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“Eureka! California Admission Day Weekend”
September 9, 10 & 11, 2005

Celebrate California’s heritage with a free weekend festival, the public grand opening of the Leland Stanford Mansion, the unveiling of redesigned California State Railroad Museum exhibit galleries and free admission to Sacramento’s State Museums and Historic Sites.

With the public grand opening of the renovated Leland Stanford Mansion State Historic Park and completion of the newest exhibits at the California State Railroad Museum, California State Parks has reason to celebrate. The public is invited to a free festival - Eureka! Admission Day Weekend - September 9, 10, & 11, 2005, in downtown Sacramento.

Join California State Parks, the California State Parks Foundation and the Leland Stanford Mansion Foundation at the public unveiling of the restored Leland Stanford Mansion. Once the office of three governors - Leland Stanford, Fredrick Low and Henry Haight - the imposing structure was acquired by California State Parks in 1978. As a part of the “Eureka! Admission Day Weekend,” the public is invited to experience the splendor of this historic jewel for free, all weekend.

Originally built in 1856 by Gold Rush merchant Sheldon Fogus, the Mansion was later purchased and remodeled (twice!) by former Governor Leland Stanford. The Mansion’s grand opening commemorates a 14 - year, $20 million renovation partnership between California State Parks and the Leland Stanford Mansion Foundation. Coinciding with the celebration of California’s admission as the 31st state in the Union on September 9, 1850, this festival honors both the magnificent Leland Stanford Mansion and the many historic sites and museums maintained and operated in Sacramento by California State Parks.

All of California State Parks historic sites and museums in Sacramento’s central city - the California State Railroad Museum, Leland Stanford Mansion State Historic Park, Governor’s Mansion State Historic Park, Sutter’s Fort State Historic Park, and the California State Indian Museum - are open FREE all three days. In addition, a large outdoor festival area will be located adjacent to the Leland Stanford Mansion. Here, California’s heritage will come alive all three days through an array of hands-on activities, demonstrations, living history, storytelling, exhibits and more! The California Museum for History, Women & the Arts joins the celebration with FREE admission, inviting visitors to view one of the original, surviving printed copies of the Declaration of Independence and California’s historic 1849 Constitution. On Friday, an Admission Day Parade will kick off the event, followed by Cake and Ice Cream on the steps of the State Capitol.

Eureka! Admission Day Weekend events include:

ADMISSION DAY PARADE

What: Period-style Admission Day Parade (no motorized vehicles) featuring

  • “Lady Liberty”
  • Horse-drawn carriages and stagecoaches
  • Historic high wheel bicycles
  • Suffragettes
  • Musical bands
  • Period military units
  • A giant Bear Flag carried by the Native Sons of the Golden West

When: September 9, 2005
11 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.

Where: Along N Street, between Crocker Park, 3rd and N Streets, and the
State Capitol, 10th and N Streets
Sacramento

Cost: Free

ADMISSION DAYWEEKEND FESTIVAL

What: Outdoor Festival Adjacent to the Leland Stanford Mansion

  • Meet governors from California’s past, including Stanford and Frederick Low, plus contemporaries such as John Muir
  • Experience the Cold Springs gold camp, where Leland Stanford set up his first business in California; try your hand at bowling; talk with miners and merchants
  • Celebrate California’s cultural diversity through a variety of live performances, music, and foods
  • Play 19th century children’s games
  • Listen to music performed by The Amazing Harmonatras, Hawks and Eagles, Gordy Ohliger - the Banjo-ologist, and the El Dorado Brass Band
  • Take a ride on a horse-drawn vehicle, see a scale model steam train, and marvel at the full-sized steam locomotive, "J.W. Bowker"
  • Learn about the historic Underground Railroad, find out how archeologists work, or see an array of 19th century bicycles - all these and more will be among the many exhibits on display

When: September 9, 10 and 11, 2005
10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.

Where: 8th & N Streets (immediately west of Mansion) and surrounding areas
Sacramento. Click here for event map (PDF)

Cost: Free; there will be a charge for horse-drawn vehicle rides

LELAND STANFORD MANSION STATE HISTORIC PARK

What: Public Grand Opening

Free Tours of Leland Stanford Mansion State Historic Park

  • Tour the splendor and elegance of the restored 19,000-square-foot Leland Stanford Mansion
  • Highlights include: ceilings that soar up to 20 feet in height, gilded mirrors and moldings, beautifully restored woodwork, elegant 19th century crystal and bronze light fixtures, historic paintings, newly re-created carpeting, and original period furnishings
  • Enjoy an exhibit of awe-inspiring paintings highlighting California’s natural grandeur on loan from the Irvine Museum
  • See the original Gold and Silver Spikes used to complete the transcontinental railroad at Promontory Summit, Utah, in 1869
  • Saturday only, Dr. Norman E. Tuturow, author of "The Governor: The Life and Legacy of Leland Stanford" will be signing copies of his book in the Mansion Gardens from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m.
  • Saturday only, Richard J. Orsi, author of "Sunset Limited: The Southern Pacific Railroad and the Development of the American West, 1850-1930" will be signing copies of his book in the Mansion Gardens between 3 p.m. and 4 p.m.

Grounds & Gardens

  • Take a guided tour of the newly installed, period-style gardens
  • Enjoy performances and melodies reflective of Leland Stanford’s era
  • See a parade of period fashions representative of the occupants of the mansion.

When: September 9, 10 and 11, 2005
10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.

