It’s quite possible that the real estate virtues of location and timing originated in Sacramento.

The Mexican government might not have been so quick to grant 48,000 acres of land to Swedish settler Johann “John” Sutter in 1839 had they known there was gold in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada. That discovery, less than a decade later, led to one of the largest population migrations in history, attracting thousands of fortune-seekers to the burgeoning town at the convergence of the Sacramento and American rivers.

Although Sutter suffered financial ruin during the Gold Rush as his farm workers abandoned the land in search of gold, the small community that grew near his settlement took root and flourished. In just two years, the population of Sacramento grew from 1,000 to 40,000. The city became the primary hub of “Gold Country,” providing housing, food, transportation and supplies for the ’49ers.

Thanks to its strategic location, Sacramento became the western terminus for the short-lived Pony Express and the first transcontinental railroad. And despite natural and manmade disasters that plagued the city in its early days, including floods, fires and a cholera epidemic, Sacramento persevered and now stands as the capital of the third largest state in the country and a thriving city with a diverse population and economy. Home to the state’s legislative body, government work is the largest industry in Sacramento, accounting for 26 percent of the total workforce.

Other major employers include Kaiser Permanente, Raley’s, Intel Corp. and UC Davis Health System. While non-farm employment has risen more than 32 percent the past 10 years, the agricultural sector continues to be a driving force in the region’s economy with the agricultural region ranking among the top 100 in the nation in terms of the value of production. Sacramento also boasts a deepwater port connected to San Francisco Bay, making the city a prime shipping center.

Sacramento is experiencing another population boom thanks to its relatively low cost of living, high quality of life and abundant economic opportunity. According to the Sacramento Region Databook, the Sacramento area population increased by nearly 25 percent in the last 10 years to 2.2 million people. The population is expected to jump another 22 percent by 2022. In 2002, Time magazine named Sacramento the most diverse U.S. city. Commercial and residential real estate are booming, too. The commercial real estate market has grown by almost 19 percent in terms of square footage over the past five years while the number of housing units has increased almost 22 percent in the last 10 years.

Not traditionally considered a tourist attraction, Sacramento lives in the shadow of San Francisco, just 90 miles away. With the revitalization of the city’s historic district — Old Sacramento — and downtown, however, Sacramento quietly is gaining tourism dollars and visitors. In 2005, it hosted more than 15 million visitors — 8 million for business and 6 million for leisure — who contributed more than $2 billion to the region’s economy.

Once condemned as slums and slated for demolition, the area of town known as Old Sacramento began its revitalization in the 1960s and is now the city’s top tourist attraction. The 28-acre riverfront district has 53 historic buildings and has been designated a national landmark. Visitors get a taste of life in the Wild West as they stroll along the wooden sidewalks of “Old Sac.” Gold Rush history comes alive amid the 19th century architecture, such as the Eagle Theatre, built in 1849, and the Huntington and Hopkins hardware store. The area has a host of museums, including the California State Railroad Museum, the California Military Museum, the Schoolhouse Museum and the Discovery Museum. The restored Delta King, which once sailed between San Francisco and Sacramento, is moored in Old Sacramento and serves as a luxury hotel. In addition to the museums and historical buildings, the neighborhood is a thriving commercial district boasting some of the city’s most acclaimed restaurants and shopping.

Whether in town for business or leisure, visitors to Sacramento will discover how being in the right place at the right time has made all of the difference for this American city.

LODGING

THE DELTA KING HOTEL

This floating hotel moored on the Sacramento River is the sister ship of the Delta Queen, which operates on the Mississippi River. The restored riverboat’s 44 staterooms provide guests with historic luxury accommodations in the midst of the city’s Old Sacramento district. Christened in 1927, the King and Queen made daily voyages between San Francisco and Sacramento until the late 1930s. For a special stay, book the Captain’s Quarters, the hotel’s deluxe suite located in the boat’s original wheelhouse. $$$-$$$$
THE DELTA KING HOTEL
1000 Front St.
tel 916 444 5464, fax 916 444 5314
http://www.deltaking.com

HYATT REGENCY

Across the street from the state capitol building, the Hyatt Regency Sacramento is convenient to most downtown destinations. The deluxe guestrooms feature high-speed Internet access, dual-phone lines, generous work space, plush bedding, and sweeping views of the capitol, cathedral or park. $$$$
HYATT REGENCY
1209 L St.
tel 916 443 1234, fax 916 321 3099
http://www.hyatt.com

THE STERLING HOTEL

Housed in a restored Victorian mansion, the Sterling Hotel has 17 elegantly appointed guestrooms outfitted with designer furnishings, Italian marble bathrooms and Jacuzzis. $$$$
THE STERLING HOTEL
1300 H St.
tel 800 365 7660
http://www.sterlinghotel.com

DINING

FIREHOUSE RESTAURANT

Built in 1853, this historic building housed the state’s first fire department. Victorian art and period antiques create an elegant ambience in the main dining room while the courtyard provides a charming spot for lunch. Offerings include a diverse selection of meat, poultry and seafood appetizers and entrees as well as an extensive wine collection. $$$-$$$$
FIREHOUSE RESTAURANT
1112 Second St.
tel 916 442 4772, fax 916 442 6617
http://www.firehouseoldsac.com

BIBA RESTAURANT

Born and raised in Bologna, Biba Caggiano combines fresh ingredients to create authentic Italian dishes that make customers believe they are in Northern Italy rather than Northern California. Biba Restaurant has earned a reputation for an exquisite menu and a fine dining experience. $$$
BIBA RESTAURANT
2801 Capitol Ave.
tel 916 455 2422, fax 916 455 0542
http://www.biba-restaurant.com

MIKUNI SUSHI

This Japanese restaurant and sushi bar infuses fun into every meal with its lively sushi chefs and assorted sushi creation. Mikuni boasts more than 300 original sushi rolls with such snappy monikers as 911, Japanese Mafia, Marilyn Monroll and Spicy Johnny. Many of the rolls are named in honor of their most loyal customers. Mikuni has five restaurants in the Sacramento region. $$$
MIKUNI SUSHI
1530 J St.
tel 916 447 2111
http://www.mikunisushi.com

DIVERSIONS

Visitors of all ages will enjoy exploring the history of the railroad system at the California State Railroad Museum (tel 916 445 6645, http://www.csrmf.org) located in Old Sacramento. This 100,000-square-foot facility includes interactive displays and models, including restored locomotives and cars and train rides.

