Item 12 2024-01356 Ordinance Listing 1049 44th Street as a Landmark on the Sacramento Register of Historic and Cultural Resources (M24-004) [Noticed 08032024]

City of Sacramento
City Council - 5PM Report
915 I Street Sacramento, CA 95814
www.cityofsacramento.org
File ID: 2024-01356 8/13/2024 Public Hearing Item 12.

Ordinance Listing 1049 44th Street as a Landmark on the Sacramento Register of Historic and Cultural Resources (M24-004) [Noticed 08/03/2024]
File ID: 2024-01356
Location: 1049 44th Street (008-0151-011-0000), District 4, Represented by Mayor Steinberg Recommendation: Conduct a public hearing and upon conclusion: 1) pass a Motion determining the listing of 1049 44th Street as a landmark on the Sacramento Register of Historical and Cultural Resources is exempt from review under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to CEQA Guidelines section 15308, which exempts actions taken to assure the maintenance, restoration, enhancement, or protection of the environment and where the regulatory process involves procedures for the protection of the environment; and 2) adopt an Ordinance listing 1049 44th Street as a landmark on the Sacramento Register of Historic and Cultural Resources.

Contact: Sean de Courcy, Preservation Director, (916) 808-2796, [email protected], Community Development Department
Presenter: Henry Feuss, Preservation Planner, (916) 808-5880, [email protected], Community Development Department
Attachments:
1-Ordinance
2-Historic Resource Evaluation
Description/Analysis
Issue Detail: The property owner retained the consulting services of Historic Environment Consultants to prepare and submit property-specific background research and a historic resource evaluation form (Attachment 3) for 1049 44th Street. After review of the background research, staff presented a Statement of Nomination to the Acting Preservation Director who concluded at a public hearing on March 28, 2024, that the property appears eligible for listing in the Sacramento register pursuant to the criteria provided in Sacramento City Code section 17.604.210.A.1. iii. On April 17, 2024, the Preservation Commission held a hearing and passed a motion recommending the City Council adopt an ordinance listing the 1049 44th Street in the Sacramento Register. Staff has prepared a draft Ordinance (Attachment 2) which justifies listing the property on the Sacramento

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File ID: 2024-01356 8/13/2024 Public Hearing Item 12.
register.

Policy Considerations: The City Council has found “that significant aspects of the City’s rich and diverse historic resources deserve recognition and preservation to foster an understanding of our heritage, and to promote the public health and safety and the economic and general welfare of the people of the city. The preservation and continued use of historic resources are effective tools to sustain and revitalize neighborhoods and business districts within the city, enhance the city’s economic, cultural and aesthetic standing, its identity, its livability, marketability and urban character” (Sacramento City Code, §17.604.100.A.). To this end, the city code directs the Preservation Director, to “make preliminary determinations relative to properties’ eligibility for listing on the Sacramento register” and to “initiate proceedings to nominate resources for listing on the Sacramento register.” (City Code, §§17.604.100.C.2 and 17.604.220).

The nomination of 1049 44th Street for listing as a landmark on the Sacramento Register is consistent with the goals of the Sacramento 2040 General Plan, which provides for the identification and preservation of historical and cultural resources. General Plan policy HCR-2.3 states, “The City shall maintain and update the Sacramento Register… proactively identifying and listing additional unidentified landmarks.”
Economic Impacts: Not applicable.

Environmental Considerations:

California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA): The listing of 1049 44th Street as a historic landmark on the Sacramento register is exempt from review under the California Environmental Quality Act pursuant to CEQA Guidelines section 15308. Section 15308 exempts from CEQA review acts that are undertaken to assure the maintenance, restoration, enhancement, or protection of the environment where the regulatory process involves procedures for protection of the environment.

Listing the property as a historic landmark would ensure that future development on the site would undergo preservation review, as part of the city’s site plan and design review process, prior to the granting of any entitlements, thereby protecting the historic resource, which would be considered part of the environment.

Sustainability: Not applicable.

