Urban Sacramento History 1959: West End

This film spotlights Sacramento history during a controversial period of 20th century American history: Redevelopment. In the Fall of 1959, city officials and state leaders were deciding how to redevelop a large portion of Sacramento's central city known as the West End-- an area some considered to be among the largest slums in California, but others viewed it as a lively neighborhood with a diverse mix of businesses and residents. Most of the footage is from a KCRA program produced & reported by Stan Atkinson. This piece written/narrated by Chris Lango. Edited by SteveDavisProduction.com. For more information regarding usage and licensing of this original footage for commercial and non-commercial purposes, please contact the Center for Sacramento History at [phone] or visit www.centerforsacramentohistory.org.
#sacramentohistory #urbanrenewal #westend

[@chrismorfas7515]

Amazing and revealing to see a young Stan Atkinson in the role of stenographer, asking no tough questions as the most important and destructive local events of his life unfolded before him.

[@bbypookins]

Stenographer? Don’t see him taking any notes. 🤷🏻‍♀️

[@beartrapz916]

This is cool seeing Sacramento history that they unfortunately don't teach in school.

[@joemomma4879]

I've lived in Sacramento for 32 years. This was an amazing video to see.

[@kbanghart]

Do you still live here? I've been in Sacramento since 1993.

[@kathygillan3244]

Raised in Sacramento starting from 1970, moved here when I was 3. Still here- some changes for the better most for the worse. Went to Hiram Johnson high school.

[@thomaspeters5889]

I lived midtown for many years, from 88 to 2000 but also in the late '70s before lightrail was built. Ironically I had just moved from San Diego to Sacramento in 59 at age two but at that time we lived in the south of the city. I think midtown is still a very charming place to live.

[@weedewey8954]

I moved to Sacto in 1966. I have amazing memories of downtown, especially at Christmastime!! There were lots of parades too. Magical! Now, sadly, I rarely return there. It's changed, but not in a good way! Now I call my former hometown "Excremento". 😔💩

[@kbanghart]

LOL you must be one of those who says all of our Democrat cities have poop.

[@weedewey8954]

@@kbanghart Yes. Poop, open drug use, trash, homeless encampments, rampant crime. Pure ugliness. Gross. If you aren't repelled by it, you're comfortable in it.

[@kbanghart]

@@weedewey8954 last weekend my wife and I visited San francisco, had a fantastic time. If you are focused on poop so much, you may need to consider seeing a therapist.

[@bbypookins]

Born and raised here and I still love it.

[@Yeeh1244]

Yep the arco arena took over I loathe it

[@mariebell161]

I was born n raised in Sacramento California

[@caravan770]

Should have listened to the guy at 8:18 and built I-5 on the west side of the river. At some point as the city grows, you’ll see agitation for a Boston-style “Big Dig.”

[@johnstuartsmith]

True. Running I-5 through Downtown Sacramento cut off a lot of the city from what could have been a much more accessible and developed riverfront area.

[@sense27]

I love Sacramento

[@LastAirshipGames]

Holy Crap! Stan Atkinson!

[@paulriddle7818]

Stan Atkinson still has that same voice 60years later😂 This was a great find. Thank you.

[@rogerhorton3007]

K Street wasnt downtrodden until they tore it apart and put up that hidous cement mall.

[@netowl3922]

I remember the hideous waterfall jungle that ran for oh so many blocks on K St., it was so ugly.

[@malcolm3x425]

I was born in the early 1990s I actually miss k street mall

[@kbanghart]

@@malcolm3x425 me too These weirdos don't know what they're talking about.

[@nonservitium]

I love my hometown, and i agree, the boat shouldn't have been built, and I-5 should've been built west of the river... Oh, well

[@weedewey8954]

I remember cruising the J St. and L St. loop in the 70's! That was AWESOME!!!! 😁

[@nelsonumama3632]

Wow this totally explains why Sacramento is on the Wack side Wonder what the West End could have been

[@26fulton]

this is some pretty awesome stuff = D there should be more film and/or video coverage of sacramento from the 1930's through the 1980s available on youtube for all to see and enjoy.

