[DALINSAC]

Capitol Mall. Hopes for some really cool and sleak high rise buildings. Bulidings to light up and really make the Sacramento city Skyline shine. How cool is that? Well, ...how cool is that really?
I mean, is it just me or does anyone here feel that the entire strip is a bit...well,..boring. Driving down Capitol Mall a few years back, it was a weekend, not a person on the sidewalks. Not a hint of traffic. I was so lucky to have the street all to myself. In fact, I was the only car on it.
I thought to myself, "just think what a grand boulevard this could be". Stores, shops, cafes, outdoor seating, hotels, restaurants, nightlife. Paris? Berlin? Nope. Just some tired offices closed for the weekend. Seemed like a wasted strip. I just read an article the other day about the same thing. I believe it was from a councilman. He had the same vision.
I've noticed no one here has ever (that I noticed) mentioned how the Capitol Mall could be %100 better than what it is.
What are your thoughts?

[neuhickman79]

Capitol Mall. Hopes for some really cool and sleak high rise buildings. Bulidings to light up and really make the Sacramento city Skyline shine. How cool is that? Well, ...how cool is that really?
I mean, is it just me or does anyone here feel that the entire strip is a bit...well,..boring. Driving down Capitol Mall a few years back, it was a weekend, not a person on the sidewalks. Not a hint of traffic. I was so lucky to have the street all to myself. In fact, I was the only car on it.
I thought to myself, "just think what a grand boulevard this could be". Stores, shops, cafes, outdoor seating, hotels, restaurants, nightlife. Paris? Berlin? Nope. Just some tired offices closed for the weekend. Seemed like a wasted strip. I just read an article the other day about the same thing. I believe it was from a councilman. He had the same vision.
I've noticed no one here has ever (that I noticed) mentioned how the Capitol Mall could be %100 better than what it is.
What are your thoughts?
We've talked about it in great detail, in fact. That article (editorial, really) you mentioned was by Steve Cohn and was posted here a couple months back. Subjects like Capitol Mall (including 301 CM and Aura) are touchy around here. It is truly a tragedy that things are the way they currently are on Capitol Mall. I don't even like driving by the scar that is 301 CM. It makes me so sad! But, it is very important and Steve Cohn's vision for CM is the best one I've heard yet!

[Majin]

Capitol Mall. Hopes for some really cool and sleak high rise buildings. Bulidings to light up and really make the Sacramento city Skyline shine. How cool is that? Well, ...how cool is that really?
I mean, is it just me or does anyone here feel that the entire strip is a bit...well,..boring. Driving down Capitol Mall a few years back, it was a weekend, not a person on the sidewalks. Not a hint of traffic. I was so lucky to have the street all to myself. In fact, I was the only car on it.
I thought to myself, "just think what a grand boulevard this could be". Stores, shops, cafes, outdoor seating, hotels, restaurants, nightlife. Paris? Berlin? Nope. Just some tired offices closed for the weekend. Seemed like a wasted strip. I just read an article the other day about the same thing. I believe it was from a councilman. He had the same vision.
I've noticed no one here has ever (that I noticed) mentioned how the Capitol Mall could be %100 better than what it is.
What are your thoughts?

If you want things like this to change I'll refer you to this thread:

http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=136869

[DALINSAC]

We've talked about it in great detail, in fact. That article (editorial, really) you mentioned was by Steve Cohn and was posted here a couple months back. Subjects like Capitol Mall (including 301 CM and Aura) are touchy around here. It is truly a tragedy that things are the way they currently are on Capitol Mall. I don't even like driving by the scar that is 301 CM. It makes me so sad! But, it is very important and Steve Cohn's vision for CM is the best one I've heard yet!

Thanks Neuhickman. Yes. That's who it was. Thanks for helping me re-locate the article.

