Sacramento County Historical Society's holiday display at 1001 K Street formally opened on November 26, but its operation continues through the beginning of the New Year and it attracted attention from passersby even before the display formally opened. The display uses figures originally built by the Gaffney Display Company in the 1950s, used in Breuner's Department Store holiday display windows. This tradition began in Sacramento in 1934, continuing until 1974. Gaffney figures were used throughout the Breuner's chain, but have been absent from K Street for decades. More information on the historic Breuner's displays can be found in this article: http://www.sacramentopress.com/headline/4

Sacramento County Historical Society Holiday Window Display Project Roos-Atkins Building, 1001 K Street, Sacramento CA Grand Opening of Window Display: Friday, November 26, Noon This November, Sacramento County Historical Society will recreate a full-sized holiday display window on K Street, using animated figures that once graced the windows of the Breuner’s department store in downtown Sacramento. The display will occupy the window of the former Roos Bros. department store building at 1001 K Street, the northeast corner of 10th and K. Setup will take place during November 2010, with a “grand reveal” of the completed display the day after Thanksgiving, November 26, at noon. The display w

Those passing by Grebitus & Sons Jewelers at the corner of 10th and L Street this month will see a piece of Sacramento history in the window; a trio of life-size animated figures (a man, a woman and a dog) in front of a Christmas tree. The figures are products of the Gaffney Display Company, the family firm who created the figures for the Breuner's furniture store chain's annual Christmas window display.   The idea started at November's Sacramento County Historical Society meeting, where Mark Gaffney gave a presentation on the history of Gaffney Display Company and their years providing animated figures for Breuner's. Mark's parents started Gaffney Display in 1936, and Mark has carried o

Who has a copy of Kate Gaffney at The Torch Club?  Where can I hear the Dead's 1981 New Years Shows?  Blockbuster doesn't carry my favorite movie "Attack of the Killer Leeches" where do I go?  Quick where can I find a copy of Householders and Landers paper "Mathematical biophysics of the central nervous system"?  These are questions one might find themselves asking themselves, and thanks to the "Internet Archives" ( www.archive.org ) there is now a one stop location that answers these questions and countless more.  Questions you didn't even know you needed to ask! This is what the Archives have to say about themselves: "The Internet Archive is a 501(c)(3) non-profit that was founded to bu