George Sellon, who founded Lionakis in 1909 and was California’s first State Architect, left a rich legacy of projects throughout Northern California. Sellon designed such historic and prominent buildings as The Citizen Hotel, the Sacramento Hospital, and the State Insectary Building located in Capitol Park, among many, many others. Earlier this year, Lyn Hooper – a California Licensed Architect and Preservation Architect, presented the history of the State Insectary Building to Lionakis and how the building continues to serve our State and Community.
In 1907, Sellon designed the building, which is located within the State Capitol grounds and still stands at 1300 L Street, as one of the world’s first Insectariums. The entirety of the capitol grounds is included in the National Register of Historic Places with the listing for the State Capitol Building. Also known as California’s “Bug House”, the building’s prominent focus was to serve as a facility for collecting, breeding, and distributing beneficial insects to pollinate plants and control pests that could attack fruit and vegetable crops. The building represents the work of a master in his craft, while providing a beautiful example of the Arts and Crafts style that was so prominent in California in the early twentieth century.
Playing a pivotal role in the pre-WWI agriculture industry in California, the building provided farmers and growers with beneficial insects from 1908 until 1923 when breeding and storage activities were moved to the Citrus Experiment Station and Graduate School of Subtropical Agriculture at the University of California, Riverside. By 1938 all insectary activities ceased at the facility and the building was repurposed as the maintenance headquarters for Capitol Park. The building still serves in this capacity and has not undergone any major changes to its exterior since then.
Lyn shared that the building has many unique architectural features including its Craftsman-style design, which is blended with Prairie School style and Japanese influences. Its stucco finish and half-timbering, with a low-sloped wood-shingled hip roof, express both style and functionality. Interior features include an atrium, insect cages, a courtyard skylight, and an Entomology Museum among others. Photos of the Insectary can be found in the gallery below.
We greatly appreciate Lyn taking the time to share this historical project with our firm. Next time you’re near Capitol Park, keep your eyes peeled for this wonderful building!
Photo Credits:
Photo By: Lyn Hooper
California State Commission of Horticulture, Insectary Division. “Packing and Shipping Ladybirds.” California History Room, Picture Collection. Album of mounted photographs illustrating the work of the California state insectary, Sacramento: Photographs taken from 1910-1912. Sacramento, 1910.
Link to photo: https://delivery.library.ca.gov:8443/delivery/DeliveryManagerServlet?dps_pid=IE299509
California State Commission of Horticulture, Insectary Division. “Packing and Shipping Ladybirds.” California History Room, Picture Collection. Album of mounted photographs illustrating the work of the California state insectary, Sacramento: Photographs taken from 1910-1912. Sacramento, 1910.
Link to Photo: https://delivery.library.ca.gov:8443/delivery/DeliveryManagerServlet?dps_pid=IE299509
McCurry Foto Co. “State Insectary, Capitol Park, Sacramento.” California History Room, Picture Collection. State Buildings, Capitol, Park and Grounds, State Insectary. Sacramento, c. 1908.
Link to Photo: https://delivery.library.ca.gov:8443/delivery/DeliveryManagerServlet?dps_pid=IE80661
Link to Collection: https://csl.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/fulldisplay?docid=alma990015469360205115&context=L&vid=01CSL_INST:CSL
Photo By: Lyn Hooper
California State Commission of Horticulture, Insectary Division. “California State Insectary.” California History Room, Picture Collection. Album of mounted photographs illustrating the work of the California state insectary, Sacramento: Photographs taken from 1910-1912. Sacramento, 1910.
Link to Photo: https://delivery.library.ca.gov:8443/delivery/DeliveryManagerServlet?dps_pid=IE299474
Link to Collection: https://csl.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/fulldisplay?docid=alma990015134820205115&context=L&vid=01CSL_INST:CSL
Google Earth. “GoogleEarth.com.” GoogleEarth.com. n.d. https://earth.google.com/web/@38.57635838,-121.49003865,10.47681993a,101.1556425d,35y,19.42989085h,0t,0r/data=CkwaShJECiUweDgwOWFkMGQ3OGFkYjAzMmQ6MHgyZDY3MWM1OWM4YTA0NDkwGdW4knjUSUNAIaJcm9ZX17AKgkxMzAwIEwgU3QYASAB (accessed February 14, 2018).
California State Commission of Horticulture, Insectary Division. “California State Insectary.” California History Room, Picture Collection. Album of mounted photographs illustrating the work of the California state insectary, Sacramento: Photographs taken from 1910-1912. Sacramento, 1910.
Link to Photo: https://delivery.library.ca.gov:8443/delivery/DeliveryManagerServlet?dps_pid=IE299474
Link to Collection: https://csl.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/fulldisplay?docid=alma990015134820205115&context=L&vid=01CSL_INST:CSL
Photo By: Lyn Hooper
Unknown. Museum, State Insectary postcard. Sacramento, c. 1908.
Original Building Drawings at the DGS Vault:
Sellon & Hemmings State Architects. California State Insectary: Capitol Park, Sacramento. Department of General Services Plan Vault, Sacramento.
