Ghosts of Christmas Past - K Street, Sacramento

 A rare glimpse into life in Sacramento: K Street in its heyday, circa 1954

Here's a neat peek of K and 10th Streets in downtown Sacramento back in the day—from a found slide on eBay, by an unknown photographer. Note various features, such as the Crest Theatre, which I've posted about before here. A wonderful view of the Mayes Clock, which was lovingly refurbished in 2012, is also featured, Also in view are: Roos Bros., Joseph Magnin, Leed's, Green-Hayden Co., Hale's, Hotel Sequoia, Hart's, and others.

 K Street shoppers, downtown Sacramento

Most of Sacramento's retail shopping in the 1940s and 1950s was done in downtown Sacramento - before shopping malls became in vogue.

What K Street in downtown Sacramento used to look like

- via the Sacramento Room, Sacramento Public Library

Then came the shopping malls. The prevalence of suburban shopping malls slowly took its toll on K Street. See for example, this 1957 public domain PR short, "Shopping Can Be Fun: A New Concept in Merchandising", which chronicles the Hillsdale Shopping Center in San Mateo, California.

K Street has since gone through several phases of revitalization efforts -- including a pedestrian mall and, more recently, an attempt to reintroduce traffic on K Street. I'll be featuring a post with more information about the history of Sacramento's 1960s pedestrian mall in the future.

What the future now holds for K Street is anyone's guess, though we hope it's a bright one. In the meantime, we can remember its past.

Happy hyperbolic holidays!

The entryway to the Sacramento Zoo, designed by Rickey & Brooks (1961).

The largest building originally served as a concession stand to all of William Land Park.

The City of Sacramento recently hired consultants from Mead & Hunt to conduct a Historic Cultural / Landscape Survey of William Land Park. Per Mead & Hunt's report, these hyperbolic paraboloid structures "meet the National Register, California Register, and Sacramento Register evaluation criteria as individual properties independent from their association with William Land Park."

Further, Mead & Hunt concluded the Zoo entry structures were eligible "in the area of Architecture – Designed by the local architectural firm of Rickey and Brooks, this series of three interconnected buildings are an important, rare, and intact example of Mid-Century Modernism in Sacramento."

On December 7, 2011, SacMod attended the City of Sacramento Preservation Commission Meeting and spoke in favor of Mead & Hunt's report: "We want to thank everyone involved in the Historic Cultural Landscape survey of William Land Park and support Mead & Hunt's findings, especially those regarding Fairytale Town and the entryway concession buildings at the Sacramento Zoo. SacMod highlighted both of these historic assets as 'points-of-interest' during the first Sacramento Mid-Century Modern Home Tour last year. These have been a part of the park for 50 years and are historic landmarks.

The Zoo entrance and Fairytale Town are part of Sacramento's collective memory and provide an irreplaceable and distinct sense of place. In particular, the structures at the Zoo entrance are a rare kind of mid-20th century construction – hyperbolic paraboloids – also known as hypars. I have brought an historic postcard image for you to see them as they originally were. There are few remaining examples of hypars left in Sacramento. The Zoo entrance structures are the most easily recognized examples in town.

SacMod supports Mead & Hunt's recommendations and wishes to see our historic assets preserved. We look forward to working with the City and Zoo in this regard."

Happy Big Seven-Five, Tower Bridge!

via Sacramento Room's Digital Collection

Today, the Tower Bridge in Sacramento celebrated its 75th birthday. The bridge was originally dedicated on December 15, 1935. A great article, including pictures of the original dedication ceremony, can be found at Sacramento Press.

I'm including some pictures of Tower Bridge from my postcard collection. Note the above postcard shows the bridge and State Capitol but no Capitol Mall! That is a long post for another day, with a rich and interesting history all its own.

If you are interested in an in-depth look at the bridge, start with a brief but excellent history of the bridge at the Historical Marker Database. Additional history, construction pictures, and a look at the controls can be found here (you'll have to scroll down a bit). My favorite group of pictures is available via American Memory from the Library of Congress -- lots of black and white photos as well as sketches and plans of the bridge.

Tower Bridge was designed by Alfred W. Eichler, who was a Senior Architectural Designer for the State Department of Public Works. The bridge was the first vertical lift bridge on a California highway and was originally painted silver. According to the Historical Marker Database, "Eichler conceptualized the Tower Bridge in the Streamline Moderne architectural style, a later outgrowth of Art Deco that gained worldwide popularity between World War I and World War II (1919-1938), as the style symbolized progress, modernization, speed, efficiency, and technology."

