That’s right, we want to talk about Sacramento’s alleys!
This may seem random, but Rebecca and Lilly take a daily walk on days they are in the office, starting at the RWD office on J Street and venturing out all over Midtown! They are always looking for new walking routes to take, destinations to hit, and things to learn on their walks (don’t get them started on the informational plaques they want added throughout the city!).
It was in an attempt to find new scenery on a walk one day that they decided to start at one end of an alley, and walk as long as they could go down said alley. After that, they started paying more attention to alleys as they walked, taking side quests down some when it seemed like a fun addition to their walk. Street signs for the alleys seem sporadic, making them even more mysterious, and influencing their general interest in the alleys. They also saw many pretty things on their alley walks, like murals and this old stained glass window on Liestal Alley:
Finally, the ladies found this Sac Bee article, which explained almost everything! It turns out that whether a street sign gets installed for an alley is up to the permit holder of that alley, which would explain why signage is sporadic! All of the alleys were named in 2009. Rebecca and Lilly were surprised by this, as they had imagined them being named long ago, with fascinating old-timey backgrounds to the names. The names follow alphabetical order, with the first letter of the alley name corresponding to the name of the following street, and each name is a reference to something related to Sacramento.
For example, the alley that sparked their curiosity about the names of Sacramento alleys was the alley behind their building on J Street, Jazz Alley! Jazz Alley, starting with a J, because it comes after J Street.
Here is a list of all the alley names:
- Chinatown Alley
- Democracy Alley
- Eggplant Alley
- Fat Alley
- Government Alley
- Historic Alley
- Improv Alley
- Jazz Alley
- Kayak Alley
- Liestal Alley
- Matsui Alley
- Neighbors Alley
- Opera Alley
- Powerhouse Alley
- Quill Alley
- Rice Alley
- Salons Alley
- Tomato Alley
- Uptown Alley
- Victorian Alley
Some fun facts about these names include that Liestal is Sacramento’s sister city in Switzerland, Tomato Alley, Eggplant Alley, and Rice Alley reference Sacramento’s agricultural background, and Matsui Alley and Fat Alley reference prominent figures in Sacramento history! There are even businesses associated with some of the alleys, like Tomato Alley Free House, which the ladies can’t wait to check out.
Consider going for a walk in your city and taking a route you might not usually take! You never know what you might see, or learn.
XOXO,
