List of tallest buildings in Sacramento

Last updated

Tall buildings in Sacramento
Sacramento, California skyline in 2023 (cropped).jpg
Sacramento skyline on the Sacramento River with the Tower Bridge in 2023
Tallest buildingWells Fargo Center (1992)
Tallest building height423 ft (128.9 m)
Number of tall buildings
Buildings taller than 100 m10
Number of tall buildings (feet)
Buildings taller than 200 ft20
Buildings taller than 300 ft13
Sacramento at night, with the yellow Tower Bridge on the right Sacramento, California skyline.jpg
Sacramento at night, with the yellow Tower Bridge on the right

Sacramento is the capital of the U.S state of California, with a metropolitan area population of 2.4 million. Sacramento has the largest skyline in the Central Valley of California, and one of the largest in Northern California, with a total of 20 buildings that exceed 200 feet (61 m) in height, 13 of which are taller than 300 ft (91 m). Despite this, Sacramento has a relatively short and small skyline for its population; none of the skyscrapers in Sacramento are in the hundred tallest buildings in California. The tallest building in the city is the Wells Fargo Center, an 30-story office building completed in 1992 to a height of 423 ft (129 m).

Contents

As California's capital, many of Sacramento's tallest buildings serve as offices for government agencies, including the Cal/EPA Building for the California Environmental Protection Agency and the Natural Resources Tower for the California Natural Resources Agency, or as courthouse buildings, such as the Robert T. Matsui or Tani Cantil-Sakauye courthouses. The courthouses are next to each other. Residential high-rises are rare, and no fully residential buildings are taller than 200 feet (61 m). Almost all high-rises in the city are located in downtown, south of the American River and east of the Sacramento River. One notable tower, the CalSTRS building, sits across the Sacramento River in West Sacramento.

The history of skyscrapers in Sacramento began with the Citizen Hotel and the Elks Tower, both built in the 1920s. However, few high-rises were built in the city until the 1980s, avoiding the boom in office towers that took place in many major American cities in the previous decades. Sacramento tallest building remained the California State Capitol until the Renaissance Tower was built in 1989. Its title as the city's tallest building was quickly taken by Park Tower, and finally the Wells Fargo Center. Postmodernist architecture influenced the design of new skyscrapers during this period.

While construction slowed in the 2000s, the end of the decade would see the completion of Sacramento's second and third tallest building, the US Bank Tower and the Bank of the West Tower. Since 2010, the skyline has seen the addition of only three buildings taller than 200 ft (61 m). Two of them are the Natural Resources Tower and Tani Cantil-Sakauye courthouse. The other is the Kimpton Sawyer Hotel in 2017, part of the Downtown Commons project that also involved the construction of the Golden 1 Center, an indoor arena. Sacramento has received several proposals for taller residential and office towers. However, many former proposals, most notably the Towers on Capitol Mall, were cancelled due to the Great Recession and higher construction costs. [1] [2]

History

Number of buildingsYear0510152019001920194019601980200020202040Buildings taller than 200 ft (61 m)Buildings taller than 300 ft (91 m)Buildings taller than 328 ft (100 m)Growth of skyscrapers in Sacramento
Number of buildings by height in Sacramento by the end of each year, including the California Capitol Building, which was completed in 1874. See or edit chart definition.

Cityscape

Downtown Sacramento from Interstate 80 in 2016 Downtown Sacramento from Interstate 80, West Sacramento, California (26101128006) (cropped).jpg
Downtown Sacramento from Interstate 80 in 2016

Map of tallest buildings

The map below shows the location of buildings taller than 200 feet (61 m) in Sacramento. Each marker is numbered by height and colored by the decade of the building's completion.

List of tallest buildings in Sacramento
Transparent.svg
Transparent.svg
220m
240yds
20
19
Transparent square.svg
Transparent square.svg
18
17
16
15
Transparent square.svg
Transparent square.svg
14
13
12
11
10
9
Transparent square.svg
Transparent square.svg
8
7
Transparent square.svg
Transparent square.svg
6
Transparent square.svg
Transparent square.svg
5
Transparent square.svg
Transparent square.svg
4
Transparent square.svg
Transparent square.svg
3
Transparent square.svg
Transparent square.svg
2
Transparent square.svg
Transparent square.svg
Buildings taller than 200 ft (61 m) in Sacramento
  •  1950s and before 
  •  1960s 
  •  1970s 
  •  1980s 
  •  1990s 
  •  2000s 
  •  2010s 
  •  2020s 
1
Wells Fargo Center
2
US Bank Tower
3
Bank of the West Tower
4
Park Tower
5
Renaissance Tower
6
Cal/EPA Building
7
Esquire Plaza
8
Capitol Square
9
Robert T. Matsui United States Courthouse
10
Natural Resources Tower
11
Sacramento Courthouse Building
12
Sheraton Grand Sacramento
13
1325 J Street
14
Kimpton Sawyer Sacramento
15
California State Capitol
16
1201K Tower
17
West America Bank
18
Department of Justice Building
19
Elks Tower
20
The Citizen Hotel

