The city of Benicia is a fine place to stretch your legs on a journey between the Bay Area and Sacramento, or on the way to Napa. Its historic and quirky 11-block downtown is walkable and ends on the Carquinez Strait, that watery inlet which joins up with San Francisco Bay.
Benicia’s downtown commercial district is located along First Street. Highlights include a building that was California’s capitol from 1853-54 and a welcoming waterfront. There’s plenty of history here. But there are also dozens of unique stores and restaurants, many with outdoor patios.
A promenade connects visitors from First Street to a waterfront pier. Take in the view of the nearby hills as they slope into the water, or the two nearby bridges.
Nancy Martinez, executive director of nonprofit Benicia Main Street organization said she tells visitors that downtown shopkeepers are friendly and “it’s very flat, very walkable.”
It’s hard to believe that this small town (today’s population is 27,000) was once the capital of California, but it was in the right place at the right time. After San Jose and Vallejo struck out as the capital in the newly formed state in the 1850s, Benicia was able to offer up its newly built city hall to house the state legislature.
Benicia’s star turn only lasted one year, and then the capital moved permanently to Sacramento. But the red brick building that once was the center of power is still standing, and is part the Benicia Capitol State Historic Park, located at the corner of First and G streets.
The highlight is the restored legislative chamber, decorated for 1853 with candles, top hats, spittoons and feathered pens, some on the original desks. Today, docents offer entertaining tales of that era to visitors. Next door, visitors can also see the Fischer Hanlon House, which was home to a prosperous merchant family in that era and beyond. There’s a $3 entry fee.
Downtown includes many businesses designed to entertain a day tripper or a weekend visitor. Check out Lucca Bar and Grill for food, drinks, live music and a beer garden. There are also antique stores, bakeries, art galleries and overnight accommodations, such as the Union Hotel which dates from 1882. The three-story Shorelight Inn is a bed and breakfast on the waterfront.
Benicia’s history is well marked with plaques and by self-guided walking tours of the downtown. Author Jack London worked and drank here, and he set some of his early works in Benicia, including “John Barleycorn” and “Tales of the Fish Patrol.”
Plaques in downtown’s City Park, with its landmark gazebo, note that Mills College (which later moved to Oakland) was founded here in 1852, and that Benicia was the home of the state’s first Protestant church.
Information about the walking tours can be found at Beniciamainstreet.org.
To drive to downtown Benicia, take one the Bay Area’s lesser-known highways, Interstate 780, which connects with Interstates 680 and 80. Use the Second or Fifth Street exit.
For more exploring in Benicia, drive ten minutes west to 447-acre Benicia State Recreation Area, where there are more walking trails and views of the Carquinez Strait.