Bee/Carl
CostasBee/Carl
Costas
Uptown, where art
thou?
North Sacramento's dream of an arts mecca along Del Paso Boulevard remains elusive
By David Barton -- Bee Staff Writer
Published 2:15 am PDT Monday, July 18, 2005
Story appeared in Scene section, Page E1
Residents refer to it simply
as "the Boulevard," as though everyone knows what they're talking
about.
Indeed, Del Paso Boulevard, the main street of North Sacramento, is much in
the news lately.
Last month, city officials and other interested parties gathered on the Boulevard
to celebrate the groundbreaking of a $2.1 million "streetscape" remodel
that will give the aging thoroughfare a much-needed face-lift.
And over on Calvados Avenue at Oakmont Street, barely two blocks from the Boulevard,
artists and construction workers are creating 11 live/work spaces, designed
(and priced) for artists, and collectively known as Surreal Estates.
The realization of these two long-planned dreams makes it appear that the Boulevard
- which was branded "uptown" a decade ago for its position north of
the downtown/midtown core - is taking shape.
There are signs that this "challenged" area is delivering on some
of the dreams that have long filled the heads of artists, real estate investors
and ordinary citizens.
Question is, is the long-imagined uptown Arts District more dream or reality?
Just down the Boulevard, artists Steve Vanoni and Allen Denault have finished
moving out of the space where they have for the past four years run the cutting-edge
art center called Gallery Horse Cow.
With forklifts and their own sweat, Vanoni and Denault are taking apart a dream
that outlived its rapidly appreciating 1409 Del Paso Boulevard location: Their
landlord sold the property and they were asked to move on.
"We wouldn't have left; we were going to try to buy the building,"
says Vanoni sheepishly. "But we waited a bit too long."
Now that they're moving, Vanoni says he feels less-compelled to play the booster
for the neighborhood.
"It's still a tough neighborhood," says Vanoni. "I never used
to go north of Arden Way on the Boulevard; there's too much riffraff. We sorta
treated our place like the Batcave. You know, open the gate, drive in and lock
it behind you. We got ripped off several times."
Some artists fared worse. Kyle Billing, a 23-year-old graduate of the Art Institute
of Chicago, was shot and killed on a November day in 1999 as he loaded art supplies
into his new studio near the Boulevard. That murder, and another at a nearby
light rail station around the same time, persuaded Larry Bailey, a former co-owner
of the Open Book bookstore, to abandon plans to buy property there.
"In midtown, you avoid trouble by avoiding situations where there's a risk,"
he said. "But a murder in broad daylight - the only way to avoid that is
to avoid the area, and I do."
Despite setbacks, Vanoni and Denault will land on their feet, they say. They
already have another place closer to the city core, off North 16th Street, where
they'll have three times the space. And they have even more ambitious dreams
- of classes, more shows and even a cafe - than they had when they were on the
Boulevard.
No, if any dreams have been broken, they may be those of the Boulevard itself.
Gallery Horse Cow is the last large gallery to close. Its closing follows the
closing of the high-end Michael Himovitz Gallery, which shut its doors in 2001,
and the subsequent demise of the Matrix Gallery and The Center for Contemporary
Art, Sacramento.
Louis Greenwald is board president of the Center for Contemporary Art, Sacramento.
Rather than dwell on the negatives of Del Paso Boulevard, which the CCAS left
in June 2004, he prefers to focus on the positives of midtown, where the CCAS
will open Aug. 6 in a new space on 19th Street, between O and P streets.
"We made the decision to come to midtown because the synergy is there,"
he says. "The galleries are sprouting up; the patrons with the interest
and disposable income are going to midtown. Sacramento has a really vibrant
arts scene right now, and it's happening in midtown."
David Stone was perhaps the first to envision the Boulevard as an arts mecca,
nearly 30 years ago, when he opened the funky Acme Gallery in the building that
now houses the Sacramento Metropolitan Arts Commission on the Boulevard.
Stone recently moved with his wife, Cathy, an artist and art teacher at California
State University, Sacramento, to Los Angeles, where they last year opened a
gallery that has drawn good reviews from the Los Angeles Times.
