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On This Spot Stood the First Chinese Settlement in Sacramento by Tony Berlant
Photo CreditCarol M. Highsmith Photography
On This Spot Stood the First Chinese Settlement in Sacramento
Photo CreditCarol M. Highsmith Photography

On This Spot Stood the First Chinese Settlement in Sacramento

Artist
Year1999
Classification sculpture
Medium mixed media collage
Dimensions80 x 80 in. (203.2 x 203.2 cm)
Credits Commissioned through the Art in Architecture Program
Fine Arts Collection
U.S. General Services Administration
Location
  • Tony Berlant's collage is a dreamscape that honors the importance of the Gold Rush to the history of the Chinese people in Sacramento.  The work's format is that of a window, through which one sees an aerial view of the Sacramento River and the urban grid of the Chinese community.  The Chinese characters in the middle of the picture read "Second


    City," which was the Chinese immigrants' name for Sacramento.  The characters on the left read "Old Gold Mountain," and refer to Northern California.  Those on the right are the characters typically used to represent the concept of justice, which translate literally as "a public spirit ruled all under the sky."  One of Berlant's goals in creating this mural was to make visitors to the Courthouse aware of the vibrant Chinese-American history of the site.