Tallest buildings

This lists ranks Sacramento buildings that stand at least 200 feet (61 m) tall, based on standard height measurement. This includes spires and architectural details but does not include antenna masts. Existing structures are included for ranking purposes based on present height.

  Was the tallest building in Sacramento upon completion
RankNameImageCoordinatesHeight
ft (m)
FloorsPurposeYearNotes
1 Wells Fargo Center Wells Fargo Center, Sacramento, CA.jpg 38°34′42″N121°30′09″W / 38.578384°N 121.502487°W / 38.578384; -121.502487 (Wells Fargo Center) 423 (128.9)30Office1992Tallest building in Sacramento. Tallest building completed in Sacramento in the 1990s. [3] [4]
2 US Bank Tower US Bank Tower Profile(Sacramento).JPG 38°34′43″N121°29′57″W / 38.57864°N 121.499153°W / 38.57864; -121.499153 (US Bank Tower) 402 (122.6)25Office2008Topped out in 2007. Tallest building completed in Sacramento in the 2000s. [5] [6]
3 Bank of the West Tower Bank of the west tower dec 2008.jpg 38°34′41″N121°30′05″W / 38.578083°N 121.501427°W / 38.578083; -121.501427 (Bank of the West Tower) 396 (120.7)25Office2009Also known as 500 Capital Mall. [7] [8]
4 Park Tower Sacramento Plaza Park Tower (cropped).jpg 38°34′52″N121°29′42″W / 38.581131°N 121.494957°W / 38.581131; -121.494957 (Park Tower) 380 (115.8)26Office1991Also known as US Bank Plaza [9] [10]
5 Renaissance Tower Renaissance Tower ( Sacramento).jpg 38°34′48″N121°29′46″W / 38.580032°N 121.496002°W / 38.580032; -121.496002 (Renaissance Tower) 372 (113.4)28Office1989Tallest building completed in Sacramento in the 1980s. [11] [12]
6 Cal/EPA Building Cal EPA Building.jpg 38°34′55″N121°29′31″W / 38.581989°N 121.491844°W / 38.581989; -121.491844 (Cal/EPA Building) 372 (113.4)25Office2000Also known more formally as the Joe Serna Junior California EPA Building. [13] [14]
7 Esquire Plaza Esquirefromstreet.JPG 38°34′42″N121°29′23″W / 38.578468°N 121.48983°W / 38.578468; -121.48983 (Esquire Plaza) 355 (108.2)22Office1999 [15] [16]
8Capitol Square Capitol Square cropped.jpg 38°34′39″N121°30′09″W / 38.577427°N 121.502556°W / 38.577427; -121.502556 (Capitol Square) 351 (107)25Office1992 [17] [18]
9 Robert T. Matsui United States Courthouse U.S. Courthouse & Federal Building, Sacramento, south side.jpg 38°35′01″N121°29′55″W / 38.583561°N 121.498734°W / 38.583561; -121.498734 (Robert T. Matsui United States Courthouse) 350 (106.7)16Office1998 [19] [20]
10Natural Resources Tower California Natural Resources Headquarters Building.jpg 38°34′30″N121°29′59″W / 38.574963°N 121.499619°W / 38.574963; -121.499619 (Natural Resources Tower) 344 (105) [a] 22Office2021A 344-foot, 877,000 sq ft skyscraper for the California Natural Resources Agency for up to 4200 employees. Also known as the "P Street Building". Tallest building built in Sacramento during the 2020s. [21] [22]
11Sacramento Courthouse Building Sacramento Courthouse Building 2024-02-25.jpg 38°35′04″N121°29′54″W / 38.584473°N 121.498405°W / 38.584473; -121.498405 (Sacramento Courthouse Building) 325 (99)18Government2023Also known as the Tani Cantil-Sakauye Sacramento County Courthouse [23] [24]
12Sheraton Grand Sacramento 38°34′45″N121°29′24″W / 38.579033°N 121.490089°W / 38.579033; -121.490089 (Sheraton Grand Sacramento) 318 (97)28Hotel2001Tallest hotel in Sacramento. [25] [26]
131325 J Street 38°34′45″N121°29′18″W / 38.579243°N 121.48822°W / 38.579243; -121.48822 (1325 J Street) 265 (80.8)19Office1999Also known as the General Services Building. [27] [28]
14Kimpton Sawyer Sacramento 38°34′54″N121°29′58″W / 38.581596°N 121.499519°W / 38.581596; -121.499519 (Kimpton Sawyer Sacramento) 260 (79)16Mixed-use2017Part of Downtown Commons, a new mixed use development home of the Golden 1 Center for the Sacramento Kings. Mixed-use hotel and residential building. Tallest building completed in Sacramento during the 2010s. [29] [30]
15 California State Capitol Sacramento,-California---State-Capitol.jpg 38°34′36″N121°29′37″W / 38.57666°N 121.493629°W / 38.57666; -121.493629 (California State Capitol) 247 (75.3)6Government1874Tallest building completed in Sacramento during the 19th century. [31]
161201K Tower Sac RegionalTransit.jpg 38°34′43″N121°29′27″W / 38.578716°N 121.4908°W / 38.578716; -121.4908 (1201K Tower) 238 (72.5)18Office1992 [32] [33]
17West America Bank West America Bank Building.jpg 38°34′43″N121°30′14″W / 38.578663°N 121.50399°W / 38.578663; -121.50399 (West America Bank) 229 (69.7)[ citation needed ]18Office1984 [34]
18Department of Justice Building 38°34′47″N121°29′17″W / 38.579742°N 121.488167°W / 38.579742; -121.488167 (Department of Justice Building) 226 (69)18Office1995 [35] [36]
19 Elks Tower Elks Club Building, street.jpg 38°34′49″N121°29′30″W / 38.580143°N 121.491707°W / 38.580143; -121.491707 (Elks Tower) 226 (68.9)14Office1926Tallest building completed in Sacramento in the 1920s. [37] [38]
20The Citizen Hotel The Citizen Hotel, Sacramento, 2007 renovation.jpg 38°34′49″N121°29′38″W / 38.580189°N 121.49379°W / 38.580189; -121.49379 (The Citizen Hotel) 216 (65.8)15Hotel1925Originally known as California Western State Life Insurance Building, or simply the Cal-West Building. Along with Elks Tower, one of the earliest tall buildings in Sacramento. [39] [40] [41]
  1. Height is an estimate.

