Old Sacramento Waterfront district is a historical part of the city that features several options to dine and shop just about anytime of the year. I decided to take my wife, Luisa, and our son, Elias, on a beautiful sunny Sunday afternoon in March so we could check out exactly how ancient it really is.
The part that stood out to me right away was all of the antiquated buildings, including some made of brick that still stand today. Plus, the horse-and-carriage rides roaming around the streets definitely added a touch from the past.
All that was missing was a tailored suit with a cravat and a top hat, and it would’ve been like stepping back into 1849 during the California Gold Rush.
Part of our walk through the streets of Old Sac was to go landmark hunting. We found the Pony Express and Theodore Judah monuments, each with its own background story.
Slightly past the former California Steam Navigation Company building is the Delta King Hotel, a restored paddle boat turned hotel that sits on the Sacramento River and across the Ziggurat (a unique 10-story pyramid-shaped building).
The Delta King was used for daily river rides between San Francisco and Sacramento, including 10-hour trips in the evening consisting of prohibition era drinking, jazz bands, gambling and fine dining.
Turns out, this wasn’t the only party riverboat in town.
Down the way we ran into the Old Town Trainstop. There we discovered several people partaking in art projects at Atrium 916 community space, which was wonderful to see.
Within the area was Old Sacramento State Historic Park featuring an old makeshift Western town with the Big Four Building where four railroad tycoons ran the Central Pacific Railroad Company. It was also a connection for the first-ever transcontinental railroad that linked California with the rest of the United States.
The gravel path also leads to the Sacramento History Museum and California State Railroad Museum, a must for locomotive enthusiasts.
However, by that point of the day the temperature was well into the 90s, forcing us to skip the park. Instead we found a spot to cool off, and eat. (Note to self, next time bring more water.)
Willie’s Burgers on K Street was the place we eventually walked into. Looking back, I should’ve tried what they claim is the world famous LA chili sauce.
According to their website, Willie’s Burgers owners Bill and Stephanie Taylor were inspired by Original Tommy’s World Famous Hamburgers in Los Angeles. Original Tommy’s serves a certain type of chili that the Taylors attempted to mimic, and have succeeded since opening up the original Willie’s at 16th Street and Broadway in 1991.
Instead, we ordered a “Hammer 4” with double patty and double cheese, topped with crisp lettuce, thick slice of tomato, pickles, onions and mustard.
The burger was accompanied by an order of garlic fries: fresh garlic, olive oil, parsley and parmesan. For dessert, Willie’s surprisingly offers a delicious fluffy beignet topped with powdered sugar.
Before heading out for the day, we passed by another “world famous” in Fanny Ann’s Saloon on Second Street. Our first go around we noticed a cannon sitting above the entrance, but I didn’t think anything of it.
Not until it dawned on me to search for it on my handy-dandy smartphone. Lo and behold, the cannon was used on the original steamboat named Fanny Ann.
According to the saloon’s website, the boat was first built in 1842 to transport supplies to Sutter’s Fort and around Sacramento. Fanny Ann was used by the Union Pacific Railroad company to transport supplies until 1852 — the year of Sacramento’s great fire known as the Great Conflagration, which burned more than 80% of the structures in the city.
After helping fight the blaze, Fanny Ann was called to duty for the Civil War in 1862. The steamboat’s ride came to a scorching end (coincidentally) when an unexplained fire broke out on July 4, 1869.
One of the few things salvaged in the burn was the cannon.
The trip was capped off with a stop to the Candy Barrel on Front Street, a place definitely worth checking out. They have whisky barrels full of various flavored salt water taffy and an assortment of off-the-wall candies, such as gumballs with the design of a baseball.
Just before arriving at our car, a musician was playing his saxophone in front of The Underground Vault on K Street.
As a former saxman in middle school, I couldn’t help but to hang out for a second to watch him jam out while the closing credits rolled along in my own theater of the mind to another wonderful family trip.
Juan Reyes is a Watsonville native who primarily covers high school athletics as the Sports Editor for Weeklys. He is also a video game enthusiast, part-time chef (at home), explorer and a sports junkie. Contact him with business and travel ideas at jr****@*****ys.com.
