Architecture

In 1868, Judge Edwin B. Crocker purchased the property and existing buildings on the corner of Third and O Streets. He then commissioned Seth Babson (1830-1908), a talented local architect, to redesign and renovate the home into a grander, Italianate mansion. In addition, Crocker asked Babson to design an elaborate gallery building that would sit adjacent to the mansion and display the family's growing art collection.

Babson saw the home and gallery as an integrated complex, unique in design and demanding the finest materials. The gallery building included a bowling alley, skating rink, and billiards room on the ground floor; a natural history museum and a library on the first floor; and gallery space on the second floor. Completed in 1872, the Crocker family mansion and art gallery are considered the masterpieces of Babson's career.

The family mansion went through several uses and reconstructions until a 1989 renovation restored the historic façade and created a modern gallery interior. The original buildings, now connected, as well as the cast concrete Herold Wing addition of 1969, were renamed the Crocker Art Museum in 1978. The gallery building is a California Historical Landmark and listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

In 2000, the Crocker appointed a selection committee comprised of elected officials, community leaders, CAMA Board members, City staff, and potential donors to search for an architect that would lead the Museum through master planning. After a comprehensive review of all of the major museum architects in the world, Gwathmey Siegel & Associates Architects (GSAA) was unanimously chosen to guide the process because of their design aesthetic and past experience.

GSAA designed the expansion of the Crocker after conducting a thorough master planning process. Many voices from the community were involved in a collaborative process to ensure that the new building and the internal reconfiguration of the existing structures would work together as a whole.

On October 10, 2010, the Crocker opened the 125,000-square-foot Teel Family Pavilion. The classic, contemporary design of the Pavilion complements the historic structures. The New Crocker Art Museum: The Making of a Masterpiece takes an in-depth look behind the scenes of the fundraising process, the design and construction of the new facility, and the building and exhibition of the Crocker's collection. Produced, directed, and edited by Laurence Campling, the DVD is available for purchase at the Museum Store and may be viewed here.

The expansion more than tripled the Museum's size, enhancing its ability to serve as a cultural and educational resource for Sacramento and the region's many visitors. For the first time in the Museum's history, there are dedicated gallery spaces for all collecting areas. The expansion also enabled the dedication of the historic building's entire first floor as the Museum's Education Center, including four studio classrooms, three Student & Community Exhibition spaces, an expanded Gerald Hansen Library, the Early Childhood Resource Depot, and Tot Land. Additional amenities made possible by the Teel Family Pavilion include the Setzer Foundation Auditorium, the Crocker Courtyard, the Cemo Meeting Center, the Anne and Malcolm McHenry Works on Paper Study Center, and the Crocker Cafe.