation was born the Pony Express, a system by which a network of riders relayed mail as quickly as possible from station to station from Missouri to California--a journey of over 1800 miles. The B.F. Hastings Building was the western terminus of the Pony Express (after that, mail was usually conveyed to San Francisco by steamboat). Though a remarkable achievement that could deliver mail across the country in as little as 10 days, the Pony Express was short-lived. Operating only from April 1860 to October 1861, the service was pushed into obsolescence by the completion of the transcontinental telegraph line that month. Despite its quick demise, the Pony Express nevertheless captured the public’s imagination, and its legacy has far outlived its economic consequences.As the state’s Capitol required over a decade of construction, the California Supreme Court lacked permanent offices and chose to lease the upper floor of the B.F. Hastings Building from early 1855 until the end of 1869 (with a brief stay in another building from 1857 to 1859). Much of the foundation of California’s legal code was determined in the chambers of Hastings’ bank. The rebuilt B.F. Hastings features a full reproduction of the original Supreme Court chambers.Hastings’ bank declared bankruptcy in November 1871. The building passed through a number of businesses over the following century--usually markets and convenience stores--and gradually fell into disrepair along with the rest of the district until the State Park system undertook a massive revitalization project in the 1960s. In 1971, they began the restoration of the B.F. Hastings Building--by then the oldest surviving structure in the district. The interiors had been much ravaged by various uses--in 1998, then-director of the California State Railroad Museum Walter Gray stated the project had really been a “reconstruction,” so extensive was the work required to restore Hastings to its former glory.Today its principal attractions are the Wells Fargo History Museum, maintained by the Wells Fargo corporation itself (along with twelve additional museums around the country) and the restored State Supreme Court chambers and offices on the second floor. Featuring a wide variety of artifacts and interactive exhibits, it is considered one of the leading attractions of the Old Sacramento historic district.

Located in the oldest original building in Old Sacramento, itself a National Historic Landmark, the Wells Fargo History Museum has more than a passing relationship to the B.F. Hastings Building in which it’s housed. In fact, Wells Fargo Bank maintained a branch in the building for several years during the first decade of California’s statehood. Today, the Museum features interactive exhibits about communication and transportation technologies of the late 19th century that increased westward expansion and development--including the stagecoach, railroad, telegraph, and Pony Express (for which the B.F. Hastings Building was the western terminus). Visitors can also use a working telegraph to communicate with other Wells Fargo History museums.

Wells Fargo History Museum & B.F. Hastings Building

The Old Schoolhouse Museum was dedicated in September 1977. A historical marker placed at the site during the dedication ceremony states, “Public Schools, Learning for Living.” Although the Old Schoolhouse Museum was permanently closed in 2022, it gave visitors an impression of a traditional one-room schoolhouse in the 19th century. Prior to 1849, formal public education was not universally available to all young people in the state of California. Instead, parents within each local community were responsible for providing education for their children. The first public school in Sacramento opened in February 1854. Each schoolhouse served as a social hub for the community.During the museum’s 44 years in operation, visitors could sit at the individual wooden desks, which were clustered around a pot-bellied stove facing the front of the classroom. On each desk, a traditional 19th-century “reader” (schoolbook) contained the standard subjects for public education during the late 1800s, including reading, writing, and arithmetic. Inside the museum, visitors could take note of the daily lessons that were written on the chalkboards mounted on the walls, or that were shared by costumed interpreters. Historically, traditional one-room schoolhouses were taught by a single teacher who offered instruction for students in grades one through eight. The museum also included two sets of historic “Rules for Teachers,” one issued in 1886, and another issued in 1915.Teachers were expected to follow the rules, otherwise they would be dismissed. Clothing and personal time were closely regulated. Male teachers were allowed one evening per week for courting and two per week if they were church-goers. Female teachers were expected to remain unmarried and “not engage in any unseemly behavior,” nor were they allowed to join a "feminist movement such as the suffragettes." The rules also stipulated the number of petticoats that female teachers were expected to wear, as well as the maximum length of the bustle on their dress. Liquor and smoking were strictly prohibited. Teachers were expected to perform daily chores such as cleaning the chimney and refilling the lamps. After ten hours in school each day, they were allowed to spend their remaining time reading “the Bible or other good books.”

Located near the Tower Bridge, this replica schoolhouse opened as a living museum site in 1978, adjacent to the Old Sacramento waterfront. The museum is a replica of a traditional one-room schoolhouse from the 1800s, with rows of desks, chalkboards, and a wood-burning stove. Although the historic replica was constructed around the time of the U.S. Bicentennial in 1976, traditional one-room schoolhouses were established in 19th-century Sacramento to the south of X Street and in the northern part of Sacramento County. In 2022, the city decided to close the Old Schoolhouse Museum after forty-four consecutive years in operation.