Tallest under construction or proposed

Under construction

As of 2025, there are no buildings under construction in Sacramento that are expected to be taller than 200 ft (61 m).

Proposed

This lists ranks proposed buildings in Sacramento that are planned to be taller than 200 ft (61 m). A dash “–“ indicates information about the building is unknown or has not been released.

NameHeight
ft (m)
FloorsYearNotes
301 Capitol Mall560 (170)33Project delayed and undecided due to CALPERS and CIM backing out of the project. The land is currently up for sale for a new concept to emerge. At 557 feet, the previously approved plan, Tower 301, would have been the tallest building in Sacramento. [42]
Sacramento Commons417 (127)262027Phase One featuring 2 mid-rise buildings has been completed. The next phase is expected to start in 3 to 5 years. At buildout, the Sacramento Commons project will have up to 1470 units spaced out between two mid rises and three 26 story towers with the option for an on site hotel and residential mixed use. [43]
Vanir Tower400 (121.9)26Will includes a 250-key luxury hotel, 50 luxury condominiums, 100,000 square feet of office space, and ground-floor retail and restaurants. Currently on hold after the developer, Vanir Development Co., withdrew the original application on June 29, 2018, to work on the current concept. [44] [45]
Southwest Corner/Third Street and Capitol Mall308 (94)262026The height is still unknown until the construction start. Also known as Lot X. Southern Land Company announced plans on October 19, 2021, to build Sacramento's first high-rise for rental apartments in the city next to the Crocker Art Museum, which was previously owned by the Sacramento Kings and purchased for $16,750,000. The mixed-use project is designed by Solomon Cordwell Buenz and will feature a 341,000-square-foot 26 story residential tower with 263 luxury apartments, a 7-story 450 car parking garage, a 200,000-square-foot 14 story mass timber residential tower with 154 apartments, and 11,000-square-feet of retail. There will also be 21 3-story townhomes on the property. In total, there will be 436 market rate apartments on site. Amenities will include an outdoor pool on the 18th floor, a sculptural garden at the tower's plaza, and private terraces and rooftop gardens. Southern Land Company plans to break ground on the project in 2024 and complete it in 2026. [46] [47]
Unnamed hotel28A new 28-story convention hotel adjacent to the SAFE Credit Union Convention Center. Overall, the hotel room will contain 330 hotel rooms, two floors of underground parking, four floors with 28 residential units, a 6,000 square-foot ballroom, almost 13,000 square feet of meeting rooms, and a skyline rooftop bar and restaurant. The developers hope to start construction in 2025. [48]

