Alkali Flat is the oldest standing residential neighborhood in Sacramento, with homes and businesses that date back to the early 1850s. The story of Alkali Flat is etched in the constantly shifting cultural and socioeconomic climate and the homes and buildings themselves.

Alkali Flat is nestled between Midtown and downtown. It lies within the boundaries of H Street and North B Street and extends from Seventh to 13th streets.

I have lived in Alakli Flat with my husband for nearly six months. Curious about the history of the buildings that I walk by regularly, I started researching the stories behind the homes and businesses that surround us.

Tom Tolley and James Scott’s book, “Sacramento’s Alkali Flat,” published in 2010, offered me a glimpse into the dynamic history of the neighborhood. I spoke extensively with co-author Tom Tolley about the neighborhood’s past. From this research and expert insight comes this glimpse into the history of Alkali Flat.

“It is a treat and a treasure to have something like the Alkali area so close. The unique architectural style and the number of incredible homes that are all in such close proximity makes it a time capsule worth appreciating,” said Tom Tolley, co-author of, “Sacramento’s Alkali Flat.”

Image by: Krissy Holst

I live in a home built in 1865 in the heart of Alkali Flat. It is a Victorian that has been broken up into apartments. My kitchen table slants downward with the tilt of the floors and the single-pane windows look out on old orange trees and the J. Neely Johnson Mansion, formerly home to the fourth governor of California. When we walk up the stairs in the front of our house, they creak with wear, and the vaulted ceilings are of a different age. Charm and history meet in these homes that tell of a time when our city first began.

When my husband and I first started looking for homes in the Midtown and downtown areas, we knew that we wanted to live close to shops and restaurants, but most of all, we wanted to live in a home with character.

We parked at random in Alkali Flat when we started our apartment search and immediately fell in love with the neighborhood. Within the first weeks of living in Alkali Flat, we met our neighbors, who passionately told us about the long history of the area and pointed to the homes that they occupied that date back to the mid-19th century. It was at that point that we knew that we had made a great decision in moving to Alkali Flat.

Image by: Krissy Holst

Image by: Krissy Holst

Alkali Flat is a neighborhood that reveals a part of Sacramento when it was in its formative years. Named for the alkali residue left when the streets used to flood annually before the re-channeling of the American River, Alkali Flat has been a part of this city from the beginning.

Alkali Flat can claim many of the “firsts” of Sacramento. The first African American Church on the West Coast was established in 1850 in Alkali Flat. The first grocery store in Sacramento was built in 1868 at 10th and E streets. Additionally, the Royal Chicano Air Force, first known as the Royal Chicano Art Front, originated in Alkali Flat in the late 1960s. According to Tolley, 1910 was when the last new residence was built in Alkali Flat, all of which reveals the historical significance of this neighborhood.

From J. Neely Johnson, California’s fourth governor, to the Crockers, this neighborhood grew into a neighborhood of the elite in the mid- to late 1800s. Alkali Flat shined with grand Victorian homes and large hospitals and schools.

Some of the original homes and businesses still stand.

The Llewellyn Williams House at 917 H St. was built in 1882. In 1907, the home was turned into a funeral home, and today it serves as a youth hostel.

Image by: Krissy Holst Image by: Krissy Holst

A photo of the home as it stood in 1895 can be found here.

The S.H. Farley Grocery Store located on the corner of 12th and F streets was built in 1897. Today it serves as a kickboxing studio with apartments above.

Image by: Krissy Holst

A photo of the grocery store in the early 20th century can be found here.

The J. Neely Johnson Mansion was built in 1854 at 1029 F St. and was home to California’s fourth governor. According to Tolley and his co-author, James Scott, the J. Neely Johnson mansion is one of “Alkali’s best-known and oldest-standing structures, built in the Greek Revival style.” Resurgence of classic Greek architecture is termed as the Greek Revival style and was popular in the 19th century.

Image by: Krissy Holst

In 1856, the Isaac Martin Hubbard House was built at 1010 F St. According to “Sacramento’s Alkali Flat,” the home is often called “the castle.” Issac Hubbard and his father were responsible for building the first railroad bridge across the American River, and Hubbard was instrumental in creating America’s first transcontinental telegraph. “The Castle” now serves as law offices.

Image by: Krissy Holst

A walk through the streets of Alkali Flat reveals the beautiful old homes that still stand.

Image by: Krissy Holst Image by: Krissy Holst

With the rise of the Central Pacific Railroad in the mid-1880s, later the Southern Pacific Railroad, the neighborhood became increasingly industrial.

In the late 19th century, the railroad and Ruhstaller’s brewery were the growing industries in Alkali Flat, Tolley said. By the 20th century Crystal Cream and Butter Co. and Globe Mills were the main industries in the area. Other businesses also started to emerge, such as the Porter-Sprague auto-body business in 1917 and a machine shop in 1925.

With the growing industrialization of Alkali Flat, many of the elite moved out, and the mansions they used to occupy were divided into apartments for the working class. There was an increasing number of Mexican-Americans moving into the neighborhood as well as Irish immigrants.

“By the time the depression hit, the homes were old and needed much repair, but the industries surrounding the area and the close proximity to downtown made for cheap rent,” Tolley said.

Businesses continued to move into the area despite economic hardships. In 1932, Burnett & Sons Lumber Co. opened at 214 11th St., and Yerby Brake Supplies opened in 1949, according to Tolley.

By the 1950s, a spirited Mexican-American community had developed in the neighborhood. In 1969, the Royal Chicano Air Force became one of Alkali Flat’s most dominant and influential groups.

The homes aged, and the neighborhood was in need of restoration from the decades that had passed since the homes had been built.

“By the time the 1970s rolled around, the area was in need of much repair. There were larger numbers of drug houses and gangs, but people came in and started renovating and preserving the homes,” Tolley said.

In 1972, the City Council adopted a redevelopment plan for Alkali Flat. According to the The Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency, between the years 2000 and 2009, $60 million in private and public funding was invested in the neighborhood in an effort to restore its charm and rebuild a sense of safety for locals.

Today, many of the homes have been resuscitated, and preservationists have restored much of the neighborhood to its original grandeur. Alkali Flat remains a place with mixed socioeconomic classes and racial diversity, just as it has been characterized by from the beginning.

Since moving to Alkali Flat, I have learned that the complexities of the neighborhood’s past are extensive. The homes and businesses that remain in the neighborhood tell the story of Sacramento in its early days. The dairies have ceased to exist and railroad workers are no longer the majority of neighborhood’s occupants but the structures that remain from long ago offer a glimpse back in time while the neighborhood continues to develop and change.