Old Sacramento in Sacramento County, California — The American West (Pacific Coastal)
Raising the City
Photographed by Joseph Alvarado
1. Raising the City Marker
Inscription.
Raising the City. . Floods, like fires, required extraordinary solutions. The City of Sacramento had been building levees with limited success since 1849. After a devastating flood in 1862, the community mobilized a massive effort to raise the central City as much as 15 feet above its previous grade. The action took enormous physical and economic resources, leaving the City without sufficient finances to pay its obligations. At its worst, a city lot selected for a new city hall had to be sold by sheriffs sale to satisfy creditors. Part of the financial burden was placed on the Citys land owners. After the City built brick retaining walls and then filled in the streets to a new level, many buildings first floors instantly became basements. Merchants were left with the problem of building new sidewalks at the higher street level and faced the expensive dilemma of whether to raise their buildings or not. Many of the buildings were not raised, leaving an older ground floor as a basement. Remnants of those old facades still exist on a few buildings today.
Floods, like fires, required extraordinary solutions. The City of Sacramento had been building levees with limited success since 1849. After a devastating flood in 1862, the community mobilized a massive effort to raise the central City as much as 15 feet above its previous grade. The action took enormous physical and economic resources, leaving the City without sufficient finances to pay its obligations. At its worst, a city lot selected for a new city hall had to be sold by sheriffs sale to satisfy creditors. Part of the financial burden was placed on the Citys land owners. After the City built brick retaining walls and then filled in the streets to a new level, many buildings first floors instantly became basements. Merchants were left with the problem of building new sidewalks at the higher street level and faced the expensive dilemma of whether to raise their buildings or not. Many of the buildings were not raised, leaving an older ground floor as a basement. Remnants of those old facades still exist on a few buildings today.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Disasters • Settlements & Settlers. A significant historical year for this entry is 1862.
Location. 38° 34.911′ N, 121° 30.233′ W. Marker is in Sacramento, California, in Sacramento County. It is in Old
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Sacramento. It can be reached from the intersection of K Street and Interstate 5, on the right when traveling east. The metal marker is along the pedestrian walk where K Street extends under the freeway overpass towards downtown. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: 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 Mexicos Alta California.
More about this marker. The marker is part of the Historical Timeline of Sacramento. Inset Image:
K Street From the Levee 1862 from the R. Burnett Miller Collection
Related marker. Click here for another marker that is related to this marker. Historical Timeline of Sacramento
"Native Americans knew that the Sacramento Valley could become an inland sea when the rains came. Their storytellers
Photographed by Joseph Alvarado, May 24, 2023
2. Battling the Elements Marker
Center.
described water filling the valley from the Coast Range to the Sierra."
(Submitted on August 2, 2023, by Joseph Alvarado of Livermore, California.)
Photographed by Joseph Alvarado, May 24, 2023
3. Marker Within the Timeline
Credits. This page was last revised on August 2, 2023. It was originally submitted on August 2, 2023, by Joseph Alvarado of Livermore, California. This page has been viewed 1,333 times since then and 132 times this year. Photos:1, 2, 3. submitted on August 2, 2023, by Joseph Alvarado of Livermore, California.