Timeline of tallest buildings

NameImageYears as tallestHeight

ft (m)

Floors
California State Capitol Sacramento,-California---State-Capitol.jpg 1874–1989247 (75.3)6
Renaissance Tower Renaissance Tower ( Sacramento).jpg 1989–1991372 (113.4)28
Park Tower Sacramento Plaza Park Tower (cropped).jpg 1991–1992380 (115.8)26
Wells Fargo Center Wells Fargo Center, Sacramento, CA.jpg 1992–present423 (128.9)30

References

  1. Turner, Rob (September–October 2018). "A Tale of Two Towers". Sactown Mag. Retrieved September 22, 2021.
  2. Wang, Candice (April 5, 2021). "You ask, we answer: What will Sacramento's skyline look like in the next 10 years". The Sacramento Bee. Retrieved September 22, 2021.
  3. "Wells Fargo Center". Emporis.com. Archived from the original on May 19, 2007. Retrieved November 3, 2007.
  4. "Wells Fargo Center - The Skyscraper Center". www.skyscrapercenter.com. Retrieved August 27, 2025.
  5. "US Bank Tower". Emporis.com. Archived from the original on February 12, 2007. Retrieved November 3, 2007.
  6. "US Bank Tower - The Skyscraper Center". www.skyscrapercenter.com. Retrieved August 27, 2025.
  7. "500 Capitol Mall". Emporis.com. Archived from the original on April 9, 2013. Retrieved August 14, 2007.
  8. "Bank of the West Tower - The Skyscraper Center". www.skyscrapercenter.com. Retrieved August 27, 2025.
  9. "US Bank Plaza". Emporis.com. Archived from the original on February 29, 2008. Retrieved November 3, 2007.
  10. "Park Tower - The Skyscraper Center". www.skyscrapercenter.com. Retrieved August 27, 2025.
  11. "Renaissance Tower". Emporis.com. Archived from the original on February 11, 2007. Retrieved November 3, 2007.
  12. "Renaissance Tower - The Skyscraper Center". www.skyscrapercenter.com. Retrieved August 27, 2025.
  13. "Cal/EPA Building". Emporis.com. Archived from the original on February 18, 2007. Retrieved November 3, 2007.
  14. "Cal EPA Building". SkyscraperPage.com. Retrieved November 19, 2007.
  15. "Esquire Plaza". Emporis.com. Archived from the original on September 30, 2007. Retrieved November 3, 2007.
  16. "Esquire Plaza - The Skyscraper Center". www.skyscrapercenter.com. Retrieved August 27, 2025.
  17. "Capitol Square". Emporis.com. Archived from the original on March 19, 2007. Retrieved November 3, 2007.
  18. "Capitol Square - The Skyscraper Center". www.skyscrapercenter.com. Retrieved August 27, 2025.
  19. "U.S. Courthouse & Federal Building". Emporis.com. Archived from the original on February 21, 2007. Retrieved November 3, 2007.
  20. "Robert T. Matsui Federal Courthouse - The Skyscraper Center". www.skyscrapercenter.com. Retrieved August 27, 2025.
  21. "P Street Modern Office Building Project". California Department of General Services. Retrieved September 22, 2021.
  22. Riquelmy, Alan (September 12, 2021). "2021 Best Real Estate Projects: New Natural Resources Headquarters". Sacramento Business Journal. Retrieved September 22, 2021.
  23. "Construction Finishing For Sacramento Courthouse Building". sfyimby.com/. Retrieved March 5, 2024.
  24. "Sacramento County, Tani Cantil-Sakauye Sacramento County Courthouse | Judicial Branch of California". courts.ca.gov. Retrieved August 27, 2025.
  25. "Sheraton Grand Sacramento". Emporis.com. Archived from the original on June 3, 2007. Retrieved November 3, 2007.
  26. "Central City Urban Design Guidelines" (PDF). City of Sacramento.
  27. "1325 J Street - The Skyscraper Center". www.skyscrapercenter.com. Retrieved August 27, 2025.
  28. "General Services Building". skyscraperpage.com.
  29. "Downtown Sacramento Hotel | Kimpton Sawyer Hotel". www.sawyerhotel.com.
  30. "Downtown Commons". SkyscraperPage.com