Tuesday night over 150 people showed up at The Sacramento Hostel for Hosteling International's "100 Years of Hosteling" celebration. Along with free Leatherby's Creamery ice cream, the gatherers also enjoyed a hostel tour, silent auction and live jazz.

Special guest appearances were made by City Councilmember Ray Tretheway and former mayor Heather Fargo. Fargo was honored for her work saving the mansion with a plaque, a dedication ceremony and special "thank you."

Housed in a beautiful feat of architecture, the hostel resides in the semi-Victorian (with more geometric shapes than is customary in a Victorian) Llewelyn Williams Mansion built in 1885. After Williams' death, the mansion was bought in 1906, and made the first of three moves, from the corner of H and 10th streets, to the middle of the block of H Street between 10th and 11th streets.

There it was used as a funeral home until 1979, when the mansion was sold to developers who wanted to demolish the building to make way for a high-rise.

Years of lobbying to save the mansion paid off when in 1990, with the help of then-mayor Fargo and numerous others, a deal was made to move the building instead of destroying it. So in 1994, hundreds watched as the building was lifted off the ground and rolled across the street.

The mansion was restored, and in 1995 became a hostel. But in the years that followed, it was decided that the new City Hall needed to be built on the lot where the hostel resided.

So in 2002, large trucks once again moved the mansion back to its original location on the corner of H and 10th streets, where it resides now, only six feet from where it started.

Decked out in Victorian-style vest, coat, trousers and even top hat, hostel manager Steve Haynes explained the mansion's history on a tour Tuesday night. He also gave a description of the building's internal structure.

"The wood is all redwood, finished to look like mahogany, chandeliers are gas and electric and the wallpaper is painted over," he said. "Carvings of classical figures Saturn and Ops can be found in the dining room, and the atrium has a painted glass ceiling."

He also described the layout of the hostel. It has 80 beds in 21 rooms, "depending on what you call a room," he said.

Most of the rooms are "dorms" and have four to 10 bunks all priced at less than $50 per night, while seven private rooms, which range from $50 to $100 per night have only one bed. The most expensive room even has its own bathroom.

For those who would like to view the mansion, the hostel holds Second Saturday events, Haynes said. Besides housing international travelers, it also holds education programs, environmental programs and cooking programs for youth.

The hostel is located at 925 H St. Photographs of the mansion's latest move can be viewed here.