Capitol Mall Extreme Makeover Proposal - Councilman Steve Cohn
Capitol Mall Extreme Makeover Proposal - Councilman Steve Cohn

=========================================================

Sacramento’s Capitol Mall needs an extreme makeover. Not the Hollywood variety, but a serious, concerted effort to make Capitol Mall Sacramento’s signature street.

Imagine if, instead of six lanes of roadway and a barren grass median strip, we put the roadway where the median strip is now and widened the sidewalks on either side to fill in where the current roadways are. Then we’d plant a second row of shade trees, put the new streetcar line connecting downtown with West Sac in the middle, and line the sidewalk with cafes similar to the outdoor café at Il Fornaio in front of the Wells Fargo Building. Voila! We’d have the most beautiful and vibrant sidewalk cafe district this side of Paris—and an instant venue for arts and major special events.


With the Crocker Art Museum and Old Sac close by and several attractive new office and condo towers lining the street, the resources are in place to make this dream a reality.

Most of the city’s efforts at downtown redevelopment have centered around K Street, long considered Sacramento’s “Main Street,” a label I have never understood, since J Street/Fair Oaks Boulevard and Capitol Avenue/Folsom Boulevard are, in fact, the two main east-west arteries in Sacramento. Unfortunately, despite millions invested to date, K Street between Seventh and Ninth is still plagued by divided ownership, lack of investment and vagrancy problems.

The pedestrian/transit mall concept has yet to flourish on K Street, though efforts are still under way to stimulate the street with new retail, housing and performing arts venues.

Meanwhile, just two blocks away sits Sacramento’s most prestigious address, Capitol Mall. Unlike K Street, this one-mile corridor between two fabulous bookends—the State Capitol and Tower Bridge—is a very wide street with unlimited possibilities. But in its present sterile state, it is a gross underachiever.

For many years, the state of California completely controlled the mall as a state highway, with six travel lanes and a large, barren median strip, ostensibly to preserve views of the Capitol. Until recently, this wide street was adorned with nondescript state and private office buildings. Despite its views and location, it was one of the last places on Earth you’d think of taking a leisurely promenade.

Several years ago, the city acquired the mall from the state, allowing the city to make significant changes to the street as long as we preserve the Capitol view. Because of its proximity to the Capitol, its unparalleled breadth and views of both the Capitol and Tower Bridge, it has been attracting a lot of private investment, starting with the Emerald Building and Wells Fargo Tower about 20 years ago, and more recently the ongoing construction of two new Class A office towers and plans for several signature condo towers, including Aura Tower, designed by world-renowned architect Daniel Liebeskind. Although John Saca’s two-tower concept has gone awry, CalPERS is bringing in a seasoned developer, CIM, to do a landmark building at the west end.


The time is now right for the city to partner with the property owners along the Mall to develop a new vision, along the lines of the ChampsÉlysées in Paris, the Magnificent Mile in Chicago, the Ramblas in Barcelona, the Paseo del Prado in Madrid or my personal favorite, the Cours Mirabeau in Aix-en-Provence, which has the added feature of cool bubbling fountains throughout the boulevard. Sacramento currently lacks a grand avenue with sidewalk cafes and shops where pedestrians outnumber motorists.

Sacramento is no longer a small town or a collection of suburbs. We need to start thinking longer term about the kind of amenities that will make Sacramento a great city for decades and centuries to come. A great city must have a great center.

But Sacramento currently lacks a grand avenue with sidewalk cafes and shops where pedestrians outnumber motorists. Not a narrow K Street pedestrian mall, but a grand, tree-lined boulevard used by streetcars, buses, pedestrians, cyclists and, yes, even cars, but with sidewalks wide enough to accommodate thousands of pedestrians. Capitol Mall once hosted the mother of all parties to celebrate the Allied Victory in World War II.