Commission/Committee Action: On March 28, 2024, the City of Sacramento’s preservation director, in conformance with City Code section 17.604.220, held a public hearing, reviewed the historic analysis prepared by Historic Environment Consultants (Attachment 2) and concurred with a draft statement of nomination and directed staff to prepare a draft Ordinance (Attachment 1) for review and consideration by the Preservation Commission. On April 17, 2024, the Preservation Commission held a hearing and passed a motion recommending the City Council adopt an ordinance

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File ID: 2024-01356 8/13/2024 Public Hearing Item 12.
listing 1049 44th Street in the Sacramento Register.

Rationale for Recommendation: The listing of 1049 44th Street (Figure 1) as a landmark on the Sacramento register is consistent with the Historic Preservation Chapter of the City Code (City Code, chapter 17.604) and the goals of the 2040 General Plan. Listing the nominated resource on the Sacramento register will help ensure its preservation and encourage rehabilitation consistent with the U.S. Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties. 1049 44th Street has significant historic and architectural worth. Built in 1926, the residence at 1049 44th Street is representative of the Tudor Revival architectural style. It has a steeply sloped cross gable roof sheathed in barrel-style red clay tile. Three bays wide, the main portion of the house is rectangular in form and oriented north-south with a chimney extending above the peak of the south gable end. There is a two-story front-facing gable bay on the left side with a steeply sloped roof that continues over the first floor to encompass the centrally located entry. Wall dormer windows project from the roofline in the center and right bays. Tudor-style half-timbering surrounds the entrance, which is centered with a vertically grooved wood plank door and a low-arched beam. A bay window to the left of the entrance is covered with a matching clay-tile roof. The windows on the ground floor are casement windows with square leaded glass. Windows on the second floor are casement with diamond-shaped leaded glass. The first floor of the façade is clad in multi-toned red brick, with the second floor clad in textured stucco. No major changes to the house have occurred since the period of significance and thus all distinguishing characteristics have remained intact. Therefore, the house meets criterion for listing in the Sacramento register of historic and cultural resources under City Code section 17.604.210.A.1.a.iii, as the embodiment of distinctive characteristics of Tudor Revival architectural design of the early 20th century. It is reasonable and appropriate that 1049 44th Street be listed on the Sacramento Register of Historic and Cultural Resources under Criterion iii.

The building at 1049 44th Street has integrity of location, design, setting, materials, workmanship and association.

The building retains a high degree of historic integrity of all six aspects. The neighborhood and building remain largely unchanged. There have been minimal alterations after the completion of the building, and they have been compatible with the style and scale of the site.

The building at 1049 44th Street has significant historic or architectural worth, and its designation as a landmark is reasonable, appropriate and necessary to promote, protect and further the goals and purposes of this chapter.

The building at 1049 44th Street has significant historic and architectural worth. It has been well- maintained and retains a high level of integrity with regards to its location, design, setting, materials, workmanship, and association. 1049 44th Street is a significant and unique representation of the Tudor Revival architectural style in Sacramento.

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File ID: 2024-01356 8/13/2024 Public Hearing Item 12.

Figure 1: 1049 44th Street
Financial Considerations: Not applicable.

Local Business Enterprise (LBE): Not applicable.

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ORDINANCE NO. ___

Adopted by the Sacramento City Council

[Date Adopted]

AN ORDINANCE LISTING 1049 44TH STREET AS A LANDMARK ON THE SACRAMENTO REGISTER

OF HISTORIC AND CULTURAL RESOURCES

BACKGROUND

A. The city council has found “that significant aspects of the city’s rich and diverse historic resources deserve recognition and preservation to foster an understanding of our heritage, and to promote the public health and safety and the economic and general welfare of the people of the city. The preservation and continued use of historic resources are effective tools to sustain and revitalize neighborhoods and business districts within the city, enhance the city’s economic, cultural and aesthetic standing, its identity and its livability, marketability and urban character.” (Sacramento City Code, §17.604.100.A.)

B. To this end, Sacramento City Code chapter 17.604 provides a mechanism for listing landmarks, historic districts, and contributing resources on the Sacramento register of historic and cultural resources (“Sacramento register”).

