Before Sacramento became the permanent capital, California's government moved around. For about a year, from February 1853 to February 1854, the Legislature met in Benicia. The building where it met is the only pre-Sacramento capitol still standing, State Parks says.

How Benicia got it, and lost it

Lawmakers had complained about inadequate furniture and lodging in Vallejo, so in early 1853, with Gov. John Bigler's consent, they moved the capital to Benicia's city hall, according to Wikipedia. Within a year the complaints began again, about the weather, uncomfortable lodging and the insecure condition of the public archives. When Sacramento offered its county courthouse for free, the Legislature voted to move, and Bigler signed the act on Feb. 25, 1854.

Benicia didn't let go quietly. The Sacramento Union reported that wharf owners demanded $500 before they would let the steamer carrying the legislative furniture dock, Wikipedia notes; the demand was refused and the furniture shipped from another wharf.

Inside

The building has been restored with period furnishings, including a board-for-board reconstruction of the original ponderosa pine floor. The first-floor Senate chamber, which seated 27 senators, holds three desks from the Benicia period or earlier. The larger Assembly chamber upstairs seated 66 members. The desks are set with candlesticks, 19th-century newspapers, spittoons and top hats. The Legislature returned for a symbolic session here in February 2000.

The Fischer-Hanlon House

Next door, the Fischer-Hanlon House began as part of a fire-damaged Gold Rush hotel. Benicia businessman Joseph Fischer moved a salvageable section to the site in 1858 and made it his family's home. His granddaughters deeded it to State Parks with its original furnishings in 1968, and it now shows how an upper-middle-class family lived from the mid-1800s on. House tours are offered on weekends; call ahead for a weekday visit.

The park was proposed for closure during state budget crises in 2008, 2009 and 2011 and survived each time.

Benicia's ballot this year: Measures X, Y and Z explained.