Lodinews.com Visitors Guide 2003

Visitors Guide 2003

Area boasts several museums


	JERRY R. TYSON/News-Sentinel The Hill House Museum is located at 826 S. Church St. in Lodi. There is no admission fee, but donations are accepted. The Hill House is open Sundays from 1-5 p.m. Group tours can be made by calling 369-6073.

By Ross Farrow
News-Sentinel staff writer

The Lodi area has doubled its art offerings in the past year, something that has city arts coordinator Tea Silvestre bursting with pride.

Among the displays in Lodi are the monthly art shows from 7 to 9 p.m. the first Friday each month in the Thomas Theater Gallery at Hutchins Street Square on Hutchins Street between Oak and Walnut Streets.

The Lodi Community Art Center also has displays at Lakewood Mall, located at Ham Lane and Elm Street.

Additionally, the Lodi area is bursting with museums and other displays. And at least two Lodi-Galt area museums will have a new look in 2003.

The San Joaquin County Historical Museum, at the south end of Lodi, has new exhibits ranging from pioneer women in the county and a tribute to renown photographer Ansel Adams to a history of women’s underwear.

In Galt, the Rae House Museum promises a considerably new look. It will be closed until July because major repairs are being made to the Victorian home at 204 Oak Ave.

Several other museums and other attractions dot the landscape in San Joaquin and adjoining counties, including two in Lodi, Hill House at 816 S. Church St. and the Great Valley Serpentarium at 22379 Maggio Circle.

San Joaquin County Museum

Operated by the San Joaquin County Historical Society, the museum is located at Micke Grove Park, a 65-acre county park at Armstrong and Micke Grove roads. The park also has a zoo, rose garden, Japanese garden, amusement park and picnic areas.

The 15-acre museum complex, which opened in 1968, includes several exhibit buildings and historic structures, tractors, an interpretive garden of native California plants and the Walled Garden of native plants.

A special feature is the Sunshine Trail, a garden designed for visitors with impaired vision. It re-creates a trip across California and includes bodies of water, bridges, native stone and native plants.

Capt. Weber’s Garden includes the Stockton founder’s first house, built in 1850.

Special exhibits include 70 to 90 photographs by Ansel Adams, photographers who influenced him and photographers whom he influenced. The display will be from June 18 to Aug. 10.

Four other exhibits are available through September — The First Ladies of San Joaquin County, including the first policewoman and first female doctor; the Yokut and Miwok Indian tribes; samurai swords, some from the 1600s; and “Vintage Undergarments,” featuring women’s underwear from 1860 to 1950.

Special programs include Pioneer School, a living history for elementary school students that utilizes an 1866-one-room schoolhouse; Valley Days, a one-day living-history program that features the school, blacksmith shop, harness shop, farm and cookhouse; Grandmother’s Trunk and Suitcase, a school program utilizing museum artifacts; and a library and research service.

The museum is open from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday. Tours may be scheduled by appointment.

Admission is $2 for adults and $1 for senior citizens and children ages 6 through 12. Children under 6 will be admitted free. Admission to the park itself is $2 per car on weekdays, $4 on weekends and $5 on Mother’s Day and Easter.

For the first time, Lodi’s GrapeLine will provide public bus service to Micke Grove Park.

For more information on the museum, call 331-2055 or check the Web site at www.sanjoaquinhistory.org.

Hill House Museum

A restored Queen Anne Victorian home built in 1901, the museum is located at 816 S. Church St., in Lodi. The house is filled with mementos from the family of Maurice Hill, who died in 1984. The house was built for George Washington Hill, a prominent Lodi jeweler and watchmaker.

One room, the Lodi Room, contains donated items not owned by the Hill family. Photographs donated by Lodi historian Ralph Lea can be found throughout the house.

The museum is open 1 to 4 p.m. Sundays except holidays. Tours are available at other times by calling 369-6073 and leaving a message. Admission is free, but donations will be accepted.