C. On March 28, 2024, the acting preservation director reviewed a statement of nomination and determined that the property located at 1049 44th Street is eligible for listing on the Sacramento register as a landmark. On April 17, 2024, the preservation commission concurred with the findings of the preservation director and recommended the city council list the property at 1049 44th Street as a landmark on the Sacramento register.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SACRAMENTO:

SECTION 1
A. 1049 44th Street meets the criteria for listing on the Sacramento register provided within Sacramento City Code section 17.604.210.A.1.a.iii.
i. The building at 1049 44th Street embodies the distinctive characteristics of a type, period, or method of construction (Sacramento City Code, §17.604.210.A.1.a.iii).

Built in 1926, the residence at 1049 44th Street is representative of the Tudor Revival architectural style. As shown in exhibit A, significant features and characteristics include the following: It has a steeply sloped cross gable roof sheathed in barrel- style red clay tile; three bays wide, the main portion of the house is rectangular in form and oriented north-south with a chimney extending above the peak of the south gable end; there is a two-story front-facing gable on the left bay with a steeply sloped roof that continues over the first floor to encompass the centrally located entry; wall dormers project from the roofline in the center and right bays. Tudor- style half-timbering surrounds the entrance, which is a vertically grooved wood plank door and a low-arched beam; a bay window to the left of the entrance is covered with a matching clay-tile roof; the windows on the ground floor are casement windows with square leaded glass; windows on the second floor are casement with diamond-shaped leaded glass; the first floor of the façade is clad in multi-toned red brick, with the second floor clad in textured stucco. No major changes to the house have occurred since the period of significance and thus all distinguishing characteristics have remained intact. Therefore, the house meets criterion for listing on the Sacramento register under Sacramento City Code section

17.604.210A.1.a.iii, as the embodiment of distinctive characteristics of Tudor Revival architectural design of the early 20th century.

ii. 1049 44th Street has integrity of location, design, setting, materials, workmanship and association, as judged with reference to the criterion in Sacramento City Code

17.604.210.A.1.a.iii. (Sacramento City Code, §17.604.210.A.1.b).

The building retains a high degree of historic integrity in all six aspects. The neighborhood and building remain largely unchanged. There have been minimal alterations after the completion of the building, and they have been compatible with the style and scale of the site.

iii. The building at 1049 44th Street has significant historic or architectural worth, and its designation as a landmark is reasonable, appropriate and necessary to promote, protect and further the goals and purposes of chapter 17.604 of the Sacramento City Code. (Sacramento City Code, §17.604.210.A.1.c).

The building at 1049 44th Street has significant historic and architectural worth. It has been well-maintained and retains a high level of integrity with regards to its location, design, setting, materials, workmanship, and association. 1049 44th Street is a significant and unique representation of the Tudor Revival architectural style in Sacramento.

iv. The city council has considered the factors set forth Sacramento City Code section

17.604.210.A.2 and determined those factors do not apply.

Table of Contents:

Exhibit A: Significant Features and Characteristics

A. Primary Elevation

Significant Features and Characteristics of the style include the prominent front-facing gable with steeply pitched roof, decorative half timbering around the entry, shallow eaves, leaded glass casement windows, barrel clay tile roof, multi-tone brick ground floor, textured stucco upper story, wall dormers, gable vent, and arched plank front door.

44th Street Elevation (Primary)

State of California  The Resources Agency Primary #_________________________________________ DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION HRI #_____________________________________________ PRIMARY RECORD Trinomial_________________________________________ NRHP Status Code________________________________
Other Listings____________________________________________________________ Review Code________Reviewer________________________ Date_______________

DPR 523A-Test (8/94) *These items consist of required information.

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P1. Other Identifier: Johnson House
*P2. Location: *a. County: Sacramento
b. Address: 1049 44th Street City: Sacramento Zip: 95819 *c. USGS 7.5' Quad Sacramento East Date: 1992 *e. Other Locational Data: APN#: 008-0151-011

*P3a. Description:

The house reflects English Tudor design influences. It has a steeply sloped cross gable roof sheathed in red tile.

The main body of the house is a north-south rectangle with a chimney extending above the peak of the south gable end. There is an extension on the front, north end with a steeply sloped gable roof that curves on the south side to encompass the entry. Dormer windows project from the north-south gable. The walls are surfaced in textured plaster.

