Time Away From the Stacks

     During our stay in Sacramento we did get a chance to see other parts of the city.  The American River flows through Sacramento and actually caused some interesting architectural changes to the city in the middle of the 19th century.  Sacramento was prone to flooding and in December 1861 and January 1862 a great flood devastated the entire central valley area of the state.  It was reported that the flood covered 300 miles and was 20 miles across.  The state government was shut down and moved to San Francisco for a year and a half.  The answer to this flooding problem was not to move the city, but raise the cities' buildings.  According to our guide at the Stanford Mansion, this was done city-wide and thus the city was maintained at its present location.
     The Gold Rush history of the city is preserved in Old Sacramento on the banks of the American River a short walk from the Capitol Building.  In the area there are 53 historic buildings, most of which have been converted to commercial space.  You can take a tour called "Old Sacramento Underground" which explores the construction and building that was done to the city to protect it from further floods.

     There is a "Wild West" look about the buildings some of which actually date back to - well - the wild west.

     One of the things we found in the California State Library was a journal kept by an actor in San Francisco which has the dates of the arrivals of actors from the East and the opening and closing dates of their performances and in what shows.  It was an amazing document.  It turns out that one of the first theaters in California was in Sacramento and he had performed in the first show there.  The original theater was wood with canvas siding and a tin roof.  The present structure was built in 1970s when the Old Sacramento area was revitalized.

     
     In honor of Sacramento being the site of California's first permanent theater, we attended a performance of an adaptation of "Pride and Prejudice" by the Sacramento Theatre Company at the Wells Fargo Theater.  The company is affiliated with Actors Equity and also has an education branch.  Some of the students filled the roles of the younger sisters.  The principals did a fine job and it was an enjoyable evening.  
     I would be remiss in not noting that the California Rail Museum is also located in Old Sacramento.  This amazing facility houses a number of vintage steam engines and rail cars and in the summer runs an excursion train along the river.  I was able to take a peek inside of the museum at and wish we had had more time to see it thoroughly.  My dad would have loved it.  I remember as a kid going on a family trip to Bellows Falls, Vermont, to see trains on display at Steamtown, USA , an outdoor collection of steam engines.

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