Sacramento is coming alive this weekend for St. Patrick's Day! To build upon the great round-up of events included in this article, here are a few more to consider for this Saturday. Block Parties & Pub Parties: -St. Paddy's R Street Pub Crawl: R Street Corridor (14th-15th Streets), Sat Noon-1am Come celebrate St. Paddy's Day at your favorite R District bars: R15 Bar, Ace of Spades, Burgers & Brew, and the Shady Lady. Enjoy a performance by The Cheeseballs, drink specials, and Irish grub at all locations. -St. Paddy's in The Sutter District: The Sutter District, Sat Noon-1am Come celebrate St. Patrick's Day at your favorite Sutter District bars: Ink Eats & Drinks, Blue Cue, BarWest, Mon

Longtime customers of the Fox and Goose Public House may soon enjoy brunch outside for the first time in its 36 years of business, courtesy of Allyson Dalton, owner of the pub, who said she practically grew up in the building. A project to expand the loading dock in front of the W.P. Fuller building, which houses the pub and several other businesses, will soon yield an additional 46 seats on an outdoor patio, complete with new railing, lighting and tables for two or four. “It’s something I’ve wanted to do for a long time, but I didn’t own the building,” she said. Dalton, who recently acquired ownership of the Fuller building in June, purchased the business from her parents in 1995 and

Ace of Spades music club recently got its liquor license under limited hours following area residents' concerns about possible problems. On March 3, the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) transferred a liquor license to the club, which opened in early February at 1417 R St. The license was transferred from Empire Events, a nightclub operated there by the building's owner, Randy Paragary, and partners from 2004 until February 2010. Ace of Spades' owners, Eric Rushing and Brett Bair, had hoped to serve alcohol at the club until 2 a.m. every night. Under the conditions of the liquor license, the music club must stop serving alcohol at 11 p.m. Sundays through Thursday

The city of Sacramento and Capitol Area Development Authority (CADA) are working on the R Street Corridor Project – an effort to turn a 27-block-long stretch of R Street into a vibrant mixed-use neighborhood. A two-block section of R Street from 16th to 18th streets will hold the project's centerpiece, the R Street Market Plaza. Elements of the historic rail corridor and industrial warehouse district have inspired its design, which is expected to be completed in early June. The public project is intended to spur private development — creating more businesses, housing, services and jobs along the corridor. California state agencies now occupy some of R Street. The project has been design

With all the charm of some backwoods corny carnival, the 2010 Sammie Awards relocated from its familiar turf at the Crest Theatre to carve out a new niche in the R Street corridor and welcome the whole neighborhood to an evening of merriment. Perfect weather and the faint sound of disco beats started the party outdoors while spots like Venue and R15 began shuffling out on-lookers from pre-party refreshments. The crowd was patch-worked around the stage with nominated musicians and announcers, as stilt-walkers and street performers entertained families and 20-something hipsters bobbing their heads in the street. Photo booths stationed by the stage and editorial shoots popping at Muse Salon

Work began late last week on the long-delayed street scape of R Street between 11th and 13th Streets. The surface is already torn up, and work progressing.  To get an idea of what R Street is going to look like when the work is done, see this Sacramento Press story.

The Sacramento City Council agreed to fund a $150,000 study of downtown's infrastructure Tuesday night. The purpose is to collect up-to-date information about the core's aging and sometimes outdated infrastructure and identify improvements needed to eliminate obstacles to the kind of infill development outlined in the city's 2030 General Plan and the Downtown Activation Strategy. It was adopted by the council in January. The study is needed to make sure downtown is primed for the development and investment that's expected as the economy picks up. The data also will help the city apply for state and federal funding. An R Street infrastructure study done years ago has been used to get fund

The Capitol Area Development Authority is turning a vacant corner across from Fremont Park into a parking lot, eliminating an eyesore and adding parking spaces to an increasingly busy part of town. On Monday, a construction crew with E & J Enterprises was busy at the corner of 15th and Q streets. An excavator loaded trucks with dirt to be hauled away during site[-]grading for a temporary surface parking lot. The corner, which sits in the R Street Corridor, has been vacant for at least 10 years after an old gas station closed down. Neighbors said the 120-by-160-foot lot had become overgrown with weeds and filled with trash. CADA has been working with the property owner, the McGilvray fam