[@segagamecast5954]

KCRA has been around for a long time. Jeez lol

[@spwb2k]

the intersection of 6th and K Street today is basically center court at G1 Arena.

[@MellowOutAbout]

This is a very interesting video. Thank you for sharing!

[@josephinemorales1253]

Loved this video

[@LocalSacramento]

Really interesting. I'm grateful to the lightrail for getting me to many places I need to go.

[@lisa916panther5]

Love to see Sacramento history❤️ I wonder if anyone in thus video is still alive🤔

[@LadyQuick]

My mom said back in the 50s , 60's old Sacramento was nothing but bars , skid row it was crazy . This was before they before the "freeway infrastructure was built. ...cool to see how it looked.

[@kbanghart]

This video is really nice. However it would also be interesting to see how the systemic racism from back then affected all the residents who are not white, when they were forced out of the slums. Lots of housing contracts back then had that language actually written in. And of course the redlining.

[@weedewey8954]

@@kbanghart Wow. Looks like you're hyper-focused on race. You seem to view anything and everything through a victim lens. Have fun with that. On a REALISTIC note, though...I actually LIVED in Sacto. in the 60's, and there were just as many whites as any other race in those "slums". Inconvenient, I know. But go ahead, live your life eaten up with hate and fake victimhood.

[@johnstuartsmith]

Your mom was right. It was the biggest skid row West of the Mississippi. Coming into Sacramento from the Tower Bridge, Capitol Ave was a panorama of staggering winos, slums, bars, and liquor stores with the California State Capitol building rising off in the distance. The I-5 freeway should have gone on the West side of the river, but most of what got torn down was just depressing.

[@dexlives]

Great historical record! Thank you.

[@patrickneeds1297]

Thanks for this!

[@josephinemorales1253]

I love my home town it has grown although history is hard for certain groups of people progress is getting better and Sacramento is making me proud to say it was were I was born, I loved the Fair down town everything the South side Stockton Blvd and fruitridge Rd Power inn rd and Limon hill rd

[@MargeGipson-Sac-Cali]

way cool! Native Sacramentan, born 57! Had no idea just how slummy it was down there! Thanks for finding and posting! In 2000 I worked for Capitol Development Agy that was over 25 yrs old & established to manage all the State owned properties bounded by R Street & L. Down to at least 12th to 7th Street. They did do a shopping center I hear and were involved in the R. Street Corridor and a new grocery store along that way!! loved working there, they relocated historic buildings & more!

[@foocheech]

That guy at 8:20 knew what he was talking about...

[@bbtmac3453]

History proves the politicians are rich and the city what downhill every since

[@RegionRatForever]

The destruction of Sacramento caught on tape. I especially love the "human blight" remark towards 12:20. The placing of freeways IN cities (as opposed to interregional facilities) was one of the great mistakes in American history.

[@ApartmentKing66]

I'm guessing that it never occurred to you that "the placing of freeways IN cities" isn't always how it happened. Yes, there were instances of certain parts of big cities being cleared for freeway construction (when a need was recognized for it), but a lot of times freeways were built in outlying areas, but then ended up being straddled by neighborhoods and businesses by a thing called "growth." A prime example of this is Sacramento's I-80 "Across the Top," built in the late 60s as a "bypass" when there was NOTHING up there but open field. The real irony here is that freeways (or major thoroughfares of any kind) are GOOD for business because they provide a thing called "traffic." You see, "vehicular" traffic often leads to "foot" traffic (sometimes vehicular traffic makes foot traffic possible). Sometimes vehicular traffic is sufficient (ever hear of a drive-thru?). When was the last time you saw a shopping mall out in the middle of a desert? Food for thought for the next time you find yourself led to make more myopic and uneducated comments.

[@tonymax9676]

Interstate 5 definitely cut right through the city and cut off the city from is river. And what is now Business 80 was originally Interstate 80. The freeway bypass through the north end of Sacramento was numbered Interstate 880, and it was only in the 90s that it was designated I80 so that through traffic that didn't need to go into Sacramento can avoid contributing to traffic jams in the city. I forget which mayor came up with the idea to call Business 80 (the original I80) Capital City Freeway, but that was a great idea.