It is time to regain that magic on the mall once more. This renovated Capitol Mall would fit well with other major redevelopment projects downtown, such as the railyards, with plans for beautifully restored historic buildings serving as markets and museums, thousands of new residents, hundreds of new shops and restaurants and a new performing arts center alongside a lively waterfront. Nearby, both sides of the Sacramento waterfront are being designed for mixed uses and open space, while the Richards Boulevard area, now known as the River District, will also be converted to a lively new mixed-use district of residences, offices and retail.

Adding to the Central City’s parks and open space is also critical. The south bank of the American River in the Central City has retained its natural beauty, but it has been blocked by industrial sites and landfills. The city plans to reopen access to uncover a whole new section of the American River Parkway, which will also be home to an expanded zoo and freshwater aquarium, and other attractions.

These are just a few of the things Sacramento has in store in the 21st century as we live up to our vision of being America’s most livable city.

Let me know what you think. I can be reached at 808-7003 or scohn@cityofsacramento.org.

[sugit]

Capitol Mall. Hopes for some really cool and sleak high rise buildings. Bulidings to light up and really make the Sacramento city Skyline shine. How cool is that? Well, ...how cool is that really?
I mean, is it just me or does anyone here feel that the entire strip is a bit...well,..boring. Driving down Capitol Mall a few years back, it was a weekend, not a person on the sidewalks. Not a hint of traffic. I was so lucky to have the street all to myself. In fact, I was the only car on it.
I thought to myself, "just think what a grand boulevard this could be". Stores, shops, cafes, outdoor seating, hotels, restaurants, nightlife. Paris? Berlin? Nope. Just some tired offices closed for the weekend. Seemed like a wasted strip. I just read an article the other day about the same thing. I believe it was from a councilman. He had the same vision.
I've noticed no one here has ever (that I noticed) mentioned how the Capitol Mall could be %100 better than what it is.
What are your thoughts?

I usually go running along Capitol Mall on weekends. It's amazing how quite it is. Usually not a single person is out there. Every once in a while I see people from out of town, probably from Embassy Suites, walking along and you can see the "Why the hell is it so dead out here" look on their faces. If I happen to go during a weekday, I'm having to dodge people left and right.

But really though, if you think about it, there is nothing there currently for someone to be there. Nothing is open during the day on the weekend, all there is are upscale restaurants only open in the evening. The landscaping is as bare as bare can be.

I think Cohn's idea is a good one in theory, I would change a few things like not widening the sidewalks. Big wide sidewalks look empty and dead until there a TON of people on them.

Even though landscaping is a good step, there needs to be a reason to go there. There was an art and wine show a couple years ago that drew a lot of people. Events like that need to happen more often. Maybe hold the Grape Escape right on CM instead of Crocker Park.

I don't see it changing much with 621 and 500 either. I can't see either of them having much to offer in terms of retail uses that would draw anyone there during the weekend day. I could maybe see something on the L Street side with 621, but the CM side will have another restaurant.

As long as there are just office buildings up and down Capitol Mall, I don't see much chance for change. The Towers was a tremendous missed opportunity for that. That is why I more interested to see what mix of uses CIM and CalPERS comes up with instead of just how many floors they put on it. Homes and a better mix of retail would help that area a lot.

[urban_encounter]

Even though landscaping is a good step, there needs to be a reason to go there. There was an art and wine show a couple years ago that drew a lot of people. Events like that need to happen more often. Maybe hold the Grape Escape right on CM instead of Crocker Park.

I don't see it changing much with 621 and 500 either. I can't see either of them having much to offer in terms of retail uses that would draw anyone there during the weekend day. I could maybe see something on the L Street side with 621, but the CM side will have another restaurant.

As long as there are just office buildings up and down Capitol Mall, I don't see much chance for change. The Towers was a tremendous missed opportunity for that. That is why I more interested to see what mix of uses CIM and CalPERS comes up with instead of just how many floors they put on it. Homes and a better mix of retail would help that area a lot.


I agree with everything you said , but certainly this really sums it up.

I keep remembering Cal Pers saying that they and CIM will propose something "iconic in nature' for the site at 301 CM..

