Central Business District in Sacramento in Sacramento County, California — The American West (Pacific Coastal)

Gravel Pit Parking Lot

Photographed by Andrew Ruppenstein, December 12, 2019

1. Gravel Pit Parking Lot Marker

Inscription.
On this site generations of dedicated legislative and State employees parked their cars.

1952 through 2000

- Dedicated by -
Senator Patrick Johnston

Erected 2004.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Government & Politics • Roads & Vehicles. A significant historical year for this entry is 1952.

Location. 38° 34.441′ N, 121° 29.372′ W. Marker is in Sacramento, California, in Sacramento County. It is in the Central Business District. It is at the intersection of N Street and 15th Street, on the right when traveling east on N Street. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 1430 N Street, Sacramento CA 95814, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Sacramento Valley and specifically in the Central Valley. It is also on the American Pacific Coast. Globally, it is in North America, on the Ring of Fire, in the Pacific Rim, in the Western Hemisphere, in the Western World, and in the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Spain and also Mexico’s Alta California.

Other nearby markers. At least

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8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Acorns, Oaks, and the Native Peoples (here, next to this marker); Jean A. Bell Kellogg (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); California Veterans Memorial (about 400 feet away); Elbridge L. Hawk (about 400 feet away); Sacramento Purple Heart Memorial (about 400 feet away); Westminster Presbyterian Church (about 400 feet away); California Firefighters Memorial (about 700 feet away); California Vietnam Veterans Memorial (about 700 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Sacramento.

Regarding Gravel Pit Parking Lot. This contributor walked through this very parking lot every weekday for four years to get to work. The parking lot was crudely basic - no landscaping or design to speak of, and poorly maintained pavement - a borderline eyesore. Postcards of that same block from the early 1900's show the site to have been the location of a number of quite nice homes, which only shows what was lost when they were removed. The State put up a large office building on the site, completed around 2003, and most people would probably agree that the building

Gravel Pit Parking Lot Marker - wide view image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Andrew Ruppenstein, December 12, 2019

2. Gravel Pit Parking Lot Marker - wide view

The marker is visible here, just off of N Street, on a low stone monument next to the white building on the right - behind the reeds. The inconspicuous location would suggest that even those who put the marker up were aware of its lack of significance.

was a huge improvement over the parking lot.

One might be justified in wondering why someone would go to the trouble of putting up a historical marker for a parking lot. A quick perusal of the more than 125,000 markers and memorials in the database shows that only three other markers are for parking lots. This would suggest that most consider parking lots to be historically insignificant and thus not worth the money or effort. So why this parking lot? To speculate a little - the answer would probably lie in the environmental documentation required to get the project approved. That is, a certain amount of environmental mitigation may have been necessary, and this marker and monument would have been a cheap way to provide "historical" mitigation.

Credits. This page was last revised on February 7, 2023. It was originally submitted on January 31, 2020, by Andrew Ruppenstein of Lamorinda, California. This page has been viewed 1,673 times since then and 229 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on January 31, 2020, by Andrew Ruppenstein of Lamorinda, California.