Tudor-style half-timbering surrounds the entrance, which is centered with a vertically grooved wood plank door and a low-arched beam. A bay window to the left of the entrance is covered with a red-tile roof. The windows in the bay are multi-paned casement. In between the entry and the ground floor windows are panels of patterned red-brick wainscoting. (Continued on page 3)
*P3b. Resource Attributes:
*P4. Resources Present: Building Structure Object Site District Element of District Other (Isolates, etc.) P5b. Description of Photo:

View to the east
*P6. Date Constructed/Age and
Source: Historic
Prehistoric Both
1926 Directories
*P7. Owner and Address:

Richard and Debbie
Grutzmacher
1049 44th S
Sacramento, CA
*P8. Recorded by:

Paula Boghosian, Historic
Environment Consultants
5420 Home Court
Carmichael, CA 95608
*P9. Date Recorded:

November 2023
*P10. Survey Type:

Intensive
P11. Report Citation*:

None
*Attachments: NONE 
Location Map Sketch Map 
Continuation Sheet Building,
Structure, and Object Record
Linear Resource Record 
Archaeological Record District
Record Milling Station Record
Rock Art Record
Artifact Record Photograph Record  Other (List)

State of California  The Resources Agency Primary #______________________________________ DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION HRI#__________________________________________

BUILDING, STRUCTURE, AND OBJECT RECORD
DPR 523B-Test (8/94) *These items consist of required information.

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*Resource Address: 1049 44 th Street
B1. Historic Name: Johnson House
B2. Common Name: Grutzmacher House
B3. Original Use: Residential B4. Present Use: Residential *B5. Architectural Style: Tudor Revival
*B6. Construction History:

The house was built in 1926. The only changes have been that the garage was extended by five feet in 1957. The kitchen was remodeled in 1967 and other than that all other changes have been infrastructure upgrades.

*B7. Moved? No Yes Unknown Date: Original Location:
*B8. Related Features:

Garage in the rear.

B9a. Architect: Possibly Arthur Widowson b. Builder: William Chatterton *B10. Significance: Theme: Residential Architecture Area: East Sacramento Period of Significance: 1926-1973 Property Type: Residential Applicable Criteria: Landmark eligibility Criteria: ii, iii

(See page 3)

B11. Additional Resource Attributes: HP2

*B12. References:

Boghosian, Paula and Cox, Donald, Rio Linda Decorative LED Street Light Improvements, Unpublished Manuscript by Historic Environment Consultants,
Buckland, Joyce, Rio Linda and Elverta, Arcadia Publishing, Charleston, SC, 2006 Richter, Chrisina with Fiddyment, David, Walk with Me, I want to tell you something, 3LP Publishers, 2013 Sacramento City Directories
Sacramento County Assessors Data
Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps
US Census, 1910-1950

B13. Remarks:

*B14. Evaluator: Don Cox, Historic Environment Cons.

*Date of Evaluation: November 2023

(This space reserved for official comments.)

State of California  The Resources Agency Primary #______________________________________ DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION HRI#___________________________________ CONTINUATION SHEET Trinomial________________________

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Recorded by : Don Cox

P3a. Description: (Continued from page 1)
A multi-paned tripartite window is on the south end. There are windows with diamond shaped leaded glass panes, typical of Tudor style houses. One is located in a sidelight to the right of the entry door. A tripartite window on the second floor above the bay window and a tripartite window is centered above the entrance. There is a tripartite window on the second floor toward the south end, that is multi-paned. A driveway passes the north side of the house, extending from the street to garage in the rear.

There is circumstantial evidence that the house may have been designed by local architect Arthur Widowson. The house’s Tudor design is similar to Widowson's house, which is nearby at 1360 44 th Street. The design of the stairway
to the second floor, with its wrought iron balustrade, is very similar to the one in the Widowson house as well as other homes he designed in the area. There is also extensive use of Philippine mahogany in both houses. However, at this time, no direct connection can be made to Widowson. The house at 1049 44th Street is eligible as a landmark structure because it embodies the distinctive characteristics of a type, period or method of construction.

