Adventure: 051, Site 064 – Hastings Building

Capture California, the Game-2012

Adventure: 051, Site 064 – Hastings Building

California Landmark Number: 606

National Historic Registry: 66000220

Team: Thing One, Thing Two

Date:  September 25, 2012

Location:

Latitude: 38° 34.986′ N

Longitude: 121° 30.251′ W

Address: 1000 2^nd Street, Sacramento, CA

Description:

Date Built: 1853

We went by this building as part of our evening stroll, and then again the next day we walked by it. Thing One will confess that neither time did the building strike him as terribly exciting. The building currently houses the Wells Fargo museum. Like the Wells Fargo blog, which unfortunately I read afterwards, most visitors see the building and pass it by as being another old building, which was us. But there is more inside and a lot of history happened in there—such as Theodore Judah conceiving of the Transcontinental Railroad or the State Supreme Court met here for awhile.



NO. 606 B. F. HASTINGS BUILDING - This structure, erected in 1852-53, was occupied during the 1850s by the B. F. Hastings Bank, Wells Fargo & Co., various state officials, the Sacramento Valley Railroad, and the Alta Telegraph Co. During April 1860-May 1861, the Alta Telegraph Co. and its successor, the California State Telegraph Co., were the agents here for the Central Overland Pony Express, owned and operated by the firm of Russell, Majors, and Waddell. The first overland journey eastward of the Pony Express was begun from this historic site on April 4, 1860.
Location: 1000 2nd St, plaque located on wall at 2nd St, between J and I Sts, Old Sacramento



From HMDB.org:
The corner lot on which the Hastings building stands was originally occupied by a store built by William Merrit in 1851. That building, however, burned down in the great fire of November 1852, which consumed much of Sacramento. Merrit started to rebuild, but was unable to complete the structure due to financial difficulties. Benjamin Hastings purchased the building and lot at an auction in March 1853 for $1,500. Wells, Fargo, & Company provided banking services from the site from 1854-1857. Theodore Judah was the driving force and designer behind the Sacramento Valley Railroad, had his office in the Hastings Building through 1855. The railroad was the first in the US west of Rockies, and later became a key part of the first transcontinental railroad. From 1855-1857, and again from 1859-1869, the state's Supreme Court was headquartered in the Hastings building.



References:

• Old Sacramento Historical Park
  
• Wells Fargo Blog
  
• HMDB.org
  

Overall Landmark References:

• David Schmitt's California State Historical Landmark (Schmitt)
  
• Wikipedia: California's National Landmarks (WCNL)
  
• State of California's California Historical Landmarks (CHL)
  
• Wikipedia: California State Landmarks (WCSL)
  
• State of California Historical Resources (CHR)
  
• National Registry of Historical Places (NRHP)
  
• Historical Marker Database (HMDB)