Hidden Gems Map

SACRAMENTO MURAL

The now-iconic mural was painted for Sacramento’s 2018 Wide Open Walls festival by local artists who have fine art and street art credentials.

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FIVE-MILE STATION

In April 1860, the first Pony Express relay rider stopped here to change horses as he sped eastward from Sacramento with a packet of U.S. mail.

GUY WEST BRIDGE

Built in the mid-1960s to mimic the Golden Gate Bridge, the bike-and-pedestrian span across the American River was named for Sac State’s founding president.

ALUMNI GROVE

Sac State graduates in 1953 established this pleasant retreat alongside the American River for fellow alumni and general public to enjoy.

JEDEDIAH SMITH MEMORIAL MARKER

Explorer and trapper Jedediah Smith and his men forded the American River near this spot during the winter of 1827-28.

LASSEN HALL MURALS

Edward Rivera painted the massive mural in 1968 and returned 32 years later for touch-ups. Jillian Evelyn’s colorful female figure was a part of the 2019 Wide Open Walls festival.

RAPHAEL DELGADO PAINTING

Hornet in Flight is artist Raphael Delgado’s interpretation of Sac State’s beloved mascot and hangs behind the information desk in the University Union.

PHANTOM ‘BELL TOWER’

The resounding peel of bells has signaled the half hour and hour on campus for decades. What tower is home to this source of tintinnabulation? Not to be found – it’s all digital.

FOUNDERS ROSE GARDEN

The garden was planted in memory of Stephen Walker, one of Sac State’s founding administrators, at the behest of his widow, Charlotte.

BEER BOTTLE FLOORING

The sparkling lobby floor in The WELL was created with broken Heineken and Newcastle Brown Ale bottles.

GEOLOGY ROCK GARDEN

Geology students installed 44 rock and mineral samples in the grounds outside Placer Hall as an educational ‘garden.’

UNIVERSITY ARBORETUM

In the Arboretum, the 3.5-acre botanical garden boasting plantings from around the world, a 1,000-year-old redwood tree cross section notes historical highlights during the tree’s lifetime.

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UNIVERSITY ARBORETUM

At the west end of the Arboretum stands the Solar Nest, a student-built structure being refurbished into a living building, the first on a California college campus.

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SOKIKU NAKATANI TEA ROOM AND GARDEN

The tea room, a gift to Sac State located in the University Library, is currently closed because of COVID-19 restrictions but eventually will reopen for traditional tea ceremonies and tea classes.

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SPECIAL COLLECTIONS AND ARCHIVES

Sac State owns significant research collections, among them those pertaining to local Japanese American, Chicano and rock music histories, as well as Greek studies. The facility is named for former Sac State President Donald Gerth and his wife, Beverly.

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PLANETARIUM AND PENDULUM

Study the skies in the Planetarium, and track Earth’s rotation with the Foucault pendulum, both part of the Ernest E. Tschannen Science Complex.

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TREE OF PEACE

Mohawk Nation Chief Jake Swamp planted the California redwood in 1986 to spread concepts of peace for future generations. Sac State sits on land long occupied by Native American people.

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AQUATIC CENTER

The facility on Lake Natoma provides the campus community and the public opportunities to participate in a variety of water sports and activities.

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JULIA MORGAN HOUSE

The Julia Morgan House, named for California’s first licensed female architect, who designed it, was completed in 1924 and is on the National Register of Historic Places. It was bequeathed to Sac State in 1966.

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