*B10. Significance:

This Tudor Revival house is significant because the family that was the original owner made important contributions to their community. Albert and Lucille Johnson had the house built in 1926.1 They had two daughters, Virginia (1925) and Carolyn (1928).2 What was unusual for those years was that all three women were college graduates. Neither Lucille nor her daughter Virginia put their education to use in professional employment. 3 However, Carolyn distinguished herself in the corporate world.

The families had roots in Sacramento. Albert’s father, John, immigrated from Sweden in 1881. He came to Sacramento in about 1885 where he was employed by the Southern Pacific Company (SP) as a Conductor. 4 He married
Emma, also a native of Sweden, in about 1890.5 Many of the employees of the SP Company were well paid. By the 1910 census he owned the home at 2607 J Street.

They had a son, Albert, who was 16. He graduated from Sacramento High School in 1913 and received his Degree from California Dental College in San Francisco in 1916. During World War I he was a Captain in the Dental Corps. 6 Albert, and his wife Lucile Ernst Johnson were married in about 1921.

Lucile’s parents were Adolph and
Annie Ernst. They lived in
Sacramento for more than 60
years and operated a grocery store
at 830 L Street.
7 The Sanborn
Map [1915] shows a substantial
two-story building with a corner
tower (it would have looked
something like the Farley
Grocery). They also had a two-story Queen Anne house nearby at 1130 O Street.

Figure 1 - According to information
provided by the 1915 Sanborn Map, the
Johnson house may have looked
something like the house at 1926 11th
Street. Photo: Don Cox
Figure 2 - The Ernst grocery may have looked
like the Farley grocery at 12th & F Streets.

Photo: Calif. State Library

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Recorded by : Don Cox

Dr. Albert Johnson operated his dental practice in Sacramento for 35 years. Outside of his practice, Albert became well known for his importance in the Episcopal Church diocese. He was instrumental in the establishment and construction of the All Saints Memorial Episcopal Church on Sutterville Road. He served as a vestryman, or lay leader, of the church for many years.

Dr. Johnson was an avid gardener and won many ribbons with his entries in Sacramento’s annual Camellia Festival. In 1957 he won the award for the best flower in the show.8

Figure 4 - Dr. Johnson was one of the founders of All Saints Memorial Episcopal Church. Photo by Google Earth

The Johnson’s younger daughter, Carolyn, was born in 1928, two years after construction of the house. She graduated from Sacramento High School in 1945.9 She entered the University of California at Berkeley, graduating with an A.B. in Economics, and was recognized as a member of the prestigious Phi Beta Kappa honor society. She won a scholarship and went on to the management training program at Radcliffe College in Cambridge, MA.
10 Graduates of the Management Training Program pursued careers in marketing, finance, and industry, as well as the more traditional areas of personnel, sales, and publishing. The one-year certificate program at Radcliffe led to the integration of women into the Harvard School of Business.
11 Figure 3 - Dr. Albert
Johnson. Bee Photo
Figure 5 - Carolyn Johnson.

Photo: Sacramento High
School yearbook, 1945.

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Recorded by : Don Cox

“The pioneering graduates of these programs would go on to help open doors to formerly unattainable opportunities for generations of women who followed.”

Carolyn returned to Sacramento and joined the personnel department at the Weinstock-Lubin Corporation.
12 Weinstock’s continued to operate independently even though in 1949 it had been acquired by the Broadway-Hale
Corporation13 which would eventually acquire the Neiman- Marcus Company and Harrod’s Department store in London.

Carolyn rose through the ranks at Weinstock’s Corporate Headquarters until she became the Vice President of Human Resources in 1974. She retired from a 37-year career at Weinstock’s in 1987.14 Carolyn’s father, Dr. Johnson, died in 1964. Her mother Lucille, died in 1986. However, in 1967, Carolyn took out a building permit to remodel the kitchen. She was listed as the owner of the property.15 Carolyn was active in many civic organizations including: the Sacramento Camellia Festival (of which she was President in 1987, the first women to hold the title); Junior League; All Saints Memorial Church (which her father helped found); North Lake Tahoe Historical Society (a favorite family vacation spot); Soroptimist; California Railroad Museum Foundation; and the Family Service Agency of Sacramento.
16 Carolyn Johnson died in 2020. Her family had been occupants of the house from its construction to Carolyn’s death, some 94 years. Carolyn had lived in the house for most of her 91 years. During that time her father had a distinguished career as a Sacramento dentist for 35 years, 26 of which occurred while he lived in the house. He was a leader in the establishment and construction of All Saints Memorial Episcopal Church and he was an honored member of the Sacramento Camellia Society.

