The Capitol Bowl may not look like much from the outside but, on the inside, it sparkles. The renovation made it the West Sacramento "Business of the Year" recently. That speaks volumes about the enormity of the beautification issues on West Capitol Avenue.We often see a cycle in communities or neighborhoods. Bloom. Wilt. Die back. Renewal. Grow. Bloom. Sometimes, the wilt and die back are so severe that renewal seems impossible. Sometimes, some part of the community or neighborhood is renewed but growth and bloom take awhile -- maybe even a long while. Sometimes, some part blooms again while other parts seem moribund.
In 1987, in the face of declining -- or a paucity of -- services provided by Yolo County, a new West Sacramento came into existence. It combined three diverse communities. Broderick and Bryte were the oldest, north of I-80, and a mix of low-rent trailer parks, apartment complexes, and small 1950s houses which had become home to immigrants, laborers, and transients. The other community included the industrial and warehouse area surrounding and along West Capitol Avenue, the former “motel row,” older blue collar neighborhoods and Port of Sacramento to the south of I-5, and the dream of a more affluent residential area known as “Southport.”
The new city gained more of a tax base during the various housing booms of the last two decades. Thousands of homes were built on the farm lands to the south of I-80. Housing meant concomitant shopping centers. Some projects to the north of I-80 were started. Despite their proximity to the River and downtown Sacramento, the residential projects generally fared poorly. Maybe the thought of driving through a area of shacks and single-wides was enough to dampen any thought of building a McMansion.
Over the years, the new West Sacramento undertook to clean-up West Capitol Avenue. But years of neglect and blight were not going to be reversed quickly. The cleanup did not seem to take hold until fairly recently.
“Beautification” and serious efforts have focused on the easterly end. A new City Hall was built close to the old El Rancho. Across West Capitol Avenue from the City Hall is a modern complex which houses a community center, library, and classrooms for Sacramento City College. West Capitol Avenue was widened. Islands were built. Large bronze statues of a pitcher and batter grace the island between City Hall and the complex across the Avenue.
All of this is within a short distance of Raley Field, which is the home of minor league baseball’s River Cats, high rise office buildings on the river front, the corporate headquarters for a regional grocery chain, and the Riverwalk. Some West Sacramento business persons attribute the "clean up" to Raley Field and the 14,000 or so souls who attend games, concerts, and other events in the Summer.
The Capitol Bowl is both major addition to and a beneficiary of the neighborhood beautification. It is one block east of City Hall. Transients, street people, the unemployed, the underemployed, and other members of the underclass do not really hang out around the civic center or the beautified areas east of it. Some pass through with shopping carts containing their lives' possessions, but they seem to move on. Capitol Bowl is a link in the chain of improvements between the civic center and the Sacramento River.
But West Capitol Avenue runs approximately 3 miles -- half of that is industrial, warehousing, and trucking facilities. Two blocks west of civic center, beautification is less evident. The widened Avenue runs between motels, taquerias, trailer parks, auto repair shops, auto dismantlers, similar businesses, and vacant lots where motels or trailer parks once were. Along the way, a few new buildings or complexes have popped up on that portion of the Avenue. They are outposts for the pioneers who believe that the Avenue will blossom soon.
Heading west from the civic center, the underclass is more apparent. Is the Avenue better than 15 years ago? Sure. But years of efforts lie ahead for the beautification of West Capitol Avenue. It is a daunting challenge in today’s Economy and the realities which confront local governments.
By playing at the Capitol Bowl, maybe the Lava Pups will make a small contribution to the beautification of West Capitol Avenue. Maybe our fans will enjoy the food and ambience and add the restaurant to their lunch or dinner rotas. If nothing else, we know that we will add some fun and energy to the Avenue!