Local agencies will host a community workshop Thursday on the R Street Market Plaza, whose construction is expected to be delayed. The $3.8 million plaza project is a bit behind, with construction not expected to start until at least 2012. No funding has been secured for the plaza's construction from 16th to 18th streets, said project manager Zuhair Amawi, an associate civil engineer with the city's transportation department. The two-block plaza is being designed as a centerpiece for the R Street Corridor Project, an effort to turn a 27-block stretch of historic R Street into a thriving mixed-use neighborhood. The public project is intended to spur private development — creating more bus

Randy Paragary, Bob Simpson, and Rick and Earl Lobley opened Empire Event Center in 2004. It was almost alone on the R Street Corridor for four years, before being joined by, among others, Shady Lady Saloon, Magpie Catering, Burgers and Brew, Space 07 Salon and Top This Yogurt. With all of these businesses opening in the past year, it was time for the space to undergo a facelift - to the tune of $2 million. Well, not just a facelift - a complete change. Today, all that remains of Empire are memories of past performers, including The Roots, Muse and David Garibaldi, Sacramento's own performance painter. According to its managers, from now on there will be no more 18-and-over club nights,

It's been one of downtown bicyclists' (and skaters') favorite secrets—the old railroad viaduct that crosses I-5 at R Street, connecting the CalPERS neighborhood to the Sacramento River and the bike trail. Never fully converted from its old use as a railroad bridge that brought trains from the riverfront up R Street into the heart of downtown, the bridge will be a fully paved and lit bike and pedestrian bridge by August. Though the tracks were removed and the surface paved, the entrances on both sides were never finished, and remain loose gravel. And over the years, skaters have handcrafted some small skate ramps out of random curbs on the sides, as well as adding graffiti and an array of

One woman wanted to know if the Crystal Ice warehouse is going to be "totaled." Andy Wasserman wondered how a new market plaza would impact Fremont Park just one block over. And Linda Hinchey was concerned about whether she'd be priced out of the neighborhood, as well as how the sidewalk drainage system would impact her ability to motor her wheelchair to Safeway. "I'm glad to see that there's improvement going on in the neighborhood," said the 65-year-old, who lives on a fixed-income on 17th Street. "I hope some of it is going to be affordable." They were among the 40 to 50 people who attended the first public meeting regarding the R Street Market Plaza Wednesday evening. The Market Pl

 The first phase of Sacramento's R Street metamorphosis is slated to start next spring. The city's Department of Transportation expects to get started on street reconstruction of a two-block segment from 10 to 13th streets. That area is currently home to businesses like the Fox & Goose, the Art Foundry and Studio Theatre, among others. Tonight, the city and Capitol Area Development Authority (CADA) are hosting a public workshop on another segment: the R Street Market Plaza designed for 16th to 18th streets. The meeting is set for 6 to 8 p.m. at the CADA Event Center, 1322 O St. The agencies have already gotten $4.5 million to construct the first phase of the R Street Corridor -- a speci

Until recently, R Street languished with an isolated, post-industrial vibe. Warehouses, loading docks and abandoned railroad tracks formed the areaʼs spine. Many locals would wander into the area to catch performances at Studio Theatre, music at Fox & Goose or a Second Saturday show at the Art Foundry. Five years ago, R Street began to throb with new life. R Street Marketplace, anchored by Safeway and Peet’s Coffee, was built at 19th and R streets. The Empire nightclub opened, and recently, the block saw the opening of Magpie Catering, The Shady Lady and 12 new lofts upstairs. On the street’s other end, CalPERS amped its image by erecting its impressive headquarters. Wednesday night, bu

While many local businesses are shutting their doors, three ambitious Sacramentans are putting their heads and money together to open a new saloon in Sacramento, The Shady Lady. Garrett Van Vleck, Jason Boggs and Alex Origoni first met working at various Paragary restaurants. After months of searching for the right place, the three took to the old Wonderbread factory and named it after the nickname for the first bar that Origoni went to when he was in school. "That's one of the things that hasn't changed through our entire two year process of doing this," Van Vleck said. The trio has gone through countless menus and concepts, but the name Shady Lady has been one constant. None of the

Why do you live in the Downtown/Southside Park/R Street Corridor/Richmond Grove area? What are the great things about it? Is there anything that you wish were different?   One of the main reasons I love Downtown is the easy access to other interesting neighborhoods and events.  Here’s a sampling of activities and events from the past month that I could walk to or ride my bike to:   Chalk it Up Friday Night Concerts at Caesar Chavez Parkmovies at Southside Park Andy Warhol's Athlete Portraits Star at The Crocker Art Museum Several farmer’s markets (Cesar Chavez Plaza, Fremont Park, Roosevelt Park & under the freeway at X and 3rd) Gold Rush Days in Old Town San Francisco Mime Troupe