Preservation Sacramento's Jane Jacobs Walk series returns!

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For the first time since 2019, Preservation Sacramento's annual Jane Jacobs Walk series returns!

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.

All are free and open to the public, but some will require advance registration. See below for details:

Jane Jacobs Walk Draft Schedule

  • April 15 - May 14: Sacramento National Park City Festival: Multiple events. See here for information.

  • May 13: Alfred Eichler Walking Tour: 10:00 - 11:30 am. Bruce Marwick of the Sacramento Art Deco Society leads a 90 minute tour of downtown buildings designed by Alfred Eichler (1895-1977), senior designer in the California State Architect’s office 1925-1963. Best known as the designer of the Tower Bridge, Eichler’s work as an architectural draftsman, painter, and sculptor will also be presented.  Free, but reservation required; maximum 25 attendees. Register here.

  • May 13: Sacramento Tweed Ride “Seersucker Ride”: 11:30 am, starting at the Camellia Coffee Roasters (1200 R Street). See here for info.

  • May 20: Broadway from the Boneyard to the Tap House: 3:00 - 4:30 pm. From the boneyard to the tap house! Eric Bradner, tour guide for the Old City Cemetery Committee, will lead you on a stroll down a rapidly changing Broadway and explore the past and future of the area. Starting at the 10th Street entrance of the Historic City Cemetery, we’ll make stops at Target, The Tower Theatre, the old Tower Records site, and other points of interest. We’ll end up at New Helvetia Brewery to wet our whistles and have friendly arguments. Free but reservation required; maximum 50 attendees. Register here.

  • May 21: Sacramento Solarpunk Tour:  10:00 am - 11:00 am, starting at 8th & O St light rail station. In the 1970s and 1980s, portions of downtown Sacramento redeveloped for the 1960s “Capitol Area Plan” became a laboratory for experiments in urban design and sustainable architecture. Utilizing principles developed by Sim van der Ryn and Peter Calthorpe, these experimental buildings were early responses to the energy crisis of the 1970s, incorporating passive heating and cooling, natural lighting, green roofs, and other aspects of environmental design. The one hour tour by William Burg, Preservation Sacramento, & Sacramento Walking Sticks ends at Café Xocolatl for refreshment. Free but reservation required; maximum 50 attendees. Register here.

  • May 28: Lavender Heights Walking Tour: 11:00 am - Noon, starting at the Lavender Library. This 90 minute tour led by William Burg, Preservation Sacramento, & Lavender Library will visit some of the buildings and places associated with Lavender Heights, Sacramento’s most prominent “gayborhood.” We’ll visit places where Sacramento’s LGBTQ+ community organized for recognition and rights, responded to the AIDS crisis, came together in celebration and love, and got on with the business of everyday living, and share stories of the people associated with these events and places. Free but reservation required; maximum 50 attendees. Register here.

  • May 28: Sacramento Area Bicycle Advocates SAClovia on Del Paso Blvd. 11:00 am. See here for info.

  • DATE TBD: Alkali & Mansion Flats Walking Tour

For more information about Jane Jacobs Walk events, contact Preservation Sacramento at preservation.sacramento@gmail.com or call (916) 202-4815. Visit www.preservationsacramento.org or www.janejacobswalk.org for more information about Preservation Sacramento and other Jane Jacobs Walk events.