He was similarly optimistic in 1975, when he opened Acme. At the time, he envisioned
the Boulevard in 2005 as a burgeoning art center. He's disappointed at the disintegration
of the dream.
"It's almost as though it's evolving away from art," says Stone by
phone from Los Angeles. "It's an arts ghost town."
Chuck Miller watched the disintegration up-close and all-too-personally. The
owner of the Michael Himovitz Gallery, he and his late partner, Himovitz, offered
first-rate, often-challenging art to Sacramento for more than 20 years - until
he took a chance on the Boulevard.
Miller, who still operates an art-consulting business out of his home in the
nearby neighborhood of Woodlake, says he rarely visits the area's main street.
"I go to the hardware store occasionally, but I have such a bad taste in
my mouth," he says. "I just got burned too badly."
Miller, who perhaps once was the area's biggest booster, put his money - and
his gallery - on the line to make uptown happen. But, he says, "The bottom
line is, there was more attention and money placed on the development of the
downtown core. The city could have helped uptown, but it didn't."
These days, uptown survives, and a few businesses thrive. Dan Friedlander's
Limn, an upscale furniture store, has done well - well enough for Freidlander
to buy the Horse Cow property, as well as others.
Indeed, while the arts have fared poorly, real estate investors have seen significant
appreciation, their boats rising with the real estate tide. And the streetscape
remodel will improve the looks of the place, which may well bring in more businesses
to join those that hang on.
There are even a couple of theaters and a couple of small dance studios. And
a few artists hang in, especially if they have income and a good deal on rent.
"I've been here for 10 years," says Gerald Silva, a well-known local
artist. "In that time, the prices have probably tripled, but my place hasn't,
which is why I haven't moved. I'm content with this, but the rents have really
gone up."
But the notion of uptown as a destination for art lovers has suffered blows
that are serious, if not fatal, according to those who watch the arts community
in Sacramento. One cites the shrinking number of uptown markers on maps of Second
Saturday events.
The area's current Sacramento City Council member, Sandy Sheedy, who lives around
the corner from Miller in Woodlake, sounds like no fan of the uptown brand.
"Uptown was a concept, but it's not Del Paso Boulevard and it's not North
Sacramento," she says. "I've heard real negatives about (that name).
It's North Sacramento, not uptown."
Semantics and marketing aside, boosters of the Boulevard still abound, and Sheedy's
one of them. A resident of Woodlake for 30 years, she has an investment in the
place and its people. She remembers coming from her hometown, Colusa, with her
mother to go shopping on what was then a thriving commercial strip.
But despite all the good news she has about a coming Starbucks and her enthusiasm
for the Boulevard's future, she is realistic about art in the area.
"The arts are really down to the bare bones," she says. "We still
have artists here, and we still have the Doiron Gallery."
But, she added, "It's been a struggle."
Joyce Doiron has had her gallery on the Boulevard for eight years, selling handcrafted
jewelry and other decorative art. She's unbowed by the recent setbacks in the
area.
"I'm going to make this a real positive statement," she says. "You
should always look at the positive side. I have wonderful artists and wonderful
clients, and I so enjoy coming to work and being part of the artist community.
"This is going to come back around," she says. "We will have
real active Second Saturdays and a draw for people to come to see art."
Sheedy agrees, and says she doesn't regret the departure of Gallery Horse Cow,
though she says she didn't have anything against the gallery. She notes that
the fire and police departments, as well as the neighbors, all had complaints
from time to time.
Franklin Burris is president of the North Sacramento Chamber of Commerce and
another unbowed booster. He works for commercial real estate broker Taylor Properties
and is optimistic about the Boulevard's chances. He mentions the grants, of
$100 to $500, that the chamber gives directly to artists and galleries for Second
Saturday events, which still draw people.
And he is particularly happy with Surreal Estates, which, he says, will change
the character of the low-income neighborhood by attracting creative people who
will then invest their ideas, as well as their sweat, in the place. He downplays
the loss of the galleries.
"I'd rather have artists as residents than just galleries," he says.
"People with a creative vision are vital to a community fabric. And what
they can bring to the table, and what they can see that other folks might not
see, is what is going to make that community a great community."
