A report identifying a Sacramento LGBTQ neighborhood as a potential historic district was approved by the City Council in California's capital city December 3. The city becomes the latest in the Golden State to take steps to recognize the historic contributions of the LGBTQ community.
The potential district would include the Lavender Heights neighborhood, where there have long been LGBTQ establishments.
The City Council approved the historic context statement report unanimously and without abstentions.
As the Bay Area Reporter noted earlier this year, preservationists had been working on a historic context statement about LGBTQ history in Sacramento. The work included surveying buildings and sites in the area to determine which are potentially historic and whether there exists a historic district in Lavender Heights, the city's LGBTQ neighborhood, which is centered in midtown around 20th and K streets.
Sean de Courcy, the preservation director for the city of Sacramento, had been approached by outgoing Sacramento City Councilmember Katie Valenzuela, a straight ally whose district includes Lavender Heights, with the idea of making the area a historic district. At the meeting, he presented the findings — and the almost 400-page report — to the council.
"The goals of the project included documenting significant LGBTQ sites, events, and stories; engaging, educating and involving the public in the project; and enhancing Sacramento's identity as an inclusive and forward-thinking city," he said, adding that it was needed to fill the "gaps in the historical record" as to how the Sacramento LGBTQ community got its start.
To do so, de Courcy and others held community meetings to seek public input and worked closely with Preservation Sacramento, the Lavender Library, and the Sacramento LGBT Community Center.
William Berg of Preservation Sacramento said during public comment that he is "very proud of the results." His organization also provided some matching funds.
The California Office of Historic Preservation provided $40,000 in funding to the city for the project. The city provided a $26,000 match for a total of $66,000.
"It's not what people associate with historic preservation, which is about architecture," Berg added. "This is about buildings, but it's about the events that took place and the people associated with those events, and what events: the struggle of a community for acceptance, for rights, for justice, for survival, and also places of celebration of joy and community."
Berg asserted that "without this project of historic preservation, a lot of these stories would be lost," and pointed to the ongoing social ramifications of the movement for LGBTQ equality as evidence of a living history.
"The struggle is not over, but neither is the celebration or the joy," he said. "Lavender Heights is a wonderful place for this city to stand together."
Lavender Heights
The Lavender Library and the Sacramento LGBT Community Center are both in the Lavender Heights neighborhood.
A center spokesperson stated, "We're thrilled that the City of Sacramento has adopted the LGBTQ+ Historic Context Statement."
"This isn't just about preserving the past; it's about acknowledging the vibrant and resilient community that has shaped Sacramento into the inclusive city it is today," the spokesperson stated. "By adopting this statement, Sacramento is not only honoring the past but also inspiring future generations. This is about more than preservation — it's about pride and ensuring that LGBTQ+ history is woven into the city's broader narrative."
The spokesperson added that the center is a "vital anchor for the community."
"More than just a building, it is a living testament to the struggles, resilience, and triumphs of those who came before us," the spokesperson continued. "When people walk through Lavender Heights or step through our doors, they connect with a legacy that celebrates diversity, fosters inclusion, and inspires progress."
Mauricio Torres, a gay man who is vice president of the Lavender Library's board of directors, stated to the B.A.R. that the library is "thrilled that the city has enthusiastically adopted the historic context statement."
"An LGBTQ+ historic district in Sacramento would not only honor the struggles and triumphs of our past but also serve as a beacon of hope for future generations," Torres continued. "At the Lavender Library, we know how vital it is to preserve and share our community's stories — especially as we face growing challenges to LGBTQ+ rights, with trans rights under particular threat. Establishing a historic district would honor those who fought for our rights and send a powerful message that California's capital stands as a welcoming and inclusive place, even in the face of rising hate."
The Sacramento LGBTQ+ Experience Project historic context statement found that "by the 1970s, the foundations of a clearly identifiable, vibrant, openly gay neighborhood began to emerge in Sacramento."