Built in 1887, the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament (tel 916 444 3071, http://www.cathedralsacramento.org) has witnessed much of the city’s history. After its recent restoration, the cathedral offers guided tours of the impressive architectural masterpiece on Sundays and Wednesdays. The city’s first bishop, Patrick Manogue, was instrumental in building the church, which was the largest cathedral west of the Rocky Mountains at the time of its completion.

Established in 1839, Sutter’s Fort (tel 916 445 4422) was the first s ettlement in Sacramento and the first non-Indian camp in California’s Central Valley. The Crocker Art Museum (tel 916 264 5423, http://www.crockerartmuseum.org) has the distinction of being the longest continually operating art museum in the West. The museum houses a stunning collection of art from California, Europe and Asia, including paintings, drawings, ceramics, textiles and sculptures.

As a “working museum,” the California State Capitol Museum (tel 916 324 0333, http://www.capitolmuseum.ca.gov) offers visitors the opportunity to delve into the history of the state and its politics while the government continues to operate from the historic building.

At Home With Heather Fargo, Mayor of Sacramento

Mayor Heather Fargo graduated from the University of California, Davis. She was elected three times to Sacramento’s City Council before being elected mayor of the city in 2000. She began her second term in 2004.

Global Traveler: Tell us about some of the economic development in Sacramento.
Heather Fargo: Things have been very healthy for the city from an economic-development point of view. Our biggest employer is the state of California and other government entities, but our biggest private employer is the healthcare industry. We have a number of hospitals — we’re the regional healthcare hub for Northern California. I think we have three hospitals right now under expansion, with the fourth hoping to do some more expansion. We have cancer centers, heart centers and other things related to healthcare, which has really been a priority for us to promote, partially because it provides a great service to our residents, but it is also an incredible set of career options for people here in Sacramento. You can work in the healthcare industry with a high school education or as a specialized doctor and everything in between. We’ve started a healthcare-focused high school.We’ve supported the establishment of a new nurses’ training center, and we’re looking at doing some other things; for example, trying to increase the options for paramedic training in the city of Sacramento. Trying to match the job needs — those careers that are looking for people — with our own potential workforce is something that we’ve been trying to do.

In addition, one of my big focuses has been on revitalizing our downtown, so one of the other big job centers here in Sacramento is construction. We’ve really been focusing on trying to get more people to live downtown as well as work downtown. Right now,we are in the process of either constructing or reviewing requests for 9,000 housing units in our central city. We have a big interest of people moving back to the central city. That’s because it’s fun, it’s attractive, it’s safe and there’s lot of options for eating out, entertainment and those kinds of things.

GT: The city has experienced a population boom in recent years. Tell us about it.
HF: Not only have we seen a lot of new people move in, but we’re anticipating additional people as well, so we’re trying to be as smart in our growth patterns as possible. That’s one of the real pushes for both downtown and waterfront housing — to get people to live closer to where they work.

GT: You’ve also attracted a lot of diversity with the population boom. How does Sacramento foster diversity?
HF: We’ve been doing this for a long time. Actually, we got noticed by Time magazine and a study by Harvard for being the most integrated city in the nation. A lot of cities are diverse, but they have separate areas of town that are known for one population base versus another. Sacramento is known for having a very integrated set of communities both economically and by ethnic background and religion. I think it springs all the way from the Gold Rush. When people came to Sacramento in the middle 1800s, they came here for gold. Some of them made it and most of them didn’t. But they ended up staying here and bringing their families here. From when Sacramento was formed, people came from all over the world to this place, and they’ve continued to do that.

GT: What are the next steps for Sacramento?
HF: You’ll see a much more vibrant downtown with not only more retail, but also many more residents living right in the heart of our city.We are in the process of doing development along the waterfront. The other thing we’re working on is something called an intermodal — a transportation center where we already have Amtrak coming through town and we have a capital corridor commuter rail line that connects us to the Bay Area. It’s actually the fastest growing commuter rail line in the nation and the third busiest in the nation. Our train station now handles about 1.4 million people a year. (Light rail connected in December.) We’re actually planning on picking up this historic station that we have and moving it in order to build a larger station. We will then be connecting our light rail to the north and ultimately moving in Greyhound and having all of our transportation functions in one central location, which we think is going to really improve people’s willingness to take alternative modes of transportation and make it much easier for them.

Those are our big things.We’re not just working downtown. We have things going on throughout the city.We have something called the M.I.N.D. Institute, which is on our UC-Davis Med Center campus. The M.I.N.D. Institute studies neurological problems in children, like autism, and it’s the only center in the world doing it.We’ve been able to attract high-quality researchers and people really concerned about getting to the bottom of that and other neurological problems in children.

INFO TO GO

Just 12 miles northwest of downtown, Sacramento International Airport (SMF) is one of the primary gateways to Northern California. Fourteen major airlines serve Sacramento with more than 150 daily flights to several U.S. and international destinations. Taxi fare between the airport and downtown Sacramento runs about $27. Shuttle bus, limousine and public transportation are also available. For more information, go to the airport’s Web site at http://www.sacairports.org .