Doug Austin is the vice president of the chamber and a business owner with Austin's
Uptown Studio, a photography business that occupies the former site of the Matrix
Gallery. He's long been active in the area and its improvements, and he's a
fan of the uptown brand. And he's still a believer in the area.
"We hit our heyday in the '90s; we had all those galleries," he says.
He notes that things have "slowed" since then, but he insists "there's
a changed atmosphere and image. It's more of a cool, happening spot instead
of a stepchild of downtown."
But, he adds, "We need to get the synergy going. You struggle, and the
right mix happens."
He gets so excited with the vision, the words tumble out.
"Let's get that synergy to happen, where the Boulevard is the hot, trendy
new spot."
He pauses. "That's what I'm dreaming about."
About the writer:
The Bee's David Barton can be reached at (916) 321-1075 and at dbarton@sacbee.com.
Artists at work
Painters, sculptors and more work on building their own houses, studios.
By Dirk Werkman -- Bee Staff Writer
Published 2:15 am PDT Thursday, July 14, 2005
Story appeared in Antelope north sacramento section, Page G1
A hot sun kept the noonday
temperature in the mid-90s as Jerry Montoya directed the stacking of wall panels
at the construction site.
"We should have installed the air conditioning first," Montoya quipped
of the North Sacramento site where 11 homes are being built.
He unloaded boxes of building materials to wrap up several hours of activity,
then announced, "I'm heading to work, guys."
With that, Montoya proceeded to his day job as an associate producer at the
B Street Theatre in Sacramento.
Montoya and his wife, Erika Teach, who paints and does murals, are building
one of 11 homes at Calvados Avenue and Oakmont Street. All will be owned by
artists.
Homes in the project, called Surreal Estates, will cost the artists between
$120,000 and $220,000, depending on their income.
The homes are moderately priced, compared with current Sacramento-area homes,
because the artists, their families and friends are doing virtually all the
work.
John "Jack" Larkin, owner of Larkin General Contracting and the person
who is overseeing the home construction, said that aside from some of the concrete
work, the artists and their volunteer supporters are doing all of the work on
the homes, including electrical and plumbing.
Each artist is required to put in at least 35 hours a week on the job, but Larkin
said "many people come closer to 60 hours or more."
Larkin said the long hours logged by the volunteers are in addition to the normal
time they spend at their regular jobs. "They get no vacations," he
said.
Motivating the workers is the thought of the day they complete their homes.
Not just their individual homes, but all 11 of the houses.
Kim Scott, a painter who also works in enamel and animation, is the administrative
leader of the group. She said no artist can move in until all of them can.
"We can't get the keys until we all get the keys," Scott said.
Also stimulating the artists while they build the 1,200-square foot, two-story
houses, are plans for the 800-square-foot studios being constructed adjacent
to each house.
"I've been longing to have a studio," said Mary Minich, an artist
who works with glass and jewelry.
Minich said she lives in an apartment and is limited in the artworks she can
produce. A studio will allow her to create murals and other works she would
like to do, Minich said.
Robert Charland works in ceramics, lives in downtown Sacramento and has his
studio on Del Paso Boulevard, a short distance from Surreal Estates. Charland
said he is looking forward to having a studio just steps from his house.
"If you wake up in the middle of the night with a great dream, you can
just roll out of bed and go to your studio," Charland said.
If the homes are completed by the end of the year, as the artists anticipate,
construction will have taken far less time than it took to plan the project,
acquire the site and carry out other aspects of the $2.4 million project.
Scott, one of the founders of the Surreal Estates project, said work had been
going on for more than a decade to put the plan together.
The Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency, Mercy Housing and other groups
involved with providing affordable housing helped bring the project to the point
of construction.
Charland said 11 artists had to be recruited to make the plan work, noting that
several times in the past, "something would happen and there would be a
delay and we would lose some artists."
The ongoing construction is a learning process for the artists.
"Artists are normally handy with their hands, but they haven't done this
kind of work," Scott said.
"I thought I knew what I was doing because I had worked around the house
and pounded picture nails," Minich said.