Old Sacramento Schoolhouse Museum (1978-2022)

The Crocker family has their
roots in New York and Indiana, though a number of family members made their way
to California where they established lucrative careers, which led to the
founding of the Crocker Museum. Edwin B. Crocker (1818-1875) practiced law in
Indiana, where he was an avid abolitionist, and later served as an Associate
Justice of the California Supreme Court between 1863 and 1864. Edwin’s brother,
Charles Crocker, was one of the “Big Four” investors in the Central Pacific
Railroad, which constructed part of the First Transcontinental Railroad in the
late nineteenth century. Edwin grew wealthy from his investments and work with
his brother’s railroad company. Edwin’s wife, Margaret Rhodes, devoted time to
their daughters, their church, and a number of civic causes, including
abolition.

Upon Edwin’s retirement, the
Crockers dedicated their time and wealth to philanthropy. In 1868, they
purchased a home in Sacramento. They commissioned architect Seth Babson to renovate
the 1853 home into a lavish Italianate mansion and construct a multifaceted museum
on the property, which included an art gallery, natural history museum,
library, and entertainment such as a bowling alley and skating rink. While the property
transformed, the Crockers traveled Europe on a Grand Tour, which introduced
them to the finest works of art and architecture. They built the core of their
European art collection at this time, collecting Dutch, Flemish, and Italian
Baroque works. &nbsp;In 1872, the family moved
into their renovated home and began bringing the art gallery to life. After Edwin
died in 1875, Margaret organized the art gallery to ensure its impressive
collections would be enjoyed by all.

In 1885, Margaret deeded the E.B.
Crocker Art Gallery to the City of Sacramento and California Museum
Association. (now the Crocker Art Museum Association). She served as a Board
member and continued her philanthropic work, including sponsoring students at
art schools. The gallery was renamed the Crocker Art Museum in 1978, and in
1989, the historic mansion underwent modern renovations. The Museum expanded at
the turn of the twenty-first century to accommodate new galleries, art studios,
library, and an education center. Gwathmey Siegel &amp; Associates Architects designed
a modern 125,000 square foot museum called the Teel Family Pavilion, which
opened in 2010.

The Crocker houses notable
collections of American and European art, with a focus on works by California
artists or depictions of the American west. The Museum continues to collect art
created by professional artists as well as students and local community
members. In the spirit of Margaret Crocker, the Museum offers art classes and
educational programs for all ages.

The oldest public art museum west of the Mississippi River, the Crocker Art Museum in Sacramento was established in 1885 and is now one of the leading art museums in California. The Crocker boasts noteworthy architecture, works of art by regional artists, pieces by renowned and yet-to-be-discovered artists from around the world, and exhibitions varied mediums including paintings, drawings, metal, ceramics, and photography. The museum consists of two neighboring buildings: the Crocker family mansion, purchased in 1868 and now on the National Register of Historic Places, and the contemporary Teel Family Pavilion opened in 2010. 

Crocker Art Museum

The California Automobile Museum’s permanent collection still includes the first car it ever received, a restored 1938 Buick sedan, which was a donation from the then president of the Golden One Credit Union, John Joyce. Additionally, this collection is made up of vehicles from 1880 through 2011. The oldest vehicle is an 1880 Columbia Bicycle - High Wheeler, while its newest is a 2011 Nissan Leaf. Some of the other noteworthy vehicles in its collection are a 1938 Rolls-Royce 25/30 Sports Sedan, a 1985 March Indy Car (Michel Andretti), and a 1978 Kawasaki 1000 CHP Motorcycle (“CHiPs” TV series). Along with its cars are other auto-related displays such as old-time gas stations.Some of the museum’s past exhibitions have been the popular Auto Exotica: A Celebration of Modern Supercars and the Selling the Dream: Sacramento’s Early Car Dealers exhibit. In 2015, the "Mustang vs. Camaro: What Side Are You On?"&nbsp;exhibit will be opened. Many of the cars shown at the museum are owned by private collectors, which helps keep the displays rotating while giving the public a way to show off what they own.The California Automobile Museum’s community outreach program, Exhibits on the Go, takes advantage of the fact that its collection is totally mobile. The crew at the museum say that they love to bring the museum’s vehicles to other community museums, car shows, festivals, and parades.

The first car museum in the West that was established in perpetuity, the California Automobile Museum is, according to its mission, “an every-person auto museum.” Founded in 1983, the museum has a permanent collection of more than 150 vehicles, temporary displays, and even its Exhibits on the Go, a program that sends its vehicles out into the community.

California Automobile Museum

You may have heard of the
American dream – but what is the California dream? This is one of the ideas explored
in the California Museum. Opened in 1998, the California Museum is a relatively
young cultural institution that has changed its name and transformed its
mission over the years. First called the Golden State Museum, the California
Museum began as a place to exhibit works from the California State Archives. In
2003, former First Lady of California, Maria Shriver, helped reinvent the
museum as the California Museum for History, Women and the Arts, which
emphasized California’s unique artistic and celebrity culture. Today, the
museum is simply known as the California Museum, exploring the state’s diverse
people, cultures, and visions of the California dream. In the words of Woodland
mayor and former museum board member Tom Stallard, the museum is “an
idea-based museum rather than an object-based one.”1

The California Museum achieves
its mission through a number of unique exhibits, programs, and events. Permanent
exhibits explore topics ranging from indigenous history to computer chips to
skateboarding, while short-term exhibits always provide something new for
returning visitors. Guided tours, field trips, and special programs for Girl
Scouts and homeschool students provide a more in-depth look at these exhibits.
Each year, the Museum inducts around a dozen notable residents of the state into
the California Hall of Fame, which was established by Maria Shriver in 2006. While
the California governor and first lady select the final inductees, the public
is welcome to nominate candidates through the Museum’s website. 

