Jane Jacobs Walks
Part urban planning lesson, part local history tour, Jane Jacobs Walks are part of a national series of events happening every May, showcasing places that embody the principles described in Jacobs' pioneering work, The Death and Life of Great American Cities. Written when most cities, including Sacramento, were destroying their downtowns for highways and parking lots, Jacobs called for active sidewalks, mixed use, and adaptive reuse of old buildings for new, creative uses. Our collaborative tours combine our organization's long-term interest in local history, urban planning, and bike riding.
Several of these tours will be organized and held by Preservation Sacramento, while others are run by other local organizations that we have selected for their applicability to the principles of Jane Jacobs Walks, and, in the case of the bike rides, Jane Jacobs Rolls, including the Old City Cemetery Committee, Strong Sactown.
All are free and open to the public, but some will require advance registration; use the links below to register.
Jane Jacobs Walk & Roll Events 2024 Schedule
Strong Sactown Bike Ride
Date: Monday May 6, 6-8 PM
Starting Location: State Indian Museum, K & 27th Street
Tour Leader: Steve Schweigert, Strong Sactown
Description: What makes a Strong Town? Tour with us to find out! 10 mile no-drop ride with frequent stops, sponsored by SABA and Sacramento National Park City in conjunction with Strong Sactown. This ride traverses Downtown and Midtown, visiting historic buildings and new infill, exploring how these places embody “Strong Towns” principles. More information: www.strongsactown.org/events
Terra Cotta Buildings Tour
Date: Saturday, May 11, 10 AM-11:30 AM
Starting Location: Sacramento Historic City Hall, 915 I Street, Sacramento
Tour Leader: Bruce Marwick, Sacramento Art Deco Society
Description: 10:00 - 11:30 am. Bruce Marwick of the Sacramento Art Deco Society leads a 90-minute walking tour of downtown terra cotta buildings. Special emphasis will be on buildings that have architectural terra cotta created by Gladding McBean. Along the route examples of terra cotta cherubs, lions, and big horn sheep will be pointed out and noted Sacramento architects will be discussed, including Rudolph Herold, Charles Dean, and Harry Devine, Sr. The .75 mile tour begins on the steps of the historic City Hall at 915 I St. and ends at the Coleman Fountain in Cesar Chavez Plaza.
Reservation required; maximum 30 attendees
https://preservation-sacramento-44.wildapricot.org/event-5719525
Historic District Bicycle Tour
Date: Saturday May 11, 10 AM-Noon
Starting Location: State Indian Museum, 27th & K Street
Tour Leader: Henry Feuss, Preservation Planner, City of Sacramento
Join city staff for a Historic District Bicycle Tour, covering topics such as preservation review, city planning, infill development, and adaptive reuse. Tour begins at Sutter’s Fort, 27th & K Street, 10 AM. This event is free and open to the public.
Capitol Mansions/Rudolph Herold Walk
Date: Saturday May 18, 10 AM
Starting Location: 2131 Capitol Avenue
Tour Leader: Matt Piner, Friends of Capitol Mansions
Saturday, May 18, 10 AM, 2131 Capitol Avenue: The Architecture of Rudolph Herold, presented by Matt Piner, highlighting the work of local architect Rudolph Herold and other designers of his era, discussing issues of restoration, rehabilitation, adaptive reuse, and contemporary infill along Capitol Avenue.
Reservation required; maximum 40 attendees.
https://preservation-sacramento-44.wildapricot.org/event-5719521
Midtown Sacramento Tree Tour
Date: Saturday May 18, 2 PM
Starting Location: Marshall Park/Ethel Hart Senior Center, 915 27th Street
Tour Leader: Alex Binck, arborist and Midtown resident
Learn about common and uncommon trees of Midtown Sacramento's urban forest. This walking tour will explore some of the most interesting and magnificent trees of the Marshall School and Midtown Neighborhoods, from towering redwoods to ancient oak trees. We will cover both wild and cultivated trees, with a focus on species that were important in the past, as well as those well suited to Sacramento's future changing climate. Finally, we will conclude with some ways local community members can get involved to help steward midtown's urban forest and keep our city of trees for future generations to appreciate. The tour will last approximately 90 minutes.
Start location will be Marshall Park, in front of the Ethel Hart Senior Center, near 27th & J Street.
Reservation required; maximum 30 attendees.
https://preservation-sacramento-44.wildapricot.org/event-5719512
Japantown to Chinatown Tour
Date: Sunday May 19, 10 AM
Starting Location: Nisei VFW Post 8985, 1515 4th Street, Sacramento
Tour Leader: William Burg and Norman Fong, Preservation Sacramento
This tour will begin outside the only two buildings in downtown Sacramento that survived the redevelopment of Sacramento's Japantown, proceeding up 4th Street across Capitol Mall, stopping at a site where a mural is being created to commemorate our city's lost Japantown. Proceeding north to K Street up 4th Street, we will visit two sites of historically significant murals by the Royal Chicano Air Force, commemorating the Latino barrio once located on L Street. Finally, we will reach Sacramento's Mid-century Chinatown, a superblock of buildings dating from 1959 to the 1970s, mostly designed by Chinese-American architects and create through a partnership between local Chinese-American businesses and the city's redevelopment agency. We will discuss how these neighborhoods faced the challenges of redevelopment and displacement, how those responses changed over time, the architecture and design of the buildings on the sites and how they can be used in the present day, and how we can commemorate the histories of the people who once lived in these areas and were displaced by subsequent development, including the indigenous people of the region.
Reservation required; maximum 50 attendees.
https://preservation-sacramento-44.wildapricot.org/event-5719485
Riverside-Broadway Cemetery Roll
Date: Sunday May 19, 2 PM-4 PM
Starting Location: Old City Cemetery, Broadway & 10th Street
Tour Leader: Eric Bradner, Old City Cemetery Committee
Eric Bradner of the Old City Cemetery Committee leads a bicycle-led tour on bicycle history, starting from Old City Cemetery to Masonic Lawn (to see Wheelman Eugene Hepting) and Odd Fellows, then down Riverside to the Capitol City Wheelmen clubhouse off of Broadway, and if we have time to St. Joe’s Cemetery, or at least New Helvetia Brewing.
Reservation required; maximum 40 attendees.
https://preservation-sacramento-44.wildapricot.org/event-5719493
For more information about Jane Jacobs Walk events, contact Preservation Sacramento at preservation.sacramento@gmail.com or call (916) 604-8320. Visit www.preservationsacramento.org or www.janejacobswalk.org for more information about Preservation Sacramento and other Jane Jacobs Walk events.