Carolyn carried on her father's heritage with the Church and the Camellia Festival. She also singularly distinguished herself by becoming a corporate Vice President during a period when it was rare for women to hold such high positions in the corporate world.

The house is more than fifty years old and is eligible as a Historic Landmark under Criterion ii of City Code Section 17.604.210 in that it is associated with the lives of persons significant in the City’s past.

Figure 7 - Carolyn Johnson, ca 1974.

Photo: CSH 1996/044/0782
Figure 6 - Radcliffe College Archives, Schlesinger Library.

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Recorded by : Don Cox

Appendix A [This appendix is not part of the formal nomination. It exists to show the deep roots of the current owners in Sacramento.]
The house at 1049 44
th Street is unusual in that it has been owned
by only two families in its 97 years of existence. The Grutzmachers purchased the house in 2018 and continued the tradition of owners with deep roots into Sacramento’s past. Deborah Grutzmacher’s grandparents, Ray and Bessie Sisler, migrated to the Elverta area in 1926 from Minnesota, where he had managed his family’s dairy farm.

He had received a degree in Agriculture from the University of Minnesota and had progressive ideas on pure bred cattle and modern farming approaches. Ray knew someone from Ag school that was moving to California to ranch and farm. He realized that there was an alternative to managing a dairy in the brutal winters of Northern Minnesota and made the decision to move the family of 6 children to California. “They traveled with six children by car pulling a trailer from Grand Rapids on roads and highways that were mostly gravel—it was treacherous.” [“The Story of Sisler’s Riverside Family Dairy”, William M. Sisler] They settled on El Reno Road in Elverta where he purchased 30 acres and established a dairy farm while also working for the the SP Railroad as a Fruit Express clerk. A family with six children soon became eight. The Rio Linda/Elverta area was one of the largest poultry producing areas in the state of California and Ray realized a better way to support his family would be focusing on poultry, as 30 acres was not enough land for a big dairy operation. He began custom brooding of turkeys - receiving the one-day old chicks from the hatchery, raising them for 9 weeks then returning them to whoever they were breeding for. Over the years Rancho El Reno managed over 200,000 birds and was the second largest custom turkey brooder in Northern California.

Family members remember doing their schoolwork at night and tending to the turkeys while the heat from the brooder lamp kept them warm. Jobs for the younger children varied from debeaking so the young birds wouldn’t cannibalize each other to rounding up young turkeys that panicked as planes from McClellan Air Force Base thundered overhead. If they didn’t catch the chicks they would pile onto each other and suffocate. Ray’s children worked on the ranch until they either married and started a family or went off to war. “Children were put to work as soon as they were capable, and teenagers simply did not have opportunity to question or opt out of family chores.” [Richter, p. 74]

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Recorded by : Don Cox

The permanent buildings of Grant Union High School were completed in 1935.17 Attendance was supported by bus service. The buildings of the Air Repair Depot (McClellan AFB) were started in 1936.18 The Rio Linda Grammar School that now exists was built in the 1950s. The Junior High was built in 1952 and the Senior High was built in 1962. These were parts of a trend that eventually changed Rio Linda.

It was generally felt by farmers in this region that all you needed was an 8th grade education. Once you had learned reading, writing and arithmetic you had the basic skill set for farming. You only went on to high school if you were thinking about doing some other kind of work. [Richter, p. 90] From the early days of Rio Linda, high school was available via the Sacramento Northern Railroad. Area students could attend Sacramento High School or McClatchy and they did. In 1935 Grant Union was available and provided a convenient school bus service. McClellan AFB had scores of civilian jobs available from industrial to clerical. Other area businesses in Sacramento were just a short ride away. Once you had a decent paying job where you worked eight hours a day five days a week—why would you want to go back to poultry ranching? This is what happened. When

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Recorded by : Don Cox

the ranch owners became elderly, and it was time for the children to step up and take over—they didn’t want the job [Posehn]. A slow, but steady decline in poultry ranching began in the 1960s. Ray Sisler died in 1969 and despite having 8 children and 24 grandchildren all in the area, there was nobody in the family to take over the turkey ranch and Rancho El Reno closed.

