On Monday, August 11, 2008, Deputy Secretary of the Interior Lynn Scarlett presented Mayor Heather Fargo with the City’s official Preserve America Community designation certificate signed by First Lady Laura Bush.
The ceremony was at the Stanford Mansion with several state and local dignitaries attending.

Said Mayor Fargo at the ceremony: “Sacramento is honored to be designated as a Preserve America Community. This designation recognizes Sacramento’s efforts to preserve its rich and diverse heritage. It will help to enhance Sacramento’s heritage tourism programs in collaboration with our partners, California State Parks, the California Cultural Heritage Tourism Council and the Sacramento Convention & Visitors Bureau, among others. On behalf of the City, I thank First Lady Laura Bush, Deputy Secretary of the Department of the Interior, Lynn Scarlett, and the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation for their recognition of Sacramento as a Preserve America Community.”

This recognition allows the City of Sacramento to apply for available matching grants administered by the Department of Interior. Recent awards were from $20,000 to $150,000 with the larger grants awarded to state offices for statewide projects. Activities funded were research for walking tours, publication of tour guides, research for documenting historic resources, way finding signage and many other history/tourism related programs.

The Fall Roundtable is sponsored by the Sacramento Old City Association (SOCA) & Rail Bridge Cellars, Jon Affonso

When: Saturday, Sept. 13th, 9:00AM to Noon
Where: Rail Bridge Cellars, 400 N. 16th St
Parking available along side street
A continental breakfast is provided  * $5 donation

In addtion to preservation issues and updates, guest speakers Tim Brandt, Architect & Jay Correia, Historian, from the California Office of Historic Preservation (OHP) will be giving a presentation on “How to Nominate Your Historic Building to the National Register”.

The full agenda here:

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Click on the above “National Register” to see the newest addition to this Web site, After a year or more of research and other work you can now learn about all the National Register of Historic Places properties in Sacramento. With a few exceptions, there are photos of each.

This project was initiated and headed by Tom Winter a board member of the Capital City Preservation Trust and a former SOCA board member. The Trust, an offshoot of SOCA, provided funding for a researcher whose work Tom supervised. The Trust also provided funding to upgrade the SOCA Web site to accommodate projects like this.

Questions? Call SOCA at 455-2935.

The Capitol Area Development Authority (CADA) is seeking a feasible way
to relocate a 40′ by 40′ foot portion of the Art Moderne apartment
building located at 1517 N.  Relocating the building would make it
feasible to preserve this 4-unit structure.  CADA is seeking leads on
property owners in downtown Sacramento who might be willing to site this
structure on their vacant land.  To report any leads, please contact
Marc de la Vergne, CADA’s Capitol Area Development Manager, at
916-324-3913 or by email at mdelavergne@cadanet.org.

The 2008 annual SOCA Home Tour is Sunday, September 21st in the Winn Park Historic District and Capitol Mansion area in Midtown Sacramento.  Each year SOCA showcases some of the finest architecture the old city has to offer, both historic and contemporary - a tribute to our heritage and a celebration of our future. Some of the homes featured on this years tour can be seen in the 2008 home tour gallery, accessible by clicking the gallery link at the top of this page. One of the Sutter Brownstones by Loftworks will be open as well. Tour homes are open from 10 AM until 4 PM,and the historic Saint Francis of Assisi Church will be open for viewing by tour guests from 2 PM until 5 PM. Tour guests will receive a printed brochure with a tour map and illustrated histories of all the sites on the tour.

A street fair featuring home restoration specialists, energy efficiency experts, stained glass and woodwork artisans, craft persons and musicians will be held a the Freemont School at the corner of 24th and N Streets from 10 AM until 4 PM.  The street fair is free.

Tickets are $20 on the day of the tour, and can be purchased at the street fair beginning at 10 AM. Advanced tickets are $18 and are available at Joannes Elegant Gifts -1019 L Street, Collected Works -4524 Freeport Blvd.,  The Avid Reader -1600 Broadway, and the 57th Street Antique Mall -875 57th Street.

SOCA and other community organizations were engaged in the development of goals and policies for Sacramento’s General Plan. A public review draft of the entire document, that will outline city growth and services over the next 22 years, was released May 8, 2008. An update to the city’s 1988 General Plan is required by law. The next step in the process is the release of a draft Environmental Impact Report (EIR) -June 2008. The law requires a 45-day public review period of the draft EIR document. The deadline for public comment is August 22, 2008.

