Crocker Art Gallery, 216 O St Sacramento, Sacramento County, CA
The two buildings now called the Crocker Art Gallery and Annex are a fascinating palimpsest of the social and architectural history of later 19th century Sacramento, consisting of the original Art Gallery (a general entertainment center for the E.B. Crocker family before its donation to the city in 1885), the revised shell of the Judge and Mrs. E.B. Crocker Home (now called the Annex) and connecting passageways. This enclave of art and local society reflects the changing character of American aesthetics on a personal and municipal level. The now destroyed house, "Property of Mrs. E.B. Crocker," was never an integral part of the group, but it must have played a part in the social scene. The architectural distinction of parts of the group is high; the Art Gallery proper is one of the finest Italianate (Mannerist Italian Villa) 19th century structures in the United States. The revisions to the Judge and Mrs. E.B. Crocker home have destroyed its architectural integrity, but old photographs and prints suggest its qualities; the "Property of Mrs. E.B. Crocker" was a major example of Second Empire style in California, and was comparable in size and importance to the Gallatin Mansion in Sacramento (now the Governor`s Mansion), being by the same architect.
Crocker Art Gallery, 216 O St Sacramento, Sacramento County, CA
The two buildings now called the Crocker Art Gallery and Annex are a fascinating palimpsest of the social and architectural history of later 19th century Sacramento, consisting of the original Art Gallery (a general entertainment center for the E.B. Crocker family before its donation to the city in 1885), the revised shell of the Judge and Mrs. E.B. Crocker Home (now called the Annex) and connecting passageways. This enclave of art and local society reflects the changing character of American aesthetics on a personal and municipal level. The now destroyed house, "Property of Mrs. E.B. Crocker," was never an integral part of the group, but it must have played a part in the social scene. The architectural distinction of parts of the group is high; the Art Gallery proper is one of the finest Italianate (Mannerist Italian Villa) 19th century structures in the United States. The revisions to the Judge and Mrs. E.B. Crocker home have destroyed its architectural integrity, but old photographs and prints suggest its qualities; the "Property of Mrs. E.B. Crocker" was a major example of Second Empire style in California, and was comparable in size and importance to the Gallatin Mansion in Sacramento (now the Governor`s Mansion), being by the same architect.
Posted Date
Sep 27, 2021
Source Name
Library of Congress