Richard and Deborah Grutzmacher who currently reside in the house on 44th Street started their family in Seattle where Richard was on the faculty of the University of Washington Medical School, as Director of Cornea. Much like the Sislers leaving Minnesota to escape the cold winters, the Grutzmachers moved to Deborah’s hometown of Sacramento to escape the rainy summers of Seattle. Deborah attended local schools and went to the University of San Francisco for her nursing degree.

At that time the only other ophthalmologist specializing in Cornea in Sacramento was at UC Davis and the wait to get an appointment was very long, so Richard saw an
opportunity. Richard started a solo medical practice in 1987 in the Old Tavern Building at the corner of 28th Street and Capitol Avenue directly above the newly opened Biba’s
restaurant. At the office opening party Biba personally catered the food. At the time of his retirement in 2020, the practice had expanded, moved twice and had grown to 6
doctors and 25 office staff. The practice today is known as Sacramento Eye Consultants of which he is a founding
partner.

In 1995, with other ophthalmologists observing, Richard performed the first laser eye surgery for vision correction in Sacramento in his office at Mercy Medical Plaza on J Street.

He went on to instruct numerous physicians in laser surgery techniques and he is considered the pioneer and leader of laser eye surgery in the Sacramento Valley region. The last few years of his practice as the office got larger and busier he gave his cell phone number to all of his patients so they could contact him directly. Three years into his retirement he still receives calls from former patients and other physicians seeking advice.

References for Appendix A
Posehn, Margaret, Rio Linda and Elverta History, two volumes, I – 1850-1929 and II 1930-1959 Pacific Copy and Print, North Highlands, CA 2015.

Richter, Chrisina with Fiddyment, David, Walk with Me, I want to tell you something, 3LP Publishers, 2013 Sisler, Willaim M., “The Story of the Sisler Riverside Dairy”, excerpts from the Grand Rapids Herald-Review.

Sisler Family members personal recollections - Deborah Lopes Grutzmacher, Larry Chapman, Richard and Deborah Grutzmacher, and Linda Skamnes, office manager Sacramento Eye Consultants

Figure 8 - The Old Tavern building.

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Recorded by : Don Cox

ENDNOTES

1 Sacramento City Directories
2 1930 US Census
3 1950 US Census
4 Sacramento Bee, “John Johnson, Former S.P. Conductor, Expires,” Nov. 15, 1935, p. 33. 5 1910 US Census
6 Sacramento Bee, “A. N. Johnson, Dentist For 35 Years, Dies,” Sept. 3, 1964, p. 45. 7 Sacramento Bee, “Adolph G. Ernst, 77, Civic Figure, Dies,” August 4, 1947, p. 5 8 Sacramento Bee, “A. N. Johnson, Dentist For 35 Years, Dies,” Sept. 3, 1964, p. 45. 9 Sacramento Bee, “Johnson, Carolyn J.,” February 23, 2020, p. 27. 10 Sacramento Bee, “Carolyn Johnson Is Scholarship Winner,” May 28, 1949, p. 19. 11 Library.hbs.edu: Building the Foundation: Business Education for Women at Harvard University: 1937- 1970. 12 Sacramento Bee, “Johnson, Carolyn J.,” February 23, 2020, p. 27. 13 Sacramento Bee, “Hale Bros. Will Take Control Of Weinstock’s, August 10, 1949, p. 1 14 Sacramento Bee, “Johnson, Carolyn J.,” February 23, 2020, p. 27. 15 City of Sacramento Building Permit: F-6976, April 17, 1967. 16 Sacramento Bee, “Johnson, Carolyn J.,” February 23, 2020, p. 27. 17 North Sacramento Journal, October 18, 1935.
18 North Sacramento Journal, September 11, 1936.

Sacramento City CouncilAugust 13, 2024

Sacramento City Council
August 13, 2024