We'll see.

(Btw and on a side note, Steve Cohn is full of hot air.

He's a good talker, but that's about the extent of it. (Isn't he a lawyer?)

[Fusey]

He's a politician first and foremost, so bullshit usually comes out before anything sincere.

[DALINSAC]

While I like this whole idea myself.... I'm leary to it ever becoming a near reality. We cannot even get K street revitalized let alone thinking about turning Cap Mall into a grand boulevard

[DALINSAC]

I took this photo, Sept of this year.

Berlin's glittering boulevard, Kurfürstendamm

http://img217.imageshack.us/img217/1454/img0776ta6.jpg

[ozone]

Berlin is such a great city. It's really been the city for the creative classes now for a few years. If Sacramento ever....

[TowerDistrict]

Berlin was also first settled around 500 AD. Sacramento came roughly
1,800 years later. ;)

:2cents:

Like many cases of the best European cities, they're such night and day
comparisons to Sacramento. I could sit here all day and admire cities like
Berlin, but when we talk about Sacramento, it really becomes issues of the
bigger picture. You can't just plug little bits of big cities into Sacramento
and expect them to function as you saw them originally.

Cohn's idea is just fine and dandy, but what's a bunch of fancy pants
landscaping if only sugit is jogging down the wide sidewalks and DALINSAC
is driving down the street? I bet sugit is headed home instead of an inviting
and lively riverfront because it doesn't exist. And DALINSAC is probably
headed for I-5 or Old Sacramento because there ain't shit to do on the mall.

Residents on and near the mall is paramount - nothing can happen without
a 7 day population. Small retail and restaurants/cafes would follow those
residents. And, in my opinion, the riverfront must be an active destination
to cap of the west end. If you have tourists and visitors headed to the river
then to the Crocker and/or the Capitol, then the mall would be perfectly
positioned in the middle and catch that activity.

So in summary of my take, get the riverfront done, get the residents at
301 and 601 CM, get the retail filled in 301, 500, 601 and 621 CM, get the
streetcar running through it all, and then we can talk about how the mall
should be landscaped.

[goldcntry]

:previous:

:upload_71700: :rock:

:tomato:

[SLO]

I took this photo, Sept of this year.

Berlin's glittering boulevard, Kurfürstendamm

http://img217.imageshack.us/img217/1454/img0776ta6.jpg

I know Berlins a great city, but whats so great about this pic.....could be anywhere.

[TowerDistrict]

The Ku'damm is the central commercial area of West Berlin. It's a lively
place filled with ultra high end retail, hotels, offices and tourist attractions.
It's kinda considered the Champs Elysees of Berlin.

[DALINSAC]

I know Berlins a great city, but whats so great about this pic.....could be anywhere.

I was just sharing the photo that's all. Cap Mall could have mixed retail, tall buildings, and vibrancy.

[SLO]

I was just sharing the photo that's all. Cap Mall could have mixed retail, tall buildings, and vibrancy.

If Capital mall had mixed use retail like that, it would be outstanding. Any more photos?

[DALINSAC]

If Capital mall had mixed use retail like that, it would be outstanding. Any more photos?

mmm? I might. I'll have to dig around. I'm real bad at keeping my digital photos organized.

[TowerDistrict]

We touch a lot on the subject here, of the City getting in the way of letting things happen in an organic manner. Constant interference of the city government, stifling everything from development to expression. This recent issue with the flags display on Capitol Mall was a great example of the wrong way certain members of the council approach things. Steve Cohns hypocrisy set me off especially....


Capitol Mall Extreme Makeover Proposal - Councilman Steve Cohn


Meanwhile, just two blocks away sits Sacramento’s most prestigious address, Capitol Mall. Unlike K Street, this one-mile corridor between two fabulous bookends—the State Capitol and Tower Bridge—is a very wide street with unlimited possibilities. But in its present sterile state, it is a gross underachiever.