[@phambo101]

Ah! Mr. Stan Atkinson, Sacramento's No. 1 son...KCRA, "where the news comes first!"

[@magnoid]

Where was Stan? That KCRA reporter at the end was Don Oliver

[@DAB901]

magnoid at 6:56

[@katpoohtoo]

I grew up watching Stan Atkinson.

[@kbanghart]

Better than KFBK 1530AM. That station has turned into a Reich Wing cesspool of fake news that all the Trump supporters listen to.

[@jamesemick1452]

I remember when old Sacramento was where all the bums lived before redevelopment of it and the clear view of the capitol dome from the Fruitridge road overpass at Hwy 99

[@muchomusiclibre]

It would have been cool to see what the city looked like back then.

[@Ori0n1975]

It was one of the biggest slums? That's weird. Good vid though. I love seeing footage from the good old days.

[@preahko]

"slum" is just a code word/dog whistle used by racist whites to push out brown and black people and get them "under control". disgusting.

[@Keatonsrules]

Y H you sound like a racist. Yikes

[@Keatonsrules]

PlatPootin They sound like a nut head for telling the truth? Sorry that you’re a brainwashed simpleton. Don’t go calling people a nut when you don’t know the facts

[@kbanghart]

@@preahko exactly

[@HeyUncleA]

It wasn’t… they just said it was. My grandma still lives there and never left.

[@paulfisher3596]

Too many historic buildings were torn down in cities across the nation in the name of redevelopment. Some of it was necessary, but often it went too far. Historical preservation groups did manage to save many historic sites, esp after the Bicentennial year of 1976, which spurred much historic awareness and conscience. Routing I-5 through the West End was a big mistake. Much of historical value was lost and Old Sac could have been twice as large.

[@TheBraulio7850]

It was the Nisenan’s and Miwok’s to begin with with! Don’t forget that! That’s the REAL HISTORY of California.

[@kbanghart]

That's true, actually that reminds me, I'm very happy with the church I attend, every Sunday as he greets the congregation when worship starts, he acknowledges the names of the native American communities that the church was built on.

[@josephinemorales1253]

What was at 529 N. Street Sacramento in 1950 please get back to me Thank you

[@josephinemorales1253]

What was on 529 N. Street Sacramento, Ca in 1950

[@SW2799]

I went to Sac State for graduate school in the mid 1980s. I always thought downtown Sacramento was nicely laid out with interesting buildings. Now I understand why: only about 30 years before there has been that massive renovation. My problem with Sacramento development was not in the city, it was towards the north east, like Rancho Cordova-Carmichael-Citrus Heights area. I thought that seemed like kind of haphazard development. Nice areas, but the development was sort of haphazard. I lived for a year in apartment on Fulton Avenue between Hurley and Arden Way, then I moved to an apartment near sunrise mall in Citrus Heights. I always liked K Street mall. If it replaced a downtrodden area I am sorry for the people who were displaced, but I thought it was a really nice centerpiece of downtown Sacramento. I no longer live in the Sacramento area by the way, I am in Southern california.

[@kbanghart]

Well, development was always going to happen. And Rancho Cordova isn't the northeast, it is to the East and a bit South from Sacramento proper. Rancho developed because of Mather airfield and the associated areas over there.

[@jamescoe4765]

The Japanese got to be relocated for the second time since WWII.

[@miketwocoat]

Contractors and developers probably made a fortune.

[@scuppino]

Interesting seeing development in CA discussed pre-CEQA/NEPA.

[@spwb2k]

Super cool.

[@susanb6289]

6th and K is where Golden One Center stands today

[@grandmama536]

They took out the city of Brighton

[@Belrivers]

Ten minutes and 14 seconds in.

[@mugwump2]

I tell some of the story behind the West End redevelopment at Zócalo Public Square.

