The Firehouse 1112 2nd Street • Sacramento • CA 95814

When those scorching Valley days begin—along about May—everyone heads for a favorite oasis. None is cooler, greener, or leafier than the sprawling brick courtyard at the back of The Firehouse, the Gold Rush era landmark restaurant where Sacramentans have dined, politicked and gotten married for over 55 years.

Built in 1853, The Firehouse is located in the heart of the historic riverfront district where Engine Company No. 3 was originally housed. In 1960 it opened as a restaurant, offering five cool Gilded Era dining and reception areas with 12-foot ceilings, mahogany wainscoting, ornate mirrors, and massive paintings of grande dames and friskier ladies.

Most popular for weddings is the Courtyard, the al fresco dining area that’s won local awards for “best special occasion,” “best outdoor dining” and “most romantic restaurant”. Enter through the narrow 19th-century alley at the back of The Firehouse and you really do feel transported to another place and time: The wrought-iron balconies, ivy-covered brick walls, fountains, and canopy of mulberry and Chinese elm trees feel more like New Orleans than Sacramento. With lights laced through the overhanging branches, it’s magic on summer nights.

Guests seated in the Courtyard dine on California nouveau continental cuisine accompanied by selections from the 16,000-bottle wine cellar (with 2,100 labels!), the largest in the Valley. Decoration here is simple—perhaps just some flowers. “If you didn’t add anything extra, it’d still be spectacular,” says Mario Ortiz, General Manager, Sommelier and 45-year employee of The Firehouse, though he recalls one outside event planner who created a “Wedding in Paris” theme with a canvas Eiffel Tower. Bring in a band, orchestra or DJ, and you can dance out here, too.

Larger wedding parties spill over into the adjacent Courtyard Grill, a garden-like room under a Tiffany-style glass dome with a long bar, floor-to-ceiling windows, and a massive fireplace used on cool harvest nights. This space can also be used by itself for small events.

Some weddings and the ubiquitous Capitol fundraisers, receptions and banquets are held in the Golden Eagle Room and adjoining Salon. Or, guests can thread their way past an iron grille door and down a narrow staircase into a pair of small, immaculate banquet rooms known as Wine Cellars I and II.

The Firehouse has long been a draw for politicos and celebrities, with Ronald Reagan holding both of his inaugural dinners here, and Mayor Kevin Johnson a recent guest. It’s become a pilgrimage site for tourists who wander through with cameras, trying to capture the rich mélange of Gold Rush memorabilia, rococo chandeliers, bare brick walls and long, gleaming bars.

Out-of-town visitors will enjoy the ambiance of the building itself, as well as the bustling boardwalks and horse-drawn carriages out front. And its location in the heart of downtown Sacramento makes it easy for everyone to find. So if you want to combine Old World elegance with a rambunctious history lesson and a magical walled garden, The Firehouse has it all.