&nbsp;In the early 2000s, the
Museum opened the “California's Remarkable Women” exhibit, which focuses on the
achievements of women in the state, including former First Lady Maria Shriver,
farm worker activist Dolores Huerta, and astronaut Sally Ride.

The California Museum
addresses darker moments in the state’s history and uses exhibits and programs
to promote peace and acceptance. The oldest exhibit at the Museum, “Uprooted,”
addresses Japanese internment during World War II. In 1999, the Museum created
the Unity Center exhibit in response to a series of local hate crimes. The
Unity Center explores the history and perspectives of civil rights leaders and
diverse residents of the state and “encourages
visitors to find common ground while embracing their own individuality.” Works of art such as the “Constitution Wall” in
the museum courtyard emphasizes the rights and freedoms of Californians as identified
in the state Constitution.

Opened in 1998, the California Museum preserves, interprets, and engages the public with the history of California. A private non-profit institution in partnership with the State Archives, the California Museum offers a variety of exhibits and educational programs for residents and visitors alike. The Museum emphasizes the state's diverse history and culture. With the support of former First Lady Maria Shriver and Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, the California Museum celebrates individuals who have made notable contributions to the state with the California Hall of Fame located in the museum. Exhibits also introduce visitors to more unknown figures in state history along with cultural movements, technological innovations, civic engagement, and health. Together, these exhibits explore what it means to be Californian.

The California Museum

The Capitol Museum is housed in the California State Capitol building, considered “the West's first great architectural monument.”1 This grand neoclassical structure was constructed between 1860 and 1974, signifying that California’s state capital would be, after years of debate, permanently housed in Sacramento. The state library and courts were moved to a new building in 1928, while the original Capitol building expanded in the mid-twentieth century to accommodate new offices. In the 1970s and 80s, the Capitol underwent what was then the “largest restoration ever completed in North America” to breathe life back into the deteriorating structure and ensure it would not collapse in an earthquake.2During the restoration, multiple rooms were set aside to interpret the State Legislature’s history to the public. Today, these rooms comprise the main exhibitions of the Capitol Museum. The offices of the Governor, Secretary of State, and Treasurer were specially restored to appear like time capsules, so that visitors could get a sense of what past state governance looked like. Two exhibit galleries were created to share the history of California, the city of Sacramento, and the State Legislature. The Capitol basement houses the Museum’s tour office, a theater, and gift shop. Special events throughout the year also exhibit part of the Museum’s collection of historic flags, which are fragile and require special care.The Capitol building itself also displays impressive art collections that evoke the history of California, including paintings, murals, sculptures, furniture, stained glass, mosaics, and tiling. The Capitol rotunda displays two murals painted in 1914-1915 by Arthur Mathews, who depicted scenes from California history such as the Mission Period, the Gold Rush, and Commodore Sloat entering Monterey Bay. Paintings depicting California’s beautiful landscapes, seascapes, and scenes of daily life are exhibited throughout the building. The Capitol’s west wing exhibits paintings from 1870 to 1910 along with the governors’ portraits, while the East Annex exhibits work from 1920 to 1950 and three large murals created by the Works Progress Administration in the 1930s. Leadership offices and conference rooms exhibit works of some of California’s most lauded artists, including Thomas Hill, William Keith, Raymond Dabb Yelland, and Edwin Deakin. The Capitol began actively collecting contemporary art in 1997 to show “that contemporary art is alive and well in California.”3 To capture the breadth of talent across the state, Senators select an artist to represent their district every other year.California’s past is also on display outdoors in Capitol Park, where 150 memorials, monuments, and other points of interest stand among the beautiful Victorian landscaping. The 40 acre park was established in 1860, the same year construction began on the Capitol building. The first memorial was dedicated in 1897 and consisted of saplings from more than 40 Civil War battlefields and sites, which set a precedent to establish “living memorials” at the Park. This tradition continues with the World Peace Garden, the rose bushes of the September 11 Memorial, and dozens of trees and gardens cultivated in honor of notable figures and moments in history. Works of art and architecture are nestled among the flora, honoring fallen soldiers and veterans of numerous wars, firefighters, and civil servants.Together, the California State Capitol, the Museum, and Capitol Park share the state’s history with the public.

The California State Capitol Museum interprets the history California, the city of Sacramento, and the State Legislature. Housed in the historic Capitol building, the Museum includes two exhibit galleries and restored offices of the Governor, Secretary of State, and Treasurer, along with a tour office that offers guided or self-guided tours, a theater that screens an introductory film, and a gift shop. Visitors can explore museum exhibits along with art, architecture, and legislative proceedings throughout the Capitol building and the memorials and monuments in Capitol Park.

Museums of Sacramento

California State Indian Museum

Introduction

Images

Backstory and Context

Sources