North Sacramento, Sacramento, California
North Sacramento is a community that is part of the city of Sacramento, California, United States. It was a city from its incorporation in 1924 until it was merged in 1964 into the City of Sacramento. Incorporation was led by the North Sacramento Chamber of Commerce, incorporated the year before, in 1923.
From its time of incorporation in 1924 to its disincorporation in 1964, the city of North Sacramento was distinctive for being the only incorporated city immediately adjacent to Sacramento. Sacramento would go 23 years without an adjacent incorporated city until the incorporation of West Sacramento in Yolo County in 1987.
The primary ZIP code for North Sacramento is 95815.
At the time of its 1964 merger with Sacramento, the boundaries of North Sacramento consisted of the American River on the south, property lines and the Natomas East Drainage Canal on the west, Main Avenue on the north, and the Sacramento Northern Railroad on the east until its junction with Lampasas Avenue, continuing east and south on Evergreen Street, east on El Camino Avenue, and southeast on the Southern Pacific railroad line to its crossing of the American River. All of these boundaries were also the boundaries of the surrounding city of Sacramento, except for the communities of Hagginwood and Ben Ali, which were not yet annexed to either city. The merger election with Sacramento was a bitter contest that took two elections and only passed by 6 votes. The NO campaign signs showcased a large fish swallowing a small fish.
The North Sacramento School District, which served a majority of the city, became part of Twin Rivers Unified School District in a 2007 merger. The area also has numerous community and civic organizations with the old city name. The retail life of the community relied substantially upon the road traffic of Del Paso Boulevard and El Camino Avenue during its heyday as a separate city. North Sacramento is also the home of Sacramento's central U.S. Postal Service facility. The North Sacramento Freeway was completed in the late 1950s, originally carrying U.S. 40 and renumbered in 1964 as Highway 160. This area is also known as Old North Sacramento.
A significant issue, in the debate over the merger of the City of North Sacramento with the City of Sacramento, was the sale of fresh meat after 6 pm. At the time, there were laws that forbade the sale of fresh meat after 6 pm. In North Sacramento, no such restrictions existed. Women, working in the downtown area of Sacramento and required to work past the time that would allow them to go to Sacramento markets in time to buy meat for their families on the way home in the City of Sacramento, would drive in to North Sacramento to buy fresh meat for the dinner table. This particular bone of contention was not resolved until the City of Sacramento relented, and allowed the sale of meat after 6 pm in North Sacramento, and eventually in Sacramento in general. The result was the absorption of the City of North Sacramento into the City of Sacramento. That final alteration in the law removed a substantial economic basis for shopping in North Sacramento, thus the beginning of its long decline.
After the merger of North Sacramento with the City of Sacramento and 1960s freeway construction that bypassed business districts on Marysville, Rio Linda, and Del Paso Boulevards, North Sacramento began a gradual decline. The tax base lessened and local representation in city government has historically been lacking. For the next fifty five years, city funding would be provided to maintain popular old neighborhoods in the downtown and mid-town areas and to build infrastructure in emerging new communities, while North Sacramento was relegated to a position of forgotten status. Also, because of the diverse population and large area covered, North Sacramento has suffered from an identity crisis. Recently, awareness and community action have increased and the new motto of the community is "North Sac is Back"!
Neighborhoods
Del Paso Heights
Del Paso Heights is a neighborhood located in North Sacramento. Its boundaries are North Avenue, South Avenue, Grand Avenue, and Marysville Boulevard. West Del Paso Heights is located along Norwood Avenue. Del Paso Heights is home to Michael J. Castori Elementary School and Grant Union High School.Strawberry Manor/Fairbanks
The Strawberry Manor/Fairbanks neighborhood is a neighborhood situated within North Sacramento. There are only four ways in and out of the neighborhood. The boundaries are: Silver Eagle Road to the north, Arcade Creek to the south, Norwood Avenue to the east, and Steelhead Creek to the west. Strawberry Manor is an old rural area historically known for African-American small farmers, sharecroppers, and farm workers. In the 1960s and 1970s, modest single family homes were built on land known to regularly flood, and this housing became inhabited mainly by low-income persons of color. The neighborhood suffered extensive damage in the 1986 floods.Woodlake
Woodlake is a stately 1930s and 1940s neighborhood situated within North Sacramento. The boundaries of Woodlake are: Arden Way to the north, North Sacramento Freeway (Highway 160) to the south, Royal Oaks Drive to the east and Del Paso Boulevard to the west. Woodlake is a neighborhood of mostly older homes with great character and value.This neighborhood is mostly inhabited by career professionals; it is often cited in Sacramento publications as one of Sacramento's most desired neighborhoods. Like parts of East Sacramento and Land Park, the neighborhood employs private security. Several prominent Sacramentans live in Woodlake, including former state assemblyman and county supervisor Roger Dickinson, former City Councilman Rob Kerth, business leader Terry Sidie, and the Slobe family.
Woodlake is home to the Woodlake Swim Club, and Iceland, a seasonal ice skating rink. The headquarters of Sacramento News & Review, Sacramento's alternative newspaper, is in Woodlake.