April 1, 1854

On this day in 1854, the City Waterworks building at the corner of Front and I Streets was finished and the water tank on the roof was filled. Construction of the building began on October 27, 1853 after Mayor Hutchinson, city officials, and merchants pushed for a city managed waterworks to help prevent any further fires in Sacramento, such as the Great Conflagration that occurred on November 2, 1852 where 80 percent of Sacramento was destroyed.

The City Waterworks was the first mechanical municipal water system not only in California, but it was believed to be the first west of the Rocky Mountains. The first business to take water from the Waterworks was Adams & Company on Second Street. By November 1854, the Waterworks had 403 customers. In 1855, at a cost of $23,600, there were just over two miles of water pipes laid with fifty hydrants. The Waterworks also served as Sacramento’s City Hall with council chambers, courtroom, and city offices on the second floor. The police department and city jail occupied the first floor.

The weight of the rooftop water tanks caused structural damage and the building was converted to the city prison. Its location to the railroad line caused further damage and most offices were removed by 1880. In 1912 the building was condemned and demolished the next year. Today, the Sacramento History Museum is housed in a reconstruction, finished in 1985, of the City Hall and Waterworks building.

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