California’s State Capitols 1850–present nterey San Jose Vallejo Benca Sacramento San F Monterey San Jose Vallejo Benicia Sacramento nterey San Jose Vallejo Benicia Sacramento San F Monterey San Jose Vallejo Benicia Sacramento nterey San Jose Vallejo Benicia Sacramento San F Monterey San Jose Vallejo Benicia Sacramento nterey San Jose Vallejo SACRAMENTOBenicia Sacramento San F Monterey San Jose Vallejo Benicia Sacramento nterey San Jose Vallejo Benicia Sacramento San F Monterey VALLEJOSan Jose Vallejo Benicia Sacramento nterey San Jose BENICIAVallejo Benicia Sacramento San F Monterey San Jose Vallejo Benicia Sacramento nterey San Jose Vallejo Benicia Sacramento San F Monterey San Jose Vallejo Benicia Sacramento nterey SANSan FRANCISCO Jose Vallejo Benicia Sacramento San F Monterey San Jose Vallejo Benicia Sacramento nterey San Jose Vallejo Benicia Sacramento San F SAN JOSE Monterey San Jose Vallejo Benicia Sacramento nterey San Jose Vallejo Benicia Sacramento San F Monterey San Jose Vallejo Benicia Sacramento nterey San Jose Vallejo Benicia Sacramento San F Monterey San Jose MONTEREYVallejo Benicia Sacramento nterey San Jose Vallejo Benicia Sacramento San F Monterey San Jose Vallejo Benicia Sacramento nterey SanOfficial Jose State MapVallejo was Benicia Sacramento San F adopted by Monterey theSan Legislature Jose Vallejo Benicia Sacramento nterey San MarchJose 25, 1853Vallejo Benicia Sacramento San F at Benicia Monterey San Jose Vallejo Benicia Sacramento nterey SanThe California Jose LegislatureVallejo convened at BeniciaBenicia on February Sacramento16, 2000, in honor of San F Monterey San theJose 150th AnniversaryVallejo of CaliforniaBenicia Statehood Sacramento t SJ Vllj B ii StSF Franc sco Monterey San Jose Vallejo Benca Sacr San Francisco Monterey San Jose Vallejo Benicia Francisco Monterey San Jose Vallejo Benicia Sacr San Francisco Monterey San Jose Vallejo Benicia Francisco Monterey San Jose Vallejo Benicia Sacr San Francisco Monterey San Jose Vallejo Benicia Francisco Monterey San Jose Vallejo Benicia Sacr San Francisco Monterey San Jose Vallejo Benicia Francisco Monterey San Jose Vallejo Benicia Sacr San Francisco Monterey San Jose Vallejo Benicia Francisco Monterey ColtonSan Hall, Jose MontereyVallejo Benicia Sacr Site of Constitutional Convention of 1849 San Francisco Monterey San Jose Vallejo Benicia Francisco Monterey San Jose Vallejo Benicia Sacr The Siting of a Capitol San Francisco(Excerpt from the 2000 editionMonterey of California’s LegislatureSan) Jose Vallejo Benicia FranciscoAmong the Montereyduties of the ConstitutionalSan Jose ConventionVallejo of 1849 was thatBenicia of proposing Sacr a seat of government for the new state. The question was placed before a group San Franciscoof men little affectedMonterey by historical precedent,San forJose the majorityVallejo of the delegatesBenicia had settled in the northern part of the territory for less than a decade, and one- Franciscofourth had Montereycome west with theSan gold rush.Jose The fewVallejo native CaliforniansBenicia present Sacr might have recalled a territorial capital being moved from Monterey to San Diego, San FranciscoSanta Barbara or LosMonterey Angeles at the whimSan of various Jose MexicanVallejo governors. Benicia Even Monterey, Montereywhile playing host to the convention,Vallejo claimed only the dubious Sacr Franciscodistinction of housing, since 1846,San the Jose headquarters of the AmericanBenicia military San Franciscogovernors. Monterey San Jose Vallejo Benicia FranciscoThus unencumberedMonterey by tradition,San the Josedelegates voicedVallejo their desireBenicia for a location Sacr free of the distractions of commerce. Offers of accommodations poured in from San Franciscocommunities largeMonterey and small, all envisioningSan Jose a substantialVallejo return onBenicia their Franciscoinvestment.Monterey San Jose Vallejo Benicia Sacr During the session, two men from the booming little town of Pueblo de San FranciscoSan Jose wereMonterey sent galloping overSan the hillsJose to MontereyVallejo to offer Benicia Washington Square in their town as a capitol site and to assure delegates Francisco thatMonterey a suitable building Sanwould awaitJose them. AfterVallejo hours of debateBenicia the Sacr convention accepted the offer and named Pueblo de San Jose the capital San Francisco–with the qualificationMonterey that, by law,San it might Jose be moved Vallejoelsewhere. 