Is vision as grand as Sacramento's history?

Enclosed by the route of the world's first transcontinental railroad are seven 19th century buildings in the Sacramento railyard. The buildings – massive brick buildings dating from 1860s – may not look it in their current state, but they are the jewels of downtown.

The railyard's Central Shops, where locomotives and railroad cars were built and repaired for more than 100 years, should be on the National Historic Register. They should be admired and enjoyed by Sacramentans, while drawing visitors from all over the world.

Properly redone, the core buildings of the railyard would give the city an iconic sense of place, just as the Ferry Terminal and the Piers projects have done for San Francisco.

Sacramento is not just the state Capitol or the launching pad for the Gold Rush. While Promontory, Utah, takes credit for the transcontinental railroad – though it was only an accidental meeting point – the story really is Sacramento's. And the Central Shops in the railyard were an epicenter of technological innovation and the Central Valley's largest employer through the 1950s.

The city should claim the story by making something of the site where it took place. Unfortunately, attempts to develop the 240-acre railyard have proceeded in fits and starts since 1989, mostly fits – with private development teams coming and going. In the past, negotiations have broken down over toxic cleanup, infrastructure costs and fear of competition from downtown retail merchants.

Now, there is a new sense of optimism about the railyard. A development project has gone further than any in the past. Union Pacific has sold the land. Toxic cleanup is proceeding. The developer, Thomas Enterprises, has engaged the community in numerous meetings and presented plans for a dynamic mix of restaurants, shops, housing, offices and a museum.

But, as you would expect with a project this size there are hang-ups. The issues should be addressed before the Sacramento City Council grants the entitlements needed for development. The council is rushing toward a Nov. 20 decision, though the public and several city commissions have yet to see a proposed finance plan or a development agreement.

The size of a proposed railroad technology museum is disputed. The boundaries of a historic district remain contested, with the developer proposing a district that includes only the footprint of the buildings and a coalition proposing a larger district that includes the transcontinental railroad route. And concerns remain that the first phase of development consists mainly of retail shops and not enough housing outside the Central Shops area to create the desired "urban village" atmosphere.

Thomas Enterprises wants to use five of the Central Shops buildings for a public marketplace like San Francisco's Ferry Terminal, with restaurants, cafes and shops: The two-story Paint Shop, which has wonderful skylighting and the original arched door; the Planing Mill, which has "two colossal stories" and round-arched windows; the Car Machine Shop and Car Shop No. 3; and the Blacksmith Shop, a single-story building with 22-foot-high walls, original doors and hardware. There is a three-story privy, described as "possibly the only three-story privy in existence."

California State Parks has been occupying the Erecting Shop and the Boiler Shop for the past eight years, leasing the buildings from Union Pacific.

The Erecting Shop, the largest building at nearly 83,000 square feet, is the most historic building on the site. It's the only surviving structure on the site that was standing when the transcontinental railroad was completed in 1869. For 120 years, the Erecting Shop created new locomotives and rebuilt older ones.

State Parks believes it's a natural for a railroad technology museum that would cover the past, present and future of train technology – from steam to diesel to the bullet train and beyond. California, once again, could be at the forefront of international design and modeling of the rail technology of the future, keeping the link between the site's past and future.

About the writer:

• Call The Bee's Associate Editor Pia Lopez, (916) 321-1904.