Goodbye to Old Town Inn-Suites

These pix were from our blog post in 2009. Years ago this motel was called the Pony Express Motel and the pony was still standing in front of the Old Town Inn-Suite on West Capitol Avenue. The motel served as transitional housing recently to many of the West Sacramento homeless population.

Capitol Bowl Exterior Remodel

Capitol Bowl at 900 West Capitol Avenue has completed their exterior remodel and it looks wonderful!  Caps Bar and Grill's food is delicious and has a nice outdoor eating area with tables that convert to fire pits during the cooler weather.  Originally this was named El Rancho Bowl.  Our family spent many years there eating Joe Bononos fries, drinking LeRoy Klink's famous libations in the 300 Room, and watching Shig Imura bowl an easy 300!

30 Motels in West Sacramento-Billboard Update

New billboard advertising the 30 motels in West Sacramento. See below photos for previous versions.

Capitol Bowl Remodel Update

Capitol Bowl's exterior is undergoing a nice face lift.  We stopped by last weekend to see how great our little home town bowling alley is progressing and the place was jumping with activity.  It is such a great place to take your family for entertainment and dining.

Capitol Bowl Remodel - WOW!!

We have been hanging around the Capitol Bowl since it opened in the 1950's as El Rancho Bowl. The new interior remodel of the lanes, restaurant/bar and sitting area is absolutely beautiful. We had lunch in the new restaurant last week the food was fantastic!

Trees in Bloom in Raley's Parking Lot

We enjoyed seeing the Crepe Myrtle trees in bloom in Raley's Parking lot on West Cap!

New Bus Stops for West Sac

No longer an artist rendering, but a functional and fun piece of art for our fair city! Thank you Jay Davidson, Project Manager for West Capitol Streetscape construction, for sharing these photos of West Sacramento's newest bus stop shelters on West Capitol Avenue!

The Welcome Grove..a welcome setting

According to a recent Sacramento Bee feature, in the 1940s and 1950s, the Welcome Grove was a busy stop along Highway 40, with a restaurant, bar, gas station and grocery store. Owners John and Christine Collins met there as children.

Read more: http://www.sacbee.com/2010/04/21/2693526/lawmaker-finds-peace-welcome-at.html?commentSort=TimeStampAscending&pageNum=1#ixzz0mPYGBP50

Photo and commentary by Jeff Boyd 

"This neat little place is tucked away in the spooky netherworld of West Sacramento, CA. What's weird is that it appears to have originally been a motel, but has since expanded into an RV park. The nice part is that the original building and sign are pretty much perfectly intact. It's not too difficult to imagine the Brady Bunch staying here en route to the Grand Canyon.
 Years ago, before we got married, Jen worked across the street from this place. I remembered how cool it looked then, but figured it had probably long since been replaced by a SUPER WAL*MART or something. I'd almost forgotten about it, until she mentioned it yesterday while we were in the area. Needless to say, I was quite stoked to find it in perfect shape. I'd love to get a shot of this place at night, while those cool lights are on.
 Oh yeah… If you've never been to West Sacramento, it is a reallyweird place."

U-Haul--last of the tall signs

pdate Aug. 24, 2014...the sign is now gone!
The U-Haul sign is the last of the tall signs still standing on West Capitol Avenue. According to recent accounts in the local newspaper they argue that people will not be able to locate their business if they are forced to remove it. U

Old Town Inn-Suite

Years ago this motel was called the Pony Express Motel and the pony is still sitting in front of the Old Town Inn-Suite on West Capitol Avenue.

The Flamingo Hotel

In the summer of 1958 my family stayed at the Flamingo Motel while looking for housing in the West Sacramento area. My dad was already living here and my mom, brother and sister rode the train from Pocatello, Idaho. We were so amazed at the palm trees and the beautiful California weather and we swam from morning to night! Our folks took us across the street to eat dinner at the El Rancho Hotel or down the street to the Capitol Inn and there was usually a floor show and great music in the dining rooms.

New Sign for Capitol Bowl

New signage for the Capitol Bowl on West Capitol Avenue.

Trivia: The bottom photo is the sign that we grew up seeing when driving down West Capitol Avenue when it was known as The El Rancho Bowl. In those days the Capitol Bowl was located in downtown Sacramento.

MetroPCS on West Capitol Avenue

Metro PCS is located in the retail space next to Rite Aid on West Capitol Avenue. Funny thing is when I tried to call them about their hours and services there is no phone listed...

Blockbuster on West Capitol Avenue

If you have lived in West Sacramento long, you'll remember when the Blockbuster Video space housed the old Safeway Store. When Safeway moved into the retail strip mall located on the back of this lot, Kinney Shoes, a defunct chain of full-service shoe stores, moved into the space.

West Capitol Avenue Construction Update

Even though travel on West Capitol Avenue is tough right now, remember our local retailers need our business during the construction process.

Beverly's Never Just Haircuts

While I was getting my hair cut today, they were putting up a new sign at Beverly's "Never Just Haircuts". The stylists at Beverly's are really talented and friendly. Most of the folks in our Babe's Bunco go to Vatsana, a great barber, stylist and colorist.

West Capitol Avenue Construction

Construction on West Capitol Avenue in conjunction with the new Civic Center and Los Rios Community College Campus.

The River's Edge Bar and Grill

Owners of the River's Edge Bar and Grill are Robert and Nataliya Villareal.
Teresa Correa was our mixologist for this evening- and she also kept the wood fire burning in their cozy lounge area.


The River's Edge has plenty of room for dancing and live music in the restaurant area.

Below is the old tall sign that was removed because it was in violation of the new City of West Sacramento Sign Ordinance that was enforced in 2008.

Folks who have lived in West Sacramento for many years will probably remember when this building housed "Johnny's Time Out" owned by John Lopes of West Sacramento. It was a popular dance spot during the disco era and had a raised dance floor with lights that kept time to the beat of the music. On display in the bar were photos of John's brother, the legendary world ranked lightweight boxer Joey Lopes.

West Sacramento Smog

Another interesting old building on West Capitol Avenue is the West Sacramento Smog at 1922 W Capitol Avenue.

U-Haul on West Capitol Avenue

This tall sign is still standing at the U-Haul on West Capitol Avenue. When you drive down the avenue all the old signs are gone now, replaced by the more "sedate" monument style signage that the City of West Sacramento's sign ordinance now requires.