California State Capitol Museum & California State Capitol
Published on HivePostify by @byzantinecat · Sat Jul 04 2026
Howdy!
My recent visit to the California State Capitol Museum and the other Capitol-related sites in the vicinity was the capstone to my 2026 trip to Sacramento. All of these are free to visit, though you will likely need to pay for downtown parking.
Here is my collection of Northern California posts:
F1: [San Francisco (SFO) & San Jose (SJC) Airports](https://peakd.com/travel/@byzantinecat/san-francisco-sfo-and-san-jose-sjc-airports)
F2: [Sacramento Zoo (2026)](https://peakd.com/travel/@byzantinecat/sacramento-zoo-2026)
F3: [Leland Stanford Mansion](https://peakd.com/travel/@byzantinecat/leland-stanford-mansion)
F4: California State Capitol Museum & California State Capitol (this post)
This is my lengthy backlog of NorCal posts, mostly covering 2024 - 2025:
- Winchester Mystery House - Triton Museum of Art - San Jose History Park - San Jose Museum of Art - California Academy of Sciences - Blue & Gold Fleet SF Bay Cruise - San Francisco Museum of Modern Art - Legion of Honor - de Young Museum - San Francisco Zoo & Gardens - Monterey Bay Aquarium - Six Flags Discovery Kingdom - Oakland Zoo - CuriOdyssey - Happy Hollow Park & Zoo - Asian Art Museum - Marine Mammal Center - Sacramento Zoo (2025) - California State Railroad Museum
All of the pictures in this post were taken by me except for the interior map of the Capitol building and the accompanying legend. If you want to use any of my photos, please contact me to first obtain permission.
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CALIFORNIA STATE CAPITOL MUSEUM
1315 10th Street Sacramento, CA 95814
Website: https://capitolmuseum.ca.gov/
Hours:
Monday - Friday: 9 AM - 5 PM. However, some of the museum exhibits seem to close around 4 PM and the gift shop closes at 4:30 PM.
Closed on Saturday & Sunday.
Cost (as of 2026): FREE!
You will likely have to pay for downtown parking. On SpotHero I paid $7 for 3 hours at the Masonic Temple Lot, which was about a 10 minute walk north. Since I spent extra time at Sacramento Zoo, I only ended up using 2 of the 3 parking hours.
Estimated Time: 30 - 60 minutes.
The museum area is on the 1st floor and is relatively small. I spent about 30 minutes going through it all. I spent another hour thoroughly exploring the rest of the Capitol building and then 30 minutes wandering around the surrounding area (war memorials, cathedral, Masonic temple).
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SUMMARY
While the California State Capitol Museum is free, it is extremely underwhelming. In fact, I'd hardly call it a museum. There are 6 historic rooms to observe and then a rotating exhibit split between the library and the archives. I was able to see the portion in the library but I missed the archives portion because it closed early. However, I was able to see what I missed via the virtual tour available on the website.
As a museum, I would rate it as 1 star because there's barely any content and despite being free it's really not worth visiting just to see a handful of rooms.
However, if you lump this together with a broader visit to the capitol, including watching the Assembly and Senate for civic education, admiring the architecture of the capitol building and rotunda, and paying respects at the nearby memorials, then it might make for an overall 2 star experience which is free (other than parking). If you time it right, you might even be able to visit the nearby Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament or the Masonic Temple.