For many years, the state of California completely controlled the mall as a state highway, with six travel lanes and a large, barren median strip, ostensibly to preserve views of the Capitol. Until recently, this wide street was adorned with nondescript state and private office buildings. Despite its views and location, it was one of the last places on Earth you’d think of taking a leisurely promenade.

Several years ago, the city acquired the mall from the state, allowing the city to make significant changes to the street as long as we preserve the Capitol view.

But Sacramento currently lacks a grand avenue with sidewalk cafes and shops where pedestrians outnumber motorists. Not a narrow K Street pedestrian mall, but a grand, tree-lined boulevard used by streetcars, buses, pedestrians, cyclists and, yes, even cars, but with sidewalks wide enough to accommodate thousands of pedestrians. Capitol Mall once hosted the mother of all parties to celebrate the Allied Victory in World War II.


It is time to regain that magic on the mall once more.

...

These are just a few of the things Sacramento has in store in the 21st century as we live up to our vision of being America’s most livable city.

Let me know what you think. I can be reached at 808-7003 or scohn@cityofsacramento.org.


--------

Council lets group put 120,000 flags along Capitol Mall

http://www.sacbee.com/101/story/957987.html

In addition to approving the permit Tuesday, the council asked its staff to develop a policy for use of Capitol Mall in regard to free-speech demonstrations, Williams said.

The approval almost wasn't granted, however. The council voted 4-3 to approve the permit, but a fifth "aye" was needed for approval. Mayor Heather Fargo didn't vote, as she had left the building for a few minutes.

After Fargo returned, the council reconsidered the issue and voted 5-3 to allow the display.

----------

CITY OKAYS FLAG DISPLAY

http://www.capradio.org/articles/articledetail.aspx?articleid=5145

Last week, city officials said the median is not an appropriate place to rally. But Tuesday, activist Colleen Waylan urged council members to approve the display.

"I don’t believe we should even be here today having to beg and appeal to exercise our First Amendment rights of speech."

Councilman Steve Cohn said he was worried about liability since the median has no sidewalks.

"I would love to get this exhibit here in Sacramento. My concern is purely one of safety. I’ve never viewed that median as a place to gather."

So the council told city staff to let this rally take place and draft guidelines that would make the mall fit for future demonstrations.

[jsf8278]

What Cohn fails to consider is that public safety in this context is not even close to sufficient to justify the absolute denial of a permit to exercise First Amendment rights on public property.
It would be interesting to see why the other members voted no. I wonder if they just think they have a right to deny people permits as they see fit?

[TowerDistrict]

I wonder if they just think they have a right to deny people permits as they see fit?

Exactly. It's like they consider it their job to decide who gets to say what, and even if they approve of the message, it's still up to them when and where. Cohn's quote about the Mall hosting the mother of all celebrations of WWII victory, then saying that the Mall is an inappropriate place to protest a war is just bizarre.

So the council told city staff to let this rally take place and draft guidelines that would make the mall fit for future demonstrations.

Now the city staff is working away on how they can prevent this from happening again. That seems to be a common occurrence around here. Someone comes up with an idea and the city has to scramble to figure out a way regulate it.

[wburg]

Of course, in about 1945 Capitol Mall looked like this:
http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a244/Jetrock/mstreeteast.jpg

As you can see, there wasn't a grass median strip yet, although most of the Sacramento Northern's line up the middle has already been removed (passenger service ended in 1940.)

There were some entertainment venues in the small African-American community that had moved into the Japanese area (vacant because they were interned) but most of the bars, restaurants and other places to revel were still along K and L Street. The only real "Capitol Mall" was right in front of the Capitol and the oldest state buildings between 9th and 10th. The rest was the"West End" neighborhood and the riverfront docks.

I think Cohn was talking about the median strip not being intended for pedestrians, and mentioned wanting to remove in the article. On VJ Day there wasn't even one there.