The Draft 2030 General Plan and the EIR is available on the Project Documents page of the General Plan website http://www.sacgp.org Printed copies are also available for review at New City Hall (915 I Street), and at library branches across the city. The city is asking for comments on the draft EIR and full General Plan document. You can submit comments by email to 

• e-mail (generalplan@sacgp.org)
• or in writing addressed to Draft 2030 General Plan c/o Planning Department, 915 I Street NCH 3rd Floor, Sacramento, Ca 95814.

Comments are due no later than August 22, 2008.  City staff will review all public comments after that time, and will bring forward a Final Plan to the City Council for adoption in late 2008.  You can also call the General Plan hotline at (916) 808-7500.

** Sorry ** due to popular demand, reservations are full.

Local historian Ed Carroll will give a presentation on Sacramento’s
brewery history. Admission includes a selection of locally brewed beer
and appetizers.

Space is limited, please RSVP by contacting the Sacramento Old City
Association via email at info@sacoldcity.org 
Sponsored by the Sacramento Old City Association.

Saturday, August 9, 2:00 PM (ends around 4:00 PM)
Brew It Up, 801 14th Street, Sacramento
21+ only. $10 admission, free for SOCA members

Preservation is Going Green. The speaker this quarter will be Randel Reidel, an energy specialist and managing director of the California Performance Contractors Association. A recent issue of Preservation, the magazine of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, was devoted to this topic. Representatives from SMUD & PG & E will be on hand to answer your questions.

There is a $5 charge & continental breakfast is provided.

The Roundtable is Co-sponsored by the Sacramento Old City Association

WHERE: SACRAMENTO VALLEY STATION DEPOT CONFERENCE ROOM, 401 I Street

WHEN: SATURDAY, JUNE 14, FLAG DAY!

TIME: 9:00 A.M. TO 12:00 NOON.

Parking is not free - please use transit or other means if you can. The light rail Gold Line comes right to the station as does the #30 or 31 bus.

For more info call SOCA at 916-455-2935

On Tuesday, May 20, the Capital City Preservation Trust, along with the Mayor and City Councilmembers, honored six projects in the City of Sacramento which are outstanding examples of preservation.

This is the second year for these Historic Preservation Awards of Merit which carry $500 stipends from the Trust. Each Councilmember was invited to name a project in his or her district. with the Mayor able to choose from projects citywide. At the start of the Tuesday evening City Council meeting the following six projects were recognized:

District 1 Councilmember Ray Tretheway chose the Elks Building,owned by Steve Ayers, for the interior restoration.

District 3 Councilmember Cohn named the Victorian at 2213 N Street which had been gutted by a fire and left to the elements for several years but has been carefully restored. Larry Fox and Rick Castro are the owners who restored the house.

District 4 Councilmember Robert King Fong recognized the restoration of the William Land Memorial Monument in Land Park by the Land Park Community Association whose member, Roxanne Miller led the effort.

District 5 Councilmember Lauren Hammond namied the restoration of another seriously fire-damaged building. This one is in Oak Park at 3434 3rd Ave. and was restored by the owners, the Abdullah family.

District 6 Councilmember Kevin McCarty chose the transformation of an old library in his district to a sleek residence at 4001 60th Street. This project was done by Don Button.

Mayor Fargo’s choice was the Historic Rose Garden in the Old Sacramento Cemetery where historic roses have been saved and nurtured. Barbara Oliva acceptedthe award for the Committee.

The Month of May is Heritage Month when the Trust takes the opportunity to highlight the outstanding work that many organizations and individuals are doing to preserve Sacramento’s visually tangible history.

Brief History - The Sacramento Old City Association (SOCA) was born in 1972. Pioneering downtown homeowners banded together and formed SOCA, and because of their efforts, many of the city’s historic homes and civic landmarks have been saved and restored. SOCA is an all-volunteer organization whose members devote their time to increasing awareness of the irreplaceable historic and cultural resources of the city.

Purpose - This rehab and restoration resources list is a joint effort by Sacramento Heritage, Inc. and SOCA, dedicated preservationists working to facilitate appropriate rehabilitation and restoration of older structures. It contains information including a list of contractors, artisans and suppliers known to be skilled in working on older homes in the Sacramento area. While the list was assembled from a variety of sources, we are indebted to Roger Lathe, Housewright, for sharing his list of reputable contractors accumulated during his many years as a “savior” of old houses, both instructively and literally. Suggestions continue to be received and included from satisfied customers, our thanks to all. (more…)