In addition to the Tower Bridge, Alfred Eichler also designed many other state buildings throughout California. He was also a watercolor artist and photographer. You can see some of his art displayed on his great nephew's website as well as a biography.

Structural engineers Frederick W. Panhorst and George Thompson also collaborated on the Tower Bridge project. Panhorst, according to Caltrans, "served as the Chief of the Bridge Section of the California Division of Highways from 1931 to 1960. He was also a National Director of the American Society of Civil Engineers." A bridge over the Russian Gulch on Route 1 in Mendocino County is dedicated to him. A wonderful collection of Mr. Panhorst's papers can be found online.

My favorite way to drive in to Sacramento is using CA State Route 275, going over the Tower Bridge, and driving down Capitol Mall. I recommend this route to all newcomers and locals who like to mix things up and take in the scenery.

Historic Holiday Window Display in a MCM building on K Street!

Sacramento County Historical Society is working to construct a full-sized animated circa 1910 holiday display. The display will be at the Roos-Atkins building, 1001 K Street, in downtown Sacramento (next door to the Crest Theatre). This building was designed by noted Sacramento architect Harry J. Devine, Sr. in 1946.

1946 picture of Roos-Atkins during construction

 Completed building

The premiere for the display is November 26 at noon. The display will remain operational until January 8, 2011. Detailed information can be found here.

The display will use the Gaffney Display Company animated figures used in the windows of Breuner's department stores for decades -- in a new display created by local artists. Here are some vintage scenes of the Bruener's displays via my Flickr pals (and real-life friends):

Breuner's 12th old-fashioned, musical, moving Christmas display

Breuner's 16th old-fashioned, musical, moving Christmas display

1946 display

1955 display

1956 display

K Street was once the epicenter of shopping and nightlife in Sacramento. Here are some scenes from its heyday from my postcard collection:

10th and K Streets - Roos-Atkins can be seen in the far left of this picture

K Street

K Street

K Street, near 10th Street

K Street

K Street, Night View

Be there to support local historians and people who love Sacramento! You can also help out by donating here.

Hyper About Hypars

 

Via fabricarchitect.com

Meet one of my favorite shapes, the hyperbolic paraboloid, also known as a hypar. It is shaped like a saddle and therefore is also sometimes referred to as a saddle surface. A perfect common example would be a Pringle's potato chip. In architecture, hyperbolic paraboloid geometry can be used to create a saddle roof. The hypar has been used a great deal in 19th and 20th century architecture, from Gaudi to Gehry.

There are a couple of examples of hypars here in Sacramento, but probably the most easily recognized hypars in town are located at the entrance of the Sacramento Zoo. The Zoo is located about 2.5 miles up the street from our Eichler Homes neighborhood. This is what the structures originally looked like:

I've researched these structures and discovered that they were designed by Rickey + Brooks, the same firm who designed our house. Rickey + Brooks were also involved in the making of Fairytale Town and also designed the William Land Golf clubhouse.

I've put together a Flickr gallery of hyperbolic paraboloid structures which include other Sacramento examples as well as Albert Frey's Palm Springs Tramway Gas Station, the Catalano House, and other architecturally significant MCM buildings. I've included examples of hypars on native buildings from Indonesia and Sulawesi (Toba Batak and Tongkonan), which strike me particularly as being similar to the Zoo structures.

Some of these structures, such as the Catalano House, have fallen victim to demolition. Per Joe Kunkel, who tried to save the Catalano House:

One by one, our country is losing its wonderful mid-20th century architectural designs, one after another, victims of a blind and unattentive public. A few get saved and preserved as monuments, like the Farnsworth House or the Kaufmann House or Fallingwater. But the vast majority get bulldozed and replaced with McMansions and parking lots. I cannot understand how or why this happens. But it does. Repeatedly.

Hyperbolic paraboloids from the mid-20th century in Sacramento are a rare and dying breed. Other remaining examples include a couple of surviving Orbit gas stations and Country Club Lanes.

I hope there is enough interest in the Sacramento region to preserve and maintain our historic Mid-Century Modern architecture, including the Zoo entrance hypars. They have been there for 50 years and are a landmark. As such, they are part of our collective memory and provide a distinct sense of place. They harken back to structures of distant lands and tribes and serve as a reminder that the animals also come from unique and far away places.

Let your fingers do the walking

I recently enjoyed going to the Sacramento Room of the Sacramento Central Public Library to research various homes and buildings in our neighborhood. One great way to find out more about the history of your home or a particular building is to consult the City Directories in your area.