Where: Leland Stanford Mansion State Historic Park
800 N Street (at corner of 8th and N Streets)
Sacramento

Cost: Free

CALIFORNIA STATE CAPITOL MUSEUM

What: Free Tours of the California State Capitol Museum

  • See the home of the California Legislature since 1869 - beginning in the 1970s, the elegant Capitol building underwent a major renovation that restored much of its original appearance.
  • Tour the restored historic offices of the Attorney General, Secretary of State, Treasurer and Governor of the State of California.
  • Enjoy trees from around the world throughout the surrounding, 40-acre Capitol Park.

When: September 9, 10 and 11, 2005
10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Cake and Ice Cream on Friday, September 9 at the conclusion of the Admission Day Parade at 12 noon on the West steps.

Where: 10th and ‘L” Streets
Sacramento

Cost: Free

CALIFORNIA STATE RAILROAD MUSEUM

What: Grand Opening of Redesigned Galleries

Free Admission and Activities at the California State Railroad Museum

  • Be among the first to see “We’ve Been Working on the Railroad” - new exhibits and redesigned galleries that highlight the human face of railroading
  • View “Still A World Apart: Visual Profiles of Contemporary Railroaders,” a photographic exhibition focused on today’s railroad employees
  • Take a steam train ride along the Sacramento River (ticketed activity)
  • Saturday only, enjoy lectures and booksignings by Dr. Norman E. Tuturow, author of "The Governor: The Life and Legacy of Leland Stanford" at 11 a.m. and 3 p.m.
  • Saturday only, enjoy a lecture and booksigning by Richard J. Orsi, author of "Sunset Limited: The Southern Pacific Railroad and the Development of the American West, 1850-1930" at 1 p.m.

When: September 9, 10 and 11, 2005
10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.

Where: 111 “I” Street
Sacramento

Cost: Free (except steam train rides)

SUTTER’S FORT STATE HISTORIC PARK

What: Free Admission to Sutter’s Fort State Historic Park

  • Come experience 1846 living history activities on Saturday
  • Learn more about Leland Stanford’s involvement in the restoration of the fort

When: September 9, 10 and 11, 2005
10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.

Where: 2701 “L” Street
Sacramento

Cost: Free

CALIFORNIA STATE INDIAN MUSEUM

What: Free Admission to the California State Indian Museum

  • View exhibits on the more than 150 distinctive tribal groups who have made California home.
  • Enjoy basketry, beadwork, clothing and exhibits about the ongoing traditions of various California Native American groups.
  • See a display about Ishi, last of the Yahi Indians of California

When: September 9, 10 and 11, 2005
10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.

Where: 26th and “K” Streets (adjacent to Sutter’s Fort State Historic Park)
Sacramento

Cost: Free

GOVERNOR’S MANSION STATE HISTORIC PARK

What: Free Tours of Governor’s Mansion State Historic Park

  • Tour this 1877 Second Empire-Italianate mansion built by Stanford associate Albert Gallatin
  • Hear stories about thirteen of California’s governors and their families, who lived here from 1903 to 1967

When: September 9, 10 and 11, 2005
10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.

Where: 1526 “H” Street
Sacrament

Cost: Free


THE CALIFORNIA MUSEUM FOR HISTORY, WOMEN & THE ARTS

What: Free Admission to California Museum for History, Women & The Arts

  • View one of the surviving original copies of the U.S. Declaration of Independence
  • Enjoy a special exhibit of Leland Stanford documents, including:
    - Original survey of the Central Pacific Railroad over the Sierra Nevada that is signed by Leland Stanford and Theodore Judah
    - Articles of incorporation of the Central Pacific
    - Governor Stanford's daily journal
  • Visit a special exhibit on California’s Remarkable Women
  • Learn more about California Governor Edmund G. “Pat” Brown
  • Enjoy political cartoonists and their works on California politics
  • Plus, in the public lobby of the adjoining California Secretary of State's office building, the California Constitutions of 1849 and 1879 will be on rare public display Friday only from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. (the lobby is located next door to the Museum and its official address is 1500 11th Street)

When: September 9, 10 and 11, 2005
10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.

Where: 1020 "O" Street
Sacramento

Cost: Free

SECOND SATURDAY ART WALK

What: Evening viewing of new exhibit galleries at the California State Railroad Museum

  • Enjoy the exciting, new “We’ve Been Working on the Railroad” galleries and exhibits, highlighting the human face of railroading—the most comprehensive redesign of the Museum’s exhibit galleries since its 1981 opening
  • View a special photographic exhibition, “Still a World Apart: Visual Images of Contemporary Railroaders” presented by the Center for Railroad Photography and Art
  • Enjoy a glass of wine in the Museum Roundhouse

When: September 10, 2005
6 p.m. - 9 p.m.

Where: California State Railroad Museum
111 “I” Street Sacramento

Cost: Free

SPECIAL EVENING VIEWING OF THE "NATIVE GRANDEUR" EXHIBIT ON LOAN FROM THE IRVINE MUSEUM

  • View an exhibit of beautiful California landscape paintings highlighting California’s natural grandeur on loan from the Irvine Museum
  • View a special photographic exhibition, “Still a World Apart: Visual Images of Contemporary Railroaders” presented by the Center for Railroad Photography and Art
  • Enjoy a glass of wine in the Mansion gardens
  • See the original Gold and Silver Spikes used to complete the transcontinental railroad at Promontory Summit, Utah in 1869

When: September 10, 2005
6 p.m. - 9 p.m.

Where: Leland Stanford Mansion State Historic Park
800 N Street (at corner of 8th and N Streets)
Sacramento

Eureka! California Admission Day is presented by California State Parks, the California State Parks Foundation, the California State Parks Foundation and the Leland Stanford Mansion Foundation.

Sponsored by:
Eureka! California State Parks