The state capital’s surprise art walk

WHAT

Sacramento River Water Intake Structure

WHERE

Around the 200 block of Jibboom Street, at the Sacramento River

WHY TAKE THE DETOUR

You’re jogging or biking from Old Sacramento north along the river and spy something that looks like the Sydney Opera House. OK, maybe you’re squinting a little, but this building with white wings that hovers over the river like a dragonfly is no mirage.

Turn onto the plaza and bridge from Jibboom Street toward the main building, and suddenly you are on an art walk: Little red salmon, by stone sculptor Masayuki Nagase, swim in the pavers beneath your feet; sails top the lights along the 270-foot span; an enormous silver feather, by sculptor Phill Evans, lazily spins in the wind atop the main building; and “Bubbles,” by Kurt Runstadler are trapped in the windows’ glaze, changing color with the sunlight. All of the artworks reference the allure of the water, and the vistas from atop this 40-foot-high perch are remarkable.

You can also marvel at a different kind of art: eight pumps inside the 12,000-square-foot building that divert up to 160 million gallons of water a day. (Don’t worry, screens protect the fish, including the Delta smelt.) Design of this structure, completed three years ago to replace a nearby 1924 treatment plant, has won accolades from the local chapter of the American Institute of Architects. And a circular plaque on the floor under the rotunda reads, in part: “Tracing rivers to their fountains makes the most charming of travels.” John Muir said it, and the twisting river below gives those words special resonance.

GETTING THERE

Take Interstate 5, exit at Richards Boulevard and travel west. Richards Boulevard quickly turns into Jibboom Street. It’s also less than a mile on the bike path from Old Sacramento. The water intake structure is open from dawn to dusk daily.

DETAILS

Call the city’s Department of Utilities at (916) 808-5454 for information.

-- Mary E. Forgione