[@mikekay8328]

And 60 some odd years later this area sucks, and now a new arena is is being built in the k street area that holds 17,000 people! Downtown is to small for that kind of traffic, Visitors cant figure out how to drive in this town because of the freeway systems now lets jam it up even more just so we can keep a shitty team? Way to go Sacramento..

[@piranhaattack4836]

Wouldn't argue with the first part of your comment, I live in sacramento and it sucks here but I also kinda like it but it's boring here, the bars are decent but you can't even get laid at the strip clubs

[@lelandlee5008]

well M...how does crow taste went to the new arena couple days ago and was very very impressed at how traffic situation turned out better than expected the arena itself will bring more money and jobs in all my fifty five years here this is the first time i agree and happy about Sacramento and it's change towards the future...I admit i too felt like you only to eat crow myself

[@mikekay8328]

LELAND LEE years later. Traffic still sucks. Streets are blown out like a third world country. And our "team" is doing great. Fuck you. Lol

[@adrianelias2365]

I don't mean to get off topic, but I found it difficult reading your comment because there were just too many grammatical errors.

[@mikekay8328]

Publius Cornelius Scipio How bout go fuck yourself, was that easier to understand?

[@angrygrandpainfoundlincon4346]

Before M-80 And M-880

[@Thesmokeeffect]

My Home. 916 South Sac

[@ajcristo4679]

South Sac Iraq. 30 Gang, 51 Suspect, south sac Iraq Drill Team

[@awesomefanger]

Notty calendar at 4:30 ?!

[@faustjoe]

Yeah crazy video... How the west end would be the pride of Sacramento. With the crime and redevelopment in the west end.

[@myrtleman5885]

The west end of Sacramento was once Japan Town lets tell the real story here. They didnt want the Japanese there due to the war they were moved to encampments in the areas of North Highlands and Foothill Farms (Camp Kohler)

[@weedewey8954]

Why do people always want to focus on the negatives of history?? Every single group of people has been wronged at one time or another. There are always POSITIVE things about history, too!

[@hblee88]

Isn't it ironic that this city is slowly rebuilding Skid row along the same streets?

[@oeloel2653]

0:14 what is this on the background? "Hoes" store?😂😂

[@mrbrainbob5320]

OelOel "shoes"

[@dogsandyoga1743]

@@mrbrainbob5320 But still funny...

[@ApartmentKing66]

Do you drive a car in Sacramento, Pete? Do you like the traffic jams you sit in daily? Where would you rather those "idiots" put those freeways? Where were you when they were proposed? Did you suggest better places to put them? The freeways had to go somewhere, and there *was* a NEED for them (even Pat Brown knew that). Sacramento's a helluva lot bigger now than it was in the 60s. We need MORE fwys. Would you rather there were NO fwys and everyone drove surface streets? You'd NEVER get anywhere.

[@ajcristo4679]

and yet cap city freeway has rush hour traffic from 1-7:30

[@ApartmentKing66]

Yeah, that's because at least half a dozen OTHER freeways were PROPOSED, but NEVER built that would've RELIEVED traffic on not only the Cap City, but all other existing freeways of the day. Did you know that Hwy 50 between downtown Sac and Folsom was SUPPOSED to be 10 LANES in each direction?? Did you know that when Moonbeam took office in 1975, he and crony Adriana Gianturco SOLD OFF all the rights-of-way to those freeways to PREVENT their construction, but which could've been built with cheap 1970s dollars? Thank Moonbeam and Giant Turkey for your daily Cap City traffic jam.

[@katpoohtoo]

@@ApartmentKing66 Also, I learned many years ago, that a subway system was proposed in Sacramento in the late 1800's/ early 1900's but a bunch of idiots in the City Council dismissed that idea because they said that Sacramento will not grow much bigger and so will not have need of it. Blasted idiots.

[@kbanghart]

@@ApartmentKing66 10 planes in each direction? LOL what a joke. today its five lanes each direction and that's plenty.

[@kbanghart]

@@katpoohtoo we have light rail

[@bendeleted9155]

So that's how we got those architechtural masterpiecesof$#it around 7th and 8th on Capitol. Low-bid painted concrete, yesss!