But Minich admitted she wasn't prepared for pounding the 3 1/4-inch nails
required for some aspects of the project.
"Sore muscles are part of the sweat equity," Minich said of building
a house. "And the blisters too."
About the writer:
The Bee's Dirk Werkman can be reached at (916) 773-6817 or dwerkman@sacbee.com.
*Sculptor Jack Nielsen lays joists that will support the second floor of a home
at Surreal Estates, a group of homes being built by and for artists. Each home
will have an 800-square-foot studio adjacent to it. Sacramento Bee/Carl Costas
City
to spruce up Del Paso Blvd.
$2.1 million project seeks to restore aging North Sac area.
By Dirk Werkman -- Bee Staff Writer
Published 2:15 am PDT Thursday, June 30, 2005
Story appeared in Antelope north sacramento section, Page H1
Landscaped medians and other street amenities are expected to be in place along
a one-mile section of Del Paso Boulevard by October, the result of a $2.1 million
effort to return an aging North Sacramento neighborhood to the prestigious status
it held decades ago.
"Here we are and ready to start," Councilwoman Sandy Sheedy told more
than 40 people attending the June 22 groundbreaking for the street beautification
project.
Sheedy, who represents North Sacramento, said $1.8 million of the cost is coming
from tax increment funds for a North Sacramento redevelopment project along
with increasing property values and property taxes. Various federal and local
funds will cover the remainder.
Boulevard improvements are planned between Arden Way and El Camino Avenue.
The beautification program represents just one side of the neighborhood enhancement
coin, however.
The other side is represented by people like property owner Buddy Bergstrom,
who's putting the finishing touches on a building at 2014 Del Paso Blvd. that
he has owned for three years.
A public-private relationship has been evolving for a decade along the boulevard,
with the development of art galleries and related facilities as well as restaurants
and other businesses.
The Sacramento Metropolitan Arts Commission, which funds public art projects
throughout the county, provided a boost to the neighborhood several years ago
when it moved its headquarters to the Marcus Building at 2030 Del Paso Blvd.
The kickoff ceremony for the street beautification program was held across the
street.
"Build it and they will come," Bergstrom quipped of remodeling his
building, which once served as a restaurant and, he expects, may do so again
soon.
Bergstrom said 50 to 60 people would be able to eat at the restaurant, which
would be housed in 2,200 square feet of space on the building's lower floor.
The second floor has another 2,200 square feet of live-work space, he said.
Bergstrom's building and the beautification program are part of a remodeling
and construction wave that began sweeping the boulevard several years ago.
Roger Dickinson, chairman of the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors, said
the beautification program "represents renewed interest in what used to
be the old part of town." Del Paso Boulevard is one of several aging commercial
corridors in Sacramento that are having new life pumped into them.
Dickinson said the beautification project helps demonstrate that people want
to live, work and invest their money in older areas "that have a very bright
future."
Several additional development phases, including placement of public art along
the boulevard, are being planned by citizens and city officials.
Also being considered is the idea of replacing the current parallel parking
along the boulevard with diagonal parking, a move that would create 64 additional
spaces. The City Council would make the decision on that issue.
Franklin Burris, president of the North Sacramento Chamber of Commerce, who
favors the proposal, said it is still under consideration.
More street furniture, lights, benches, and signs noting the historic significance
of buildings along the boulevard are also being considered for future development.
"You can dream it faster than you can build it," Burris said.
Noting that Broadway, Stockton Boulevard and other older commercial corridors
already have undergone beautification programs, he said, "From a competitive
standpoint, it is important for us to get this done."
Just a short block from Del Paso Boulevard, on a 1.3-acre site at Calvados Avenue
and Oakmont Street, 11 artists are helping to build their own single-family
homes, each with a detached studio. The Surreal Estates homes are being built
as part of a $2.4 million project that has been planned for a decade.
A new Sacramento City fire station is nearing completion on Rio Linda Boulevard
near Del Paso Boulevard. It is scheduled to open toward the end of July.
About the writer:
The Bee's Dirk Werkman can be reached at (916) 773-6817 or dwerkman@sacbee.com..