Now and Then
For five years, Zaved Khan has been training his lens on Sacramento’s past and present, serving up slices of civic nostalgia as he juxtaposes historic photos of local landmarks that have been lost to time at the sites where they once stood.
Historic photo by Tom Spaulding
Founded in 1954 by Sherwood “Shakey” Johnson and Ed Plummer, Shakey’s Pizza Parlor was America’s first national pizza chain, ultimately becoming an international brand with about 700 locations. Its original location, seen here at 5641 J Street in East Sacramento, closed in 1996. The restaurant’s sign now hangs inside the Golden 1 Center.
Historic photo by Andrew Zarivny/Shutterstock
The Hard Rock Cafe opened downtown at 7th and K streets to much fanfare in 1997, replete with a rotating, 36-foot-tall neon guitar sign that city leaders believed would help invigorate K Street Mall. The restaurant eventually shut its doors in 2010.
Historic photo by Morgan Ong, courtesy of the Center for Sacramento History, Sacramento Bee Collection
Originally occupied by Tower Cut Rate Drugs, which pharmacist Clayton Solomon opened in 1938, this space on the ground floor of the Tower Theatre complex would become best known as the spot where Clayton’s son, Russ, founder of Tower Records, began selling vinyl albums in his father’s store. The pharmacy closed in 1985 and the location now houses Tower Café.
Historic photo courtesy of the Center for Sacramento History
Joe Sun & Co. clothing store was a downtown fixture from the time it opened in 1918 until it closed in 2006. The store occupied this corner at 10th and J (across the street from what is now The Citizen Hotel) from 1946 to 1970 before relocating to K Street.
Historic photo by Owen Brewer, courtesy of the Center for Sacramento History, Sacramento Bee Collection
Hong Kong Cafe’s owner Sung Wong is pictured here in front of his restaurant in October 1976. The establishment, which was located at 5th and Broadway in Land Park, shuttered in 2011 after more than 50 years in business.
Lady Bird photo courtesy of Moviestore Collection Ltd/Alamy Stock Photo
This frame from the 2017 film Lady Bird, written and directed by Sacramento native Greta Gerwig, shows star Saoirse Ronan as the title character standing in front of the now-closed American Market and Deli at 24th and N streets in midtown.
Historic photo courtesy of the Center for Sacramento History, Sacramento Bee Collection
On Oct. 16, 1967, civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. spoke in front of approximately 6,000 people at Sacramento State’s football field less than six months before he was assassinated.
Historic photo courtesy of the Center for Sacramento History, Gunther Grumm Collection
The Tower Bridge was surrounded by gas stations in the late 1950s before the buildings around the bridge were demolished to make way for Interstate 5.
Historic photo courtesy of the California State Railroad Museum Photograph Collection
A scene from Aug. 22, 1910—opening day of the Western Pacific train depot at 19th and J streets in midtown. The station ceased operations in 1969, and in 1978, The Old Spaghetti Factory opened in the space, where it remains to this day.
The Freeport water tower along Interstate 5, shown here inscribed with Sacramento’s “City of Trees” designation. In 2017, the message on the tower was changed to “America’s Farm-to-Fork Capital,” a still-controversial decision.
Historic photo by Morgan Ong, courtesy of the Center for Sacramento History, Sacramento Bee Collection
A black-and-white 1983 photograph shows Estevan Villa working alongside fellow artist Juanishi Orosco on a 200-foot-long mural inside the K Street tunnel beneath Interstate 5 that connects downtown to Old Sacramento. The pair, both co-founders of the local Royal Chicano Air Force art collective, returned to the site in 1999 to bring the artwork back to life after many years of neglect.
Historic photo courtesy of the Sacramento Room at the Sacramento Public Library
In 1969, the city closed K Street, from 7th to 13th, to vehicular traffic, adding a series of angled structures, fountains and waterways. The design of the pedestrian mall was loathed by some, loved by others. In 1984, the entire streetscape was torn out to make room for light rail.
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