Sacramento LGBTQ+ Historic Experience Project

Sacramento LGBTQ+ Historic Experience Project is a winner for the 2025 Preservation Design Award for Cultural Heritage, Intangible Assets. Award recipients are selected by a jury of top professionals in the fields of architecture, engineering, planning, and history, as well as renowned architecture critics and journalists. Tickets and sponsorship options are available at californiapreservation.org/programs/awards/.

About Sacramento LGBTQ+ Historic Experience Project

The LGBTQ+ Historic Experience Project is a groundbreaking effort by the City of Sacramento to document, protect, and celebrate the city’s LGBTQ+ history. Funded in part through the California OHP Certified Local Government Grant Program, the project produced a Historic Context Statement and conducted a survey identifying significant sites, including the potential Lavender Heights Historic District and five individual landmarks. Through extensive archival research, oral histories, and community engagement, the project highlighted themes such as the gay liberation movement, the AIDS crisis, and LGBTQ+ political activism. Public outreach was able to successfully reach diverse community voices through meetings, small group sessions, and individual interviews, ensuring inclusivity. The project’s findings lay the groundwork for listing the historic district and individual landmarks on the Sacramento Register in the near future, fostering greater public understanding, and enhancing civic pride. By preserving this underrepresented history, the project enriches Sacramento’s cultural narrative and sets a precedent for more inclusive historic preservation efforts across California.

Community Importance

The LGBTQ+ Historic Experience Project is vital to the Sacramento community because it addresses a long-standing gap in the recognition and preservation of underrepresented histories. For decades, the contributions of Sacramento’s LGBTQ+ community have remained hidden or unacknowledged, despite their profound impact on the city’s cultural, social, and political development. This project ensures that these stories are no longer overlooked.

Through the identification of significant sites, including the potential Lavender Heights Historic District, and the documentation of key events and figures, the project honors the resilience, activism, and achievements of the LGBTQ+ community. It fosters a sense of belonging and pride among LGBTQ+ individuals by validating their history as an integral part of Sacramento’s identity.

The project’s extensive community engagement also strengthens bonds across the broader Sacramento population. By involving diverse voices – BIPOC, Latinx, and trans communities, among others – it promotes understanding, inclusivity, and mutual respect. These efforts enhance civic pride, support cultural tourism, and contribute to Sacramento’s identity as an inclusive and progressive city.

Furthermore, the project sets the stage for long-term preservation and education. It enables future generations to learn about and celebrate the diversity of their city while encouraging other groups to undertake similar initiatives. The LGBTQ+ Historic Experience Project is not just a preservation effort; it builds on the success of the African American Experience Historic Context and Survey project (2023), to take a transformative step toward a more inclusive and equitable representation of Sacramento’s rich history.

About CPF and the Awards

The California Preservation Awards are a statewide hallmark, showcasing the best in historic preservation. The awards ceremony includes the presentation of the Preservation Design Awards and the President’s Awards, bringing together hundreds of people each year to share and celebrate excellence in preservation.

The California Preservation Foundation (CPF), a 501c3 nonprofit, was incorporated in 1978. We now support a national network of more than 36,000 members and supporters. Click here to learn how you can become a member.