SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The owners of a Sacramento building along Arden Way used as a bank for decades are getting offers to demolish the location and turn it into drive-thru restaurants.
But when Sacramento's city preservation director reached out to the owners to do a historical evaluation — it led the community to make a significant historical discovery that gave new hope to the building.
The Home Savings and Loan Building
According to city preservation staff, the Home Savings and Loan Building on 1950 Arden Way was finished building in 1978 near Arden Fair Mall when the area was a thriving shopping center.
It was sold to JP Morgan Chase in 2008 and stayed open for several more years.
The historical evaluation showed the building is less than 50 years old and ineligible for preservation in the Sacramento Register unless there is another aspect of historical importance.
Home Savings and Loan Building in Sacramento with mosaic art designed by California artist Millard Sheets
Manhattan College history professor Adam Arenson told ABC10 he caught wind of the historical evaluation and found the building actually had the additional aspect of historical importance, art.
He found out the mosaics and murals displayed throughout the building were designed by renowned California artist Miller Sheets. His paintings are in the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Whitney Museum in New York, the Chicago Art Institute and the National Gallery in Washington D.C.
"It's really important to see the work of Millard Sheets and the story he tried to tell about Sacramento here," Arenson said. "I'm glad there's so many groups that are trying to save this local history."
The nonprofit dedicated to preserving mid-20th century art Sacramento Modern has been advocating for the preservation of the building since its owners released their historical evaluation.
Sacramento Modern representative Gretchen Steinberg said she joined the battle to save the building after hearing it could potentially be demolished for drive-thru restaurants.
"It would just be awful to take this thing that's been standing almost 50 years, built to last as a high-profile community asset and replace it with another Starbucks or Burger King," she said.
After reviewing the original historical evolution, Steinberg said it was inaccurate and problematic.
"I think it's important to stand up for things. People always look around for someone to do it," she said. "The incomplete research, grasping for straws and inaccuracies alone upset me enough to provide some feedback and challenge."
Additional organizations advocating for the preservation of the Home Savings and Loan Building are Preservation Sacramento and Vintage Arden Arcade.
Sacramento's Preservation Commission will meet again next month to decide on the building's preservation.