The city’s oldest cemetery may soon be registered as a historic landmark, ensuring that remembrances of Sacramento’s early settlers remain for many years to come. The city’s Preservation Commission unanimously recommended Tuesday that the City Council list the Historic City Cemetery, located at 1000 Broadway, in the Sacramento Register of Historic & Cultural Resources as a landmark. “It’s the final resting place of so many early Sacramentans that were key in settling this area,” Bob LaPerriere, chairman of the Old City Cemetery Committee said Monday. “The fact that they are still here with original tombstones after 150 years makes this the most unchanged site of history in Sacramento,”

With Veterans Day landing on a Friday this year it was conducive for many events honoring those who have served. Somewhat under the radar, Old City Cemetery (OCC)  gave visitors a tour of a few of the grave sites of Military Medal recipients  fought in the Civil War, World War I, World War II and the Spanish-American War. Amongst them they were recognized with these medals:     •     2 - Medal of Honor     •     2 - Distinguished Flying Cross     •     6 - Silver Star     •    23 - Bronze Star     •     5 - Air Medal     •    44 - Purple Heart. Three volunteer tour guides took turns telling the stories of the circumstances surrounding the dead soldiers. . As we started walking we were to

On a clear crisp evening in late October, passersby of the Sacramento Historic City Cemetery might catch the fleeting glimpse of a lone figure carrying a lantern and weaving his way through a maze of massive headstones. But don’t be too alarmed. It’s just a local volunteer performing his role in the cemetery’s annual Lantern Tours event. This event has become a local favorite and is the cemetery’s largest fundraiser, with proceeds benefiting education programs and headstone restoration projects. Established in 1849 and recognized as one of the oldest operating cemeteries west of the Mississippi River, the Sacramento Historic City Cemetery or Old City Cemetery still has room for future “

An Indian film company spent some time in Sacramento recently shooting scenes for a love story, with Capitol Mall standing in for the streets of San Francisco and Placerville standing in for Brazil. Wide Angle Creations is a production company based in South India, whose film industry, Tollywood, is the counterpart to North India's Bollywood. The company came to Sacramento to work on the film "180," which features Siddharth and Priya Anand. Siddharth, who goes only by his first name, is also in Disney's first Southern Indian movie "Once Upon a Warrior." In "180," he stars as a successful San Francisco-area doctor who falls in love, marries and encounters trials and tribulations in life.

The gray sky over Broadway darkened further Friday night as the City Cemetery kicked off this year’s Lantern Tours. The cemetery holds numerous tours throughout the year. The Lantern Tours are held at 6, 8 and 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday nights before Halloween. Visitors are guided through the cemetery as costumed volunteers act out true stories of select people buried there. President of the Old City Cemetery Committee, Inc. Lynda Walls led the 6 p.m. tour accompanied by an America Sign Language interpreter from Say-Hey Interpreters. “It’s our biggest fundraiser of the year,” Walls said. “We use the proceeds to support our cause at the cemetery. Our job is to preserve, protect and beau

This Halloween season, take a unique nighttime tour through the Old City Cemetery with nothing but a lantern to light the way through the maze of historic tombstones and wandering spirits. The annual Lantern Tours offer guests a special visit with Sacramento’s oldest residents. “Guests are led by a gas-lit lantern through the cemetery, and we stop to meet residents who are played by costumed docents,” said Old City Cemetery Committee Director Lynda Walls. Walls, who doubles as the official tour guide, said the stories are often told through skits. “It’s very entertaining. We try to have a sense of humor with the most respect,” she said. There is a palpable sense of history at the Old

                             From the time I was very young, I found myself drawn to cemeteries.  It is not a creepy or morbid infatuation that lures me, but the palpable sense of history they provide. Where some see death in graveyards, I see a connection to lives past.               I've also always been enamored by the railroad.  As a child, I spent countless hours playing with the model train sets in the attic of my grandfather’s house in Portsmouth, Ohio.                From my station in the attic, I could look out the window, down the hill and see the headstones of Greenlawn Cemetery.               The Old City Cemetery offered a "History of the Railroad" tour on Saturday morni

The tales told during the Old City Cemetery's annual Lantern Tours sound like they were pulled from today's headlines: dead prostitutes, drunks, suicides, gunfights, couples killed for their money, an estranged husband ordering a contract hit on his wife. Many folks murdered because of greed, love, and jealousy. This past Friday and Saturday nights, costumed volunteers dressed authenticly as they told the tales of the cemetery's notable residents who roamed our area over one hundred years ago. Their ghosts roamed among us as we headed deep into the cemetery under the moonlight.                               Reserve your tickets now for 2010 Lantern T