1 Benicia Francisco Monterey San Jose Vallejo Benicia Sacr San Francisco Monterey San Jose Vallejo Benicia Francisco Monterey San Jose Vallejo Benicia Sacr San Francisco Monterey 1San Jose Vallejo Benicia F i Mt SJ Vllj B ii S nterey San Jose Vallejo Benca Sacramento San F Monterey San Jose Vallejo Benicia Sacramento nterey San Jose Vallejo Benicia Sacramento San F Monterey San Jose Vallejo Benicia Sacramento nterey San Jose Vallejo Benicia Sacramento San F Monterey San Jose Vallejo Benicia Sacramento nterey San Jose Vallejo Benicia Sacramento San F Monterey San Jose Vallejo Benicia Sacramento nterey San Jose Vallejo Benicia Sacramento San F Monterey San Jose Vallejo Benicia Sacramento nterey San Jose Vallejo Benicia Sacramento San F Monterey San Jose Vallejo Benicia Sacramento nterey San Jose VallejoCapitol at San BeniciaJose—1849-51 Sacramento San F SAN JOSE MontereyState Capital, SanNovember Jose 13, 1849Vallejo to May 1, 1851Benicia Sacramento ntereyThe FirstSan and Jose Second SessionsVallejo of the Legislature,Benicia whichSacramento were held in 1850 andSan F 1851, convened at San Jose. Founded in 1777, San Jose was the first incorporated Montereycity in the stateSan and is Josethe countyVallejo seat of Santa ClaraBenicia County. Sacramento ntereyThe CapitolSan Josewas a two-storyVallejo adobe hotel,Benicia 60 by 40 feet,Sacramento the upper story beingSan F Montereyassigned to theSan Assembly Jose and theVallejo lower to the Senate.Benicia WilliamSacramento Kelly, English author of A Stroll Through the Diggings of California, who visited the First Legislature ntereyat work,San describes Jose the SenateVallejo and AssemblyBenicia Chambers asSacramento being: San F Monterey. accommodatedSan Jose under theVallejo same roof, one downstairs,Benicia the otherSacramento above; but, by a sort of solecism in the arrangement, the Senate, or upper house, nterey Sanoccupy Jose the lower apartment,Vallejo which isBenicia a large, ill-lighted,Sacramento badly-ventilated San F room, with a low ceiling, and a rough railing a little inside the door, beyond Montereywhich noneSan but Josethe elect mayVallejo pass. Each memberBenicia had a rush-bottomedSacramento armchair, and a small desk with stationery . At the farther end, the nterey SanSpeaker Jose was perchedVallejo in a species ofBenicia pulpit; the floor wasSacramento covered with a San F number of little carpets, of various shapes and patterns . The other MontereyapartmentSan (the AssemblyJose Chamber)Vallejo is of preciselyBenicia the same size,Sacramento but has the advantage of greater loftiness . plain common chairs, flat deal tables, nterey Sanand aJose strip of mattingVallejo thrown whereBenicia the feet are erroneouslySacramento supposed to San F Montereyrest, beingSan the extent Jose of the accommodationVallejo . Benicia. 2 Sacramento ntereyJudgeSan Sexton Jose of OrovilleVallejo said that “no soonerBenicia was the LegislatureSacramento fairly organizedSan F than the members began to growl about their accommodations. They didn’t like Montereythe legislative buildingSan Jose and swore Vallejoterribly betweenBenicia drinks at the accommodationsSacramento of the town generally. Many of the solons expressed a desire to remove the ntereycapitalSan from SanJose Jose immediately.”Vallejo 3 Benicia Sacramento San F Monterey San Jose Vallejo2 Benicia Sacramento t SJ Vllj B ii StSF Franc sco Monterey San Jose Vallejo Benca Sacr San Francisco Monterey San Jose Vallejo Benicia During the session of 1850, several proposals to provide suitable lands for state Franciscobuildings, alongMonterey with lands, bondsSan or moneys Jose to establishVallejo funding forBenicia construction, Sacr were presented to the Legislature. General Vallejo’s offer was by far the most San Franciscogenerous. “The CommitteeMonterey on Public BuildingsSan Jose reported Vallejoin favor of acceptingBenicia Franciscothe Vallejo proposition,Monterey and on AprilSan 22, Jose an Act wasVallejo passed and approvedBenicia directing Sacr the Governor to submit to the people at the following general election the various San Franciscopropositions that hadMonterey been made for theSan location Jose of the CapitalVallejo . ” 4 AtBenicia the general election of October 7, 1850, the proposal of General Vallejo was FranciscooverwhelminglyMonterey favored. San Jose Vallejo Benicia Sacr San FranciscoOn January 14, 1851,Monterey General Vallejo presentedSan Jose a communicationVallejo to the SenateBenicia offering bonds as security for the fulfillment of his proposal. A majority of the FranciscoSenate CommitteeMonterey on Public BuildingsSan Jose reported aVallejo bill recommendingBenicia removal of Sacr the capital to the town of Vallejo which, passing both houses, was approved by San Franciscothe Governor on FebruaryMonterey 4, 1851. 5 California’sSan Jose first StateVallejo Capitol site isBenicia now marked with a plaque across from the Plaza de Cesar Chavez on South Market FranciscoStreet in downtownMonterey San Jose.San Jose Vallejo Benicia Sacr San Francisco Monterey San Jose Vallejo Benicia Francisco Monterey San Jose Vallejo Benicia Sacr San Francisco Monterey San