"Known as Lavender Heights, the neighborhood was centered around the intersection of 20th and K streets and the surrounding blocks, though its boundaries were not clearly defined and evolved over time with the growth of LGBTQ+-owned and LGBTQ+-friendly business establishments in the midtown area," the historic context statement continued.
"Although the origin of the neighborhood's name is unknown, the color lavender was a reference to the popular association of the gay community with the color purple. Another name, 'Fruit Flats,' was reportedly considered for the neighborhood and showed the community's sense of humor but did not catch on," the statement read.
A survey of current and former buildings in the area — currently, in addition to the aforementioned community center and library there are five LGBTQ bars in the vicinity — found it qualified as a potentially historic district.
"The growing concentration of LGBTQ+ residents and bars created a sense of safety, acceptance, and awareness that contributed to the establishment of other businesses and institutions that transformed Lavender Heights into a full-fledged community," the historic context statement stated.
While the City Council adopted the report, it would have to take separate actions to actually designate Lavender Heights as a historic district.
The historic context statement concludes with a list of dozens of potential historic resources in Sacramento, Carmichael, and West Sacramento (in neighboring Yolo County, and temporary home of the Athletics baseball team).
George Raya, a longtime Sacramento gay activist, also spoke before the City Council, highlighting important historic stories.
"It was back in 1965 [gay attorneys] David Clayton and Rick Stokes started Americans for Responsible Citizenship," Raya recalled. "Nationally, there were protests happening at the White House, picketing for LGBT rights, picketing Independence Hall, but in Sacramento they were picketing the [California] State Fair because they had put in to have a booth at the fair to publicize the work they were doing and when they found out it was an LGBTQ group, they voided the contract, so David and Rick and some others picketed the State Fair and handed out the brochures they would have handed out and got more publicity."
Raya also recalled when, in 1970 as a student at Sacramento State University, "we sued the college because we wanted a campus LGBTQ student organization, and at the time the acting college president wanted to be the permanent president and Ronald Reagan was the governor living in the Fab Forties [neighborhood] and [Sacramento State acting president] Otto [Butz] felt he would not be appointed president if he allowed this." Raya was successful in the suit.
"We get LGBT tourists coming to Sacramento," Raya said, asking the council to vote to approve the report.
In her remarks, Valenzuela recalled that "this was a real partnership with staff."
"This started as a simple question of whether Lavender Heights qualified as a historic district and with Sean [de Courcy] saying, 'We have an idea,'" she said. "I got to go to one of the listening sessions and it was just awesome to see the community gathered and sharing and how open you all were to their feedback and to Preservation Sacramento, and all the community members who participated in this — it wasn't possible without you all."
Valenzuela joked the tome was "light reading" and "weekend reading."
She also said that it's another example of Sacramento showing it's a safe place for LGBTQ people even as the country takes a rightward turn.
"Sacramento has taken great strides to affirm our allyship and our leadership," she said. "We are going to stay with you through what comes."
Then-Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg agreed that Sacramento isn't going back. (Steinberg's term as Sacramento's mayor ended December 10; at that day's City Council meeting, former Democratic assemblymember Kevin McCarty was sworn in as the city's 57th mayor.)
"The law of the land and the Constitution is that marriage is for everyone," he said. "Marriage equality shows anyone who doubts we can change the arc of history together [that] it can change, but it can only change and remain changed if we remember who brought us here and the people who made that happen. ... We will not go back in this community and this country. I don't care what crappy ads they run across this country — this is important."
Steinberg was referring to a TV commercial aired during the presidential campaign with the tagline "Kamala is for they/them, President Trump is for you" (referring to Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris and Republican presidential nominee, now president-elect Donald Trump), which aired over 30,000 times and in every swing state in the closing stretch of the campaign. A Future Forward PAC analysis found it among the most effective of the campaign, swinging viewers 2.7% toward Trump after viewing it.
Updated, 12/10/24: This article has been updated with comments from the Lavender Library.
Updated, 12/11/24: This article has been updated to indicate that former mayor Darrell Steinberg left office December 10.
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