Sacramento's K Street is undergoing a much-needed revitalization project, in part, thanks to the new Golden 1 Center. Check out how the historic buildings along K Street once looked compared to what the area looks like today.
PHOTO: Courtesy of the Sacramento Public Library Sacramento Room collection
K Street looking from 7th Street to the east in 2016
PHOTO: Sarah Heise/KCRA
708 K: The Schindler Building at 708 K Street once housed two venues, the Fairyland Theater and Ancil Hoffman’s saloon, during the prohibition period. The Fairyland Theater was converted into the Hotel Flagstone, but is now under construction as part of the revitalization of K Street.
PHOTO: Courtesy of the Sacramento Public Library Sacramento Room collection
708 K Street in 2016
PHOTO: Sarah Heise/KCRA
719 K Street: The Ochsner Building at 719 K Street was designed by Sacramento-based architect Rudolph Herold, who also designed the Masonic Temple and Sacramento City Hall. It is now home to Malt and Mash and maintains much of its original design.
PHOTO: Courtesy of the Sacramento Public Library Sacramento Room collection
719 K Street in 2016
PHOTO: Sarah Heise/KCRA
722 K Street: Formerly the W.T. Grant building, the building is being renovated as part of a K Street revival. Grant’s store used to sell a variety of items for less than a quarter at this location until World War II forced Grant to raise prices to a dollar.
PHOTO: Courtesy of the Sacramento Public Library Sacramento Room collection
722 K Street in 2016
PHOTO: Sarah Heise/KCRA
726 K Street: Gensler-Lee was a San Francisco-based jewelry company located at 730 K Street in the early 1940s. The original exterior walls were once lined with copper colored mirrors. The upper-floor of the building, addressed 726 K Street, once belonged to dentist practitioner Dr. Samuel D. Orwitz.
PHOTO: Courtesy of the Sacramento Public Library Sacramento Room collection
726 K Street in 2016
PHOTO: Sarah Heise/KCRA
731 K: Once the American Savings and Loan building, the property on 731 K Street is now vacant. The building’s neighbors once included Daniels Jewelers and Harvey’s, where hamburgers once sold for 19 cents each.
PHOTO: Courtesy of the Sacramento Public Library Sacramento Room collection
731 K Street in 2016
PHOTO: Sarah Heise/KCRA
830 K Street: The Montgomery Ward Building, located at 830 K Street, was built in 1936 next to the Kress Building. This photograph of the Montgomery Ward building was taken on March 14, 1942 on a rare snowy day in Sacramento. The only other snowfall in Sacramento happened three decades later.
PHOTO: Courtesy of the Sacramento Public Library Sacramento Room collection
830 K Street in 2016
PHOTO: Sarah Heise/KCRA
900 K Street: River City Bank located at 900 K Street once housed the Owl Drug Company in the early 1900s. Some of its neighbors included Moss Women’s Clothing and the Fox Senator Theater. The theater opened in 1924 to nearly 5,000 moviegoers when it debuted “The Only Woman.”
PHOTO: Courtesy of the Sacramento Public Library Sacramento Room collection
900 K Street in 2016
PHOTO: Sarah Heise/KCRA
901 K Street: Once home to the Jim Patterson store in 1935, the building is now empty. Patterson’s store was known for selling Stetson hats and men’s clothing until it closed in the early 80s. The original blue tile can still be seen at the old Estelle Patisserie.
PHOTO: Courtesy of the Sacramento Public Library Sacramento Room collection
901 K Street in 2016
PHOTO: Sarah Heise/KCRA
911 K Street: The Hotel Sequoia at 911 K Street held 87 rooms when it was built more than a hundred years ago. One of its highest profile residents was Earl Warren, a former governor and former United States Supreme Court justice. It is now home to Alejandro’s Taqueria.
PHOTO: Courtesy of the Sacramento Public Library Sacramento Room collection
911 K Street in 2016
PHOTO: Sarah Heise/KCRA
1000 K Street: Social Night Club resides at 1000 K Street, a former hotel that cost half a million dollars to build in 1909. The Hotel Sacramento is barely recognizable today because it was demolished in 1956 for a Woolworth store.
PHOTO: Courtesy of the Sacramento Public Library Sacramento Room collection
1000 K Street in 2016
PHOTO: Sarah Heise/KCRA
1013 K Street: The Crest Theater is one of two destinations on the K Street SacQR tour that remains what it was when it was built. The theater has survived a fire and has undergone at least three major renovations in the last century. In the 1920s, it could seat 1,800 people, but when it was reopened in 1949, seating was reduced because of the removal of the balcony.
PHOTO: Courtesy of the Sacramento Public Library Sacramento Room collection
1013 K Street in 2016
PHOTO: Sarah Heise/KCRA
1030 K: Formerly the Hotel Regis, the Ambrosia Cafe on 1030 K Street sits on the bottom floor of a building with 60 rooms. The Regis had a reputation for being a family-oriented hotel since it was built in 1912. It was popularized by the number of conventions and government events it hosted.
PHOTO: Courtesy of the Sacramento Public Library Sacramento Room collection
1030 K Street in 2016
PHOTO: Sarah Heise/KCRA
1031 K Street
PHOTO: Courtesy of the Sacramento Public Library Sacramento Room collection
1031 K Street in 2016
PHOTO: Sarah Heise/KCRA
1101 K: The Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament at 1101 K Street was designed by architect Bryan Clinch, who followed Bishop Patrick Manogue’s vision if a magnificent structure. The Renaissance-style cathedral took three years to build and opened June 1889. It underwent a $34 million reconstruction that was completed in 2005.
PHOTO: Courtesy of the Sacramento Public Library Sacramento Room collection
1101 K Street in 2016
PHOTO: Sarah Heise/KCRA
1120 K Street: Bank of America is home to 1120 K Street, formerly the Weinstock, Lubin & Company Department store. The store, modeled after a Parisian department store, was built in 1924 and cost more than a million dollars to build. The building has four stories, a marble and terra cotta finish and once held a children’s milk bar and hair salon.
PHOTO: Courtesy of the Sacramento Public Library Sacramento Room collection
1120 K Street in 2016
PHOTO: Sarah Heise/KCRA
1219 K Street: The Esquire Theater on 1219 K Street is now Esquire IMAX Theater. It was opened in 1940, closed more than 40 years later and reopened again as a commercial space. The fight to save the original marquee in 1999 became a key part of the redevelopment of K Street.
PHOTO: Courtesy of the Sacramento Public Library Sacramento Room collection
1219 K Street in 2016
PHOTO: Sarah Heise/KCRA
