Sacramento, California

Sacramento is the capital of the state of California, the county seat of Sacramento County and is situated in the Central Valley. The estimated population was 477,892  in 2011, making it the sixth-largest city in California. The Sacramento metropolitan area consists of four counties -- El Dorado, Placer, Sacramento and Yolo -- which together had an estimated population of 2,527,123 in 2009. Sacramento is a major regional hub of economic and cultural movements and activities in the Sacramento Valley. Two major rivers, the American and Sacramento rivers, intersect in Sacramento and are international attractions for rafters, kayakers and boaters. Cyclists, runners and pedestrians also enjoy the tree-lined zones along the rivers.

The first settlers of the area now known as Sacramento were the Nisenan and Plains Miwok Indians. Between 1799 and 1808, Spanish explorer Gabriel Moraga discovered and named the Sacramento Valley and the Sacramento River. A writer with Moraga's expedition noted that "canopies of oaks and cottonwoods, many festooned with grapevines, overhung both sides of the blue current. The air was like Champagne, and (the Spaniards) drank deep of it, drank in the beauty around them. It's like the Holy Sacrament." Thus, the valley and the river were then christened after the "most Holy Sacrament of the body and blood of Christ," a reference to the Catholic sacrament of the Eucharist. 

In August 1839, pioneer John Sutter Sr. arrived in the Sacramento area from Liestal, Switzerland, with other settlers and established Sutter's Fort, which was a trading colony and stockade that Sutter dubbed New Helvetia, or "New Switzerland." Sutter's orchard of fruit trees planted in 1847 was the inception of the agriculture industry in the Sacramento Valley. However, the following year, James W. Marshall discovered gold at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, about 50 miles northeast of the fort, and a large number of prospectors arrived in the area searching for gold. Sutter's son, John Sutter Jr., in association with Sam Brannan, planned the city of Sacramento, which overnight became a commercial success. Sutter hired William H. Warner, a topographical engineer, to draft the original layout of the city, which is situated just east and south of where the American River meets the Sacramento River. In 1849, the citizens of Sacramento adopted a city charter, which was recognized by the state Legislature in 1850, making Sacramento the oldest incorporated city in California.   

Throughout the early 1840s and 1850s, when China was at war with Great Britain and France in the First and Second Opium Wars, many Chinese immigrants came to America. Many of them first came to San Francisco, which was then the largest city in California and which the Chinese called Dai Fow, meaning "The Big City." Some Chinese immigrants eventually came to Sacramento, which was then second largest city and which the Chinese called Yee Fow, meaning "Second City." They helped build the levees within Sacramento and the surrounding cities as well as railroads in the city and the transcontinental railroad across the United States. Today, Sacramento’s Chinatown is much smaller than in the 19th century, but nevertheless, Chinese-Americans are recognized as significant part of Sacramento’s history and heritage.

The California Legislature moved to Sacramento in 1854, and in 1879 at the Constitutional Convention the city was named the permanent state capital. The capital under both Spanish and Mexican rule once Mexico gained its independence in 1821 had been in Monterey. After California’s statehood was ratified, the Legislature met in San Jose, Vallejo and Benicia, before moving to Sacramento. 

The city’s economic base is mainly governmental. Transportation is a also large sector, as are information technology, leisure and hospitality, business services, higher education, construction, and health services and research. The city’s top employers are Sutter Heath, Blue Diamond Growers, Aerojet and the McClatchy Company. The Sacramento area hosts a wide variety of higher educational opportunities. There are two major public universities, California State University, Sacramento, and the University of California, which has a campus in nearby Davis as well as graduate facilities in Sacramento. Many private institutions, community colleges and vocational schools are also located in Sacramento.

Sutter’s Fort and Old Sacramento are the oldest parts of the city, and buildings there have been preserved, restored and reconstructed, and the district is now a substantial tourist attraction with rides on steam-hauled historic trains and paddle steamers. Sacramento also has several major museums -- the Crocker Art Museum, the California State Railroad Museum, the California Automobile Museum, the California Museum for History, Woman, and the Arts, which is home to the California Hall of Fame, and the Sacramento History Museum. Sacramento is home to a significant music scene, including the Sacramento Philharmonic Orchestra, the Sacramento Choral Society & Orchestra, the Sacramento Youth Symphony, the Sacramento Master Singers, the Sacramento Children’s Chorus and the Camellia Symphony. Sacramento is well known as a center for Dixieland jazz, and jazz fans flock there every Memorial Day weekend to attend the Sacramento Jazz Jubilee. Many theaters are in Sacramento, including the Community Center Theatre and Memorial Auditorium.

Sacramento has a Mediterranean-style climate, with winters that are wet and mild, and summers that are dry and hot. The Sacramento Valley is known for its tule fog, which is extremely dense, limits visibility to less than 100 feet, and usually lasts an average of 96 days per year. Summers in Sacramento are great for people who love the heat, as on average the temperature exceeds 90 degrees Fahrenheit on 74 days during summer.

The Brod Law Firm takes tremendous pride in representing the interests of our clients in and around the greater Sacramento area, the Central Valley and in Northern California. We are committed to fighting for the rights of individuals, as well as small businesses in and around Sacramento, and we do not represent insurance companies or large corporations. Our law practice focuses on meeting the needs and challenges of our clients.

We are Sacramento injury attorneys, and we fight for people who have suffered serious and catastrophic injuries. In all personal injury cases, we work on a contingency fee basis, which means that unless a recovery of money is obtained, no legal fees are owed. We are Sacramento business attorneys, and unlike many large firms that look at business litigation as a way to bill excessively, our goal is to effectively and efficiently resolve our clients’ disputes.

Directions to our Oakland office from Sacramento: Take Interstate 80 east toward Oakland, and continue onto Interstate 980. Get off at the 18th Street exit toward 14th Street. Turn left on 17th Street, then left at Franklin Street. The office is at 1814 Franklin St. on the right side of the street. 

Directions to our San Francisco office from Sacramento are as follows: Take Interstate 80 west to the Bay Bridge toward San Francisco and exit at Fremont Street. Merge onto Fremont Street and turn left onto Mission Street. Turn right onto Anthony Street and take the first right onto Jessie Street. The office is at 96 Jessie St.

(Please note that we will travel to Sacramento to meet with our clients in the greater Sacramento area and the Central Valley, and that it is not necessary for those clients to travel to our San Francisco or Oakland offices.)