[@myronbriggs1018]

My family lived on Capitol Avenue until the wrecking ball arrived. The area was known as ‘Jap Alley.’ The whole project was racial and financially motivated. The end result was no Central Park. This campaign was not motivated by visionaries like Fredrick Law Olmsted. It centered on removal not establishing a bucolic urban setting.

[@netowl3922]

I moved here with my mom when I was 3 in 1970. I remember the 'west end' through the 70s and 80. it was a desert of boring empty lots. or buildings with little interest. I'd believe that they cleared out the 'unwelcome element' only to find that there was little demand for the property, as suburban development had shifted out to birdcage walk, and Sunrise mall, Florin Mall et al. At 6:08 the film shows someone showing off the I-5 freeway. Those type of structures have been shown in Oakland and other places, that that cuts off access to the waterfront, making a bad situation worse. Sacramento was created *because* of the embarcadero, and it seems foolish to put a massive block to Sacramento's 'birthplace'.

[@higher_pwr8178]

This redevelopment plan created inequalities that this city agency and Caltrans are attempting to address in 2021.

[@kbanghart]

@@higher_pwr8178 that's exactly what I'm wondering about. Everyone knows how people of color were denied access to certain communities, so it's obvious that they were forced to leave the areas noted in this video and then of course I'm sure white people got the primary locations for the new developments.

[@Belrivers]

It was a failure.

[@sleepfighterz]

..and Hella traffic because State Route 244 (SR 244) ...atl...SFz...

[@artistpaul]

Sacramento Downtown closing Ugly Ugly!

[@Yeeh1244]

The horrible horrible arco arena it’s taking over the downtown are

[@ApartmentKing66]

RegionRatForever: I'm guessing that it never occurred to you that "the placing of freeways IN cities" isn't *always* how it happened. Yes, there were instances of certain parts of big cities being cleared for freeway construction (when a need was recognized for it), but a lot of times freeways *were* built in outlying areas, but then ended up being *straddled* by neighborhoods and businesses by a thing called "growth." A prime example of this is Sacramento's I-80 "Across the Top," built in the late 60s as a "bypass" when there was NOTHING up there but open field. The real irony here is that freeways (or major thoroughfares of any kind) are GOOD for business because they provide a thing called "traffic." You see, "vehicular" traffic often leads to "foot" traffic (sometimes vehicular traffic makes foot traffic possible). Sometimes vehicular traffic is sufficient (ever hear of a drive-thru?). When was the last time you saw a shopping mall out in the middle of a desert? Food for thought for the next time you find yourself led to make more myopic and uneducated comments.

[@katpoohtoo]

""The real irony here is that freeways (or major thoroughfares of any kind) are GOOD for business because they provide a thing called "traffic.""" Not in all cases. I was born and raised in Rancho Cordova and before frwy 50 was built, many businesses along Folsom Blvd thrived because Folsom Blvd was a main artery. The Good Year blimp used to follow it every year; I would first hear the distinctive deep sound of its motor from the west and watch it as it passed by. But after frwy 50 was built, a lot of the businesses, especially motels, began to dry up because people were simply speeding through on the freeway. Same thing happened to Route 66.

[@danielmei6923]

They destroyed a beautiful city born and raised in 50s and 60s glad I finally left 30yrs. Ago

[@lordjamal1730]

They are all Crooks that pushed out the small business man and did exactly nothing with the city and still to this day they keep running the same scams re-development. Every every few years a new set of crooks will come in to pocket some money

[@kbanghart]

Actually it's beautiful now, even more than ever so you sound upset but unfortunately that's too bad for you, the rest of us like it.

[@kbanghart]

@R Rs nope I don't even live near the city, but I drive there a lot. Sounds like you have problems with it. Sorry about that

[@levissk8boy]

@@kbanghart lol

[@kbanghart]

@@levissk8boy lol

[@hottiecougar40]

embarcadero

[@angelbarajas2303]

Gang

[@oggarage9388]

Fail 😵‍💫🙄🤡

[@liliainigues7167]

Gaay