In comparison to other museums:
5 stars:
- Field Museum (Chicago, IL) - Castello Sforzesco (Milan, Italy)
4 stars:
- The Ringling (Sarasota, FL) - Museum of Science and Industry (Chicago, IL) - Museum d'Histoire Naturelle (Nice, France) (2 stars without the Lego special exhibit) - Musée Masséna (Nice, France) - Galata Museo del Mare (Genoa, Italy) - Museo del Duomo (Milan, Italy) - CDC Museum (Atlanta, GA, Free) - Mardi Gras World (New Orleans, LA) - World War 2 Museum (New Orleans, LA)
3 stars:
- Chicago Fed Money Museum (Chicago, IL, Free) - Medieval Torture Museum (Chicago, IL) - Musée d'Archéologie de Nice-Cimiez (Nice, France) - Civico Museo Archeologico (Milan, Italy) - Museo Nazionale della Scienza e della Tecnologia Leonardo da Vinci (Milan, Italy) - Museo di Storia Naturale (Milan, Italy) - California Academy of Sciences (San Francisco, CA) - Michael C Carlos Museum (Atlanta, GA) - Center for Puppetry Arts (Atlanta, GA) - World of Coca-Cola (Atlanta, GA) - Fernbank Museum of Natural History (Atlanta, GA)
2 stars:
- Musée d'Archéologie d'Antibes (Antibes, France) - Museo Civico di Storia Naturale Giacomo Doria (Genoa, Italy) - Museo del Tesoro di San Lorenzo (Genoa, Italy) - Museo Biblioteca dell'Attore (Genoa, Italy, Free) - Holcomb Observatory and Planetarium (Indianapolis, IN) - San Jose History Park (San Jose, CA, Free) - Museum of Illusions (Atlanta, GA) - Atlanta History Center (Atlanta, GA) - New Bedford Whaling Museum (New Bedford, MA) - Museum of Science (Boston, MA) - Cape Cod Maritime Museum (Hyannis, MA) - Cape Cod Museum of Natural History (Brewster, MA) - French Cable Museum (Orleans, MA, Free) - Pilgrim Monument and Museum (Provincetown, MA)
1 star:
- National Center for Civil and Human Rights (Atlanta, GA) - Attleboro Industrial Museum (Attleboro, MA, Free) - Whydah Pirate Museum (West Yarmouth, MA) - California State Capitol Museum (Sacramento, CA, Free)
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EXTERIOR
Here is the exterior of the capitol building.
This is one of the side entrances (the North Capitol Public Entrance). You enter here (or on the other side at the South Capitol Public Entrance) and pass through some metal detectors.
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HISTORIC ROOMS
The "museum" consists of a handful of historic rooms along with a rotating special exhibit ("Lasting Impressions - Early Photography in California" on my visit).
Governor's Anteroom March 1906
Governor's Main Office 1906
This is the Governor's Main Office as it appeared in 1906. Governor George C. Pardee used this office and two others. He did much of his work in the Governor's Private Office, visible through the doorway on the right, and received visitors in the anteroom to the left. By 1906, state government was expanding and a remodeling of the Capitol had begun. This work had barely started when on April 18, 1906, the Great Earthquake and Fire struck San Francisco. California's most powerful earthquake killed over 3,500 people and caused approximately 1 billion dollars in property damage. Relief efforts were coordinated through the Governor's Main Office. The continual threat of earthquakes led the State to undertake a restoration of the State Capitol building from 1975 to 1982. The restoration made the structure earthquake safe, while recreating the Capitol's architectural beauty.
Governor's Private Office July 1906
Secretary of State's Office November 1902
The Secretary of State's Main Office is a recreation of the staff office as it appeared at the time of the 1902 November election. The Secretary of State was responsible for the proper conduct of elections and completion of the resulting vote. Besides election duties, the Secretary of State enforced election laws regarding campaign contributions and expenditures, acted as the chief recording officer and archivist of California, filed Articles of Incorporation and trademarks, maintained the Capitol, and handled automobile registrations and driver's licenses. The Secretary of State had the largest staff in the Capitol, with fifty male and two female employees, because of all of these responsibilities. In 1911, the maintenance of the Capitol became the responsibility of a newly created position, the Superintendent of Buildings and Grounds. Today, the Secretary of State is also the chief of Notaries Public, registrar of lobbyists, and keeper of the Great Seal of the State of California.
Tags: #travel#travelblog#wanderlust#sacramento#california#capitol#museum#history#politics#giftshop