Sacramento Public Market Building History

Lizzie H. Glide constructed the Sacramento Public Market Building in 1923 to the design specifications of architect Julia Morgan. Its purpose was to provide a sheltered, indoor venue for a variety of small businesses offering their goods to the public within a single facility. The space was largely utilized by providers of food products such as fresh produce, baked goods, meats, staples and diary products. Small restaurants, men's clothing, electrical appliances, toys and confections were also represented. The Market was the first of its kind on the West Coast and was the precursor to today's Super Markets. Operating as such for about 50 years, an ownership change in the early 1970's converted it to the temporary office of the California Secretary of State's Office. The building closed in 1995 when the Secretary's office moved into its own facility.

Because of a past personal and business relationship, Mrs. Glide chose Julia Morgan to design the new Sacramento Public Market. The objective was to create a state-of-the-art facility around the theme of cleanliness and increasing hygienic knowledge of the era. The interior featured a room where vegetables were received and scrubbed. A unique feature was a refrigeration system accessible to all merchants with individual thermostatic controls, the ability to make ice on site, and a refrigerated garbage room to reduce smells and sealed to eliminate pest problems. The interior was painted sparkling white with electrical lighting twice the volume recommended by engineers, plus the natural light provided by the extensive glazing. In keeping with the cleanliness theme, all Market employees were required to wear white and the market doors were equipped with fly proof screens and electrical fans to make it difficult for flies to enter.

Besides being the first female architect in California, Julia Morgan was also one of the most prolific and accomplished California architects of the twentieth century. In her forty-seven year career (1904-1951) she designed more than seven hundred homes, schools, churches, stores, YMCAs, hospitals, apartments, organizational buildings, youth camps, a USO facility, and the magnificent Hearst Castle complex at San Simeon.

Born in San Francisco in 1872 she graduated U.C Berkeley in 1894 with a degree in Engineering. She was the first woman accepted to the elite Ecole Des Beaux-Aris School of Architecture in Paris where she earned her Certificate in 1902. She returned to San Francisco and worked for John Galen Howard before opening her own private practice in 104. Her office was completely demolished by the 1906 earthquake and a desperate need was created for architects to rebuild the city.

Julia Morgan's practice flourished. Although she looked petite and frail, she was a tireless worker who did not hesitate to clamber about construction sites, working fourteen hours a day, six or seven days a week. A master of many styles, her approach was to put the client's wishes and the site's opportunities in the forefront. Color was also an important consideration in the form of tiles, wreathes, garlands, borders, stencils, murals and excellent use of available natural light.

When she closed her office in 1951, she was 79 years old. Making sure her clients had copies of their building plans and important documents, she had all her files, blueprints, and office records destroyed. She thought nobody would be interested. However, the libraries of U.C. Berkeley and California State Polytechnic University, San Luis Obispo, have managed to build impressive collections of her drawings, photographs and documents.

Many of her personalized preferences can be found in the design features of Sacramento' Public Market. By preserving it, and re-incorporating it into the fabric of the city, we honor her memory, talent, intelligence and courage.