Great Valley Serpentarium

Large and baby snakes, lizards, tortoises, frogs and salamanders may be viewed from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekdays and from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekends. The serpentarium is located at 2379 Maggio Circle, Unit C. Admission is free. For more information, call 369-7737.

Rae House Museum

This restored Victorian home at 204 Oak Ave. displays almost 150 years of Galt-area history. The museum is closed for renovations until probably July.

When the Rae House reopens, hours will be 1 to 4 p.m. the first and third Sunday of each month through October. It will be open for a Christmas open house in December, and then it will be closed until March.

For more information, call 745-1146 or see the Galt Area Historical Society Web site at www.galthistory.org.

Other museums

• Children’s Museum of Stockton, 402 W. Weber Ave., Stockton. Hands-on learning for children and their families. Open 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and noon to 5 p.m. Sundays.

Admission is $4 per person. For groups of 10 or more, admission is $3 per person. Children under 2 are admitted free. Call 465-4386.

• Haggin Museum, 1201 N. Pershing Ave., Stockton. Includes pioneer room, American Indian gallery, California room, storefronts, vehicle gallery, Victorian hallway, Holt Gallery, Asian room, three rooms for fine arts. There are permanent and changing exhibits.

Hours are 1:30 to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday. Closed noon to 1 p.m., School tours may be scheduled during morning hours.

Admission is $5 for adults, $2.50 for senior citizens, youth under 18 and students with school identification. Children under 10 are free when accompanied by an adult. Admission is free for museum members. Free admission the first Tuesday of the month. Call 940-6300.

• Columbia State Historic Park Main Street. A living Gold rush town on 275 acres in Tuolumne County. Open daily 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Free admission. Call 532-0150 or see Web site at www.sierra.state.park.ca.us.

• Railtown 1897 State Historic Park, Fifth Avenue and Reservoir Road, Jamestown. Seasonal train rides on the hour from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on weekends from April through October. Train fares are $6 for adults and teens, $3 for children 6 through 12, free for children 5 and under. Guided tours start 10 minutes after the hour from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. weekends except Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day. Times for weekday tours are more flexible. Price for tours is $2 for adults and teens, $1 for children 6 through 12. Call 984-3953 or see Web site at www.Railtown1897.org.

• California State Railroad Museum, Second and I streets, Old Sacramento. A three-story steel, brick and glass structure housing 21 restored locomotives and train cars.

It includes dioramas, pictures, murals and films documenting the history of the American railroad from 1860 to 1960.

Hours are 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. daily except for Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day. Admission is $4 for adults; 16 and under are free if accompanied by an adult. Call (916) 323-9280.

• Sutter’s Fort, 27th and L streets, Sacramento. Living history and display of the Gold Rush in the 1840s and ’50s.

Hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. Admission from Memorial Day through Labor Day is $4 for adults, $1 for children ages 5 through 16. Under 5 is free. The remainder of the year, admission is $2 for adults and $1 for children 5 through 16. Call (916) 445-4422.

• California State Indian Museum, 2618 K St., Sacramento, next to Sutter’s Fort. Hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily.

Admission is $2 for adults and free for children 16 and under. Call (916) 445-4422.

• California State Capitol Museum, 10th and L streets, Sacramento. Guided tours, films historic re-enactments, family programs and changing exhibits.

Tours are available on the hour from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. except New Year’s Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas. Tours of Capitol Park from Memorial Day weekend to Labor Day Weekend. Admission is free. Call (916) 324-0333. Groups of 10 or more must call 866-240-4655.

• Governor’s Mansion, 16th and H streets, Sacramento. Public tours available on the hour from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily. Admission is $2 for adults, free for children 16 and under. Call (916) 323-3047.

• Wells Fargo History Museum, 1000 Second St., Old Sacramento. Hours 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. Admission is free. Call (916) 440-4263.

• Amador County Museum, 225 Church St., Jackson. Open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday. Admission by donation. Call 223-6386.

Contents

Area boasts several museums