While the old City Directories bear some resemblance to the phone books we receive once a year these days, they appear to be much more useful. Listings were available by name, address and phone number -- perfect for retrospectively cross-referencing with other documents for research purposes. Per the 1956 Sacramento City Directory:

"When you want to know:
-- where a person lives.
-- what his occupation is.
-- who lives at a certain number on a street.
-- where a street is located.
-- the correct spelling of a name.
-- the officers of a corporation.
-- the partners in a firm;
-- the solution to any of scores of problems that pop up unexpectedly to annoy and baffle you.
-- your can quickly find the answer in the City Directory."

In addition to being extremely informative, they also contain cool vintage advertisements. Surprisingly, some of these businesses are still around today -- and then there are others we wish still were!

 

 

 

More examples can be seen on my Flickr set.

As you can see they even used the old cool telephone exchange names back then. You know -- as an PEnnsylvania 6-5000?

Come Fly With Me

"Sacramento Municipal Airport on South Freeport Blvd.

Fritz Vibe Postcard Service, Sacramento, California"

Our 1955 Eichler Homes neighborhood is a little over one mile from what was then known as Sacramento Municipal Airport (now known as the Sacramento Executive Airport). The circa 1955/56 terminal pictured above (which still stands today) was designed by renowned Sacramento architect Leonard F. Starks (more on him in a forthcoming post). Can you imagine riding in style in a large finned, chauffeured black convertible to the airport? Air travel was more glamorous back then!

According to a Sacramento Magazine article from October, 2007 written by Reed Parsell:

"Plopped on a then-rural 680-acre patch of land a few miles south of downtown in 1930, it was taken over by the military in World War II. The city subsequently regained control and by the 1960s... was handling about 750,000 commercial passengers a year."

"Air Terminal Building, Sacramento Municipal Airport...

This modern building serves air commerce and scheduled

air transport for the Capital City and its surrounding area.

- Color photo by Mirl H. Simmons

Published by W.C. Spangler News Agency, Sacramento, Calif."

via Ginsburgh Family Pictures

I found a great personal account of what it was like to visit the airport in 1963, per blogger Azure:

"We are going on an airplane trip and it's a big deal. Here we are at the old Sacramento Airport. We are all dressed up, my little sister and I have on dresses with our white socks and Mary janes. My brother in his jacket and tie, my mother in her smart suit. You dressed to go on an airplane then, especially to fly all the way across the country. The airport is looking pretty smart itself, everything looking shiny and well-kept, nice garden and that pervasive California light. Within 5 years, the new airport will be built way north of the city and this airport will be mostly for small aircraft. But in 1963, it was the way out of town...."

via Ginsburgh Family Pictures

Below is a familiar view that we still see across from the airport -- hasn't changed much at all!

"Sky Riders Airport Motel 6100 Freeport Blvd., Sacramento, CA 95822.

On Scenic Highway 160, with the Executive Airport restaurant facilities,

and golf course across the way. Car rentals available. 32 deluxe units,

beautifully furnished in South Land Park area.... photo by Henry K. Yee."

On October 21, 1967, commercial flights out of Sacramento were handled by the newly built Sacramento Metropolitan Airport (now known as Sacramento International Airport). Our wonderful Executive Airport is still operative and is still the way to travel for the rich and influential.

Ah, the good old days when riding on an airplane was special -- and people didn't put bombs in their underwear!

VIDEO link via TCM - Frank Sinatra "Come Fly With Me"

Come Fly With Me

(click on Frank for video)

by songwriters Sammy Cahn And Jimmy Van Heusen

Come fly with me, let's fly, let's fly away
If you can use some exotic booze
There's a bar in far Bombay
Come fly with me, let's fly, let's fly away

Come fly with me, let's float down to Peru
In llama land there's a one-man band
And he'll toot his flute for you
Come fly with me, let's take off in the blue

Once I get you up there where the air is rarified
We'll just glide, starry-eyed
Once I get you up there I'll be holding you so near
You may hear angels cheer 'cause we're together

Weather-wise it's such a lovely day
You just say the words and we'll beat the birds
Down to Acapulco Bay
It's perfect for a flying honeymoon, they say
Come fly with me, let's fly, let's fly away

Once I get you up there where the air is rarified
We'll just glide, starry-eyed
Once I get you up there I'll be holding you so near
You may hear angels cheer 'cause we're together

Weather-wise it's such a lovely day
You just say the words and we'll beat the birds
Down to Acapulco Bay
It's perfect for a flying honeymoon, they say
Come fly with me, let's fly, let's fly
Pack up, let's fly away!!

"And don't tell your mamma!!"

Here's to better flying in the year ahead. Cheers!