Preservation Sacramento Historic Home Tour: Old and New Washington School Historic Districts

Preservation Sacramento
Historic Home Tour
Sunday, September 20, 10 AM-4 PM
Featuring Old and New Washington School Historic Districts:
Starting Point: Washington Park, adjacent to Washington Elementary School, 1631 F Street
Tickets: $30 for Preservation Sacramento members, $40 for non members www.preservationsacramento.org/hometour
Preservation Sacramento's 50th Annual Historic Home Tour is scheduled for Sunday, September 20, 2026, and tickets are available now. The 2026 Historic Home Tour will showcase six historic properties associated with Old & New Washington School Historic Districts. Located in the heart of Sacramento’s central city and bounded by C, H, 12th, and 19th Streets, this is one of Sacramento’s oldest residential neighborhoods. The 2026 tour will highlight the neighborhood’s longtime and celebrated history with the Royal Chicano Air Force (RCAF), an internationally recognized collective of artists and activists that originated in Sacramento in the late 1960s.
The four residential properties on the 50th Annual Historic Home Tour date from the 1890s, three of which are located on F Street. The homes offer a sampling of housing types commonly found in Sacramento during this time period, ranging from very modest single-story cottages to large homes of two or three stories. As demand for affordable housing grew in this neighborhood, many of the single-family homes were divided into two or more apartments, and some became boarding houses, with furnished rooms for rent. These multi-occupant residences provided inexpensive housing for employees of local businesses and industries, such as the canneries and the railroad shops.
Washington Neighborhood Center Part of Historic Home Tour
Located at 16th & D Streets, the Washington Neighborhood Center is also an important stop on the home tour. Built in 1927, this former tire store was repurposed as a youth center 30 years later and has recently been renovated. Tour participants will have the opportunity to see the impressive mural painted by RCAF artist Esteban Villa and his students, Emergence of the Chicano Social Struggle in a Bi-Cultural Society (or simply, Emergence). Painted between 1969 and 1970, it is the oldest surviving RCAF mural painting in Sacramento. With the inclusion of the Washington Neighborhood Center, the historic home tour also is linked to the ongoing regional celebration of the RCAF called InFormation that has shown a light on the RCAF's legacy of art, activism, and community.
“This year's Historic Home Tour highlights how history never stops, even in historic districts,” said William Burg, President of Preservation Sacramento. “Historic events including demographic and social changes, cultural and artistic groups, activism and resistance, triumph and tragedy, all shape our city, and our neighborhoods. After more than a half century of celebrating and protecting neighborhoods, Preservation Sacramento is proud to announce its 50th annual tour, highlighting history old and new in the historic districts around Midtown's Washington Elementary School and Washington Neighborhood Center.”
Additional Tour Details
To add to the home tour experience, eye-catching and period-appropriate vehicles will be parked near the residences and buildings on the tour. Designed to be both walkable and bikeable, complimentary bicycle parking is available in a monitored Bike Corral provided by SABA (Sacramento Area Bicycle Advocates).
While touring the prized historic homes is the highlight of the annual event, an always- popular Street Fair will include vendors, food trucks, nonprofits, community organizations, local crafters and artists, live musical entertainment, and more. This year, the Street Fair will be located on the Washington Elementary School grounds (1631 F Street) and is the starting point for the tour where attendees pick up wristbands (that serve as tour tickets), tour brochures (for more details about the homes and featured sites), and for day-of ticket sales if still available.
Proudly supported by initial sponsors Paloma Begin, Realtor (DRE01254423) and Michael Triglia, Realtor (LIC#0493778), advance tickets to the 2026 Historic Home Tour are on sale now and cost $30 per person for Preservation Sacramento members, $40 for the general public in advance or day-of the event. A ticket booth will be available for day-of ticket purchases. And, for those still eager to see and learn more about the historic district, a supplemental self-guided tour will be available for attendees to see the exterior features of additional homes in the area.
Each year, funds raised from Preservation Sacramento’s Historic Home Tour support nominations and surveys of historic properties. They also benefit other community projects that raise awareness of important and/or culturally significant historic places. Initiatives supported by the Home Tour include the Japantown mural at Capitol Mall & 4th Street, National Register nominations for the North Sacramento and Jefferson Schools, and historic district nominations for the Newton Booth and Richmond Grove neighborhoods, just to name a few.
To sign up as a volunteer at the Historic Home Tour, please visit www.preservationsacramento.org/volunteer (mark "Outreach Events" and write "home tour" in the box labeled "Additional Information"). For event sponsorship opportunities and/or advertising in the program, please email [email protected]. Nonprofit or community organizations interested in exhibiting at the Street Fair are also encouraged to email [email protected].
To purchase advance tickets to Preservation Sacramento’s 50th Annual Historic Home Tour, please visit this link; for more information about the tour, please visit www.preservationsacramento.org/hometour. And, for more information about membership to Preservation Sacramento, please visit www.preservationsacramento.org/join.