[TowerDistrict]

The point being that he wants to draw attention to the Mall. To attract pedestrians and to return the street into a central gathering place. How could you expect to bring life back to the street in one hand, yet in the other, prevent people from gathering or demonstrating? Especially on the ambiguous account of public safety? Obviously back in the day you show above, there were much larger public safety issues involved with gathering around the street - especially crossing it.

It bothers me that the council seems to think that the built environment is what dictates the life that would occur in a given area. That goes along with past mistakes in judgement in K Street redevelopment as well. The City ought to let life happen, and support it where they can. Should this demonstration have been prevented until the City can formulate a masterplan and construct a boulevard that would be a perfect venue? Would wider sidewalks and bubbly fountains create an environment where people would beg to gather?

Seems to me that wasn't the case 60 years ago, and it isn't the case now. I think a national embarrassment was narrowly avoided last week.

[BrianSac]

I took this photo, Sept of this year.

Berlin's glittering boulevard, Kurfürstendamm

http://img217.imageshack.us/img217/1454/img0776ta6.jpg

DalinSac,
Cool, pic. I spent almost a month in Germany in Sept/Oct 2006 and I remember this area of Berlin well. As you know it is very dense and lively.

Slightly off topic:
I'm partial to Paris and Rome over Berlin. Its hard to get excited about anything in Sac regarding density, architecture, restaurants, nightlife, etc compared to Paris considering I just got back. This may or may not interest you, but the entertainment districts in Paris are the bomb. They are large, extremely diverse with every venue you can imagine, and young people in Paris love Americans. They speak english extremely well, but are very patient in playing along when you try to speak French. I took beaucoup pics of Paris and Rome and I am trying find some pics that might represent what we can do with Capitol Mall.

[ozone]

The point being that he wants to draw attention to the Mall. To attract pedestrians and to return the street into a central gathering place. How could you expect to bring life back to the street in one hand, yet in the other, prevent people from gathering or demonstrating? Especially on the ambiguous account of public safety? Obviously back in the day you show above, there were much larger public safety issues involved with gathering around the street - especially crossing it.

It bothers me that the council seems to think that the built environment is what dictates the life that would occur in a given area. That goes along with past mistakes in judgement in K Street redevelopment as well. The City ought to let life happen, and support it where they can. Should this demonstration have been prevented until the City can formulate a masterplan and construct a boulevard that would be a perfect venue? Would wider sidewalks and bubbly fountains create an environment where people would beg to gather?

Seems to me that wasn't the case 60 years ago, and it isn't the case now. I think a national embarrassment was narrowly avoided last week.

:previous: Agree 100% -well said

[SactownTom]

I drove down Capitol Mall today and got to check out the flags. I had to remind myself that this was a solemn remembrance of a great tragedy , because I thought the visuals were pretty cool. I would love to see more (non-horrors-of-war) displays along our Mall.

[econgrad]

Of course, in about 1945 Capitol Mall looked like this:
http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a244/Jetrock/mstreeteast.jpg

As you can see, there wasn't a grass median strip yet, although most of the Sacramento Northern's line up the middle has already been removed (passenger service ended in 1940.)

There were some entertainment venues in the small African-American community that had moved into the Japanese area (vacant because they were interned) but most of the bars, restaurants and other places to revel were still along K and L Street. The only real "Capitol Mall" was right in front of the Capitol and the oldest state buildings between 9th and 10th. The rest was the"West End" neighborhood and the riverfront docks.

I think Cohn was talking about the median strip not being intended for pedestrians, and mentioned wanting to remove in the article. On VJ Day there wasn't even one there.

I have to thank you for this picture, I spent an hour and a half looking for more pictures like this and reading up on more Sacramento history. It was quite fun and interesting! :cool:

[wburg]

So whadja find? SAMCC is a great source of such photos:
http://www.cityofsacramento.org/ccl/history/index.html