Page:The Tourist's California by Wood, Ruth Kedzie.djvu/193

 SACRAMENTO, SHASTA, LAKE TAHOE 159 beneath their native skies. Of patriotic interest are the tree-monuments uprooted, each one, from some battle-field of the Civil War. The State Insectary, situated in the park, breeds beneficent beetles which in time of pest are de- spatched to devour the destroyers in infected dis- tricts. Some of the main thoroughfares still bristle with the minarets and cupolas* of early California arch- itecture. But the immediate neighbourhood of the capitol and City Hall Plaza show many mod- ern banks, hotels and theatres. The stations of the Northern Electric, Oakland and Antioch, Central California Traction 1 and Southern Pacific roads are all within a few blocks of the steamer landing. The Western Pacific sta- tion is away from the business centre, at J and 19th Streets. Chinatown and Japtown encroach upon the busi- est quarter of the city, and have together a popu- lation of over 5000. The shops are attractive, but the Sacramento Oriental is a sophisticated product, capable, suavely self-confident. One gets an impression of excessive thrift, untempered by mystery or romance. The river-front is astir with pleasure-craft, with steamers loading appetizing cargoes, with fisher- i These electric lines offer the tourist a choice of ex- cursions all of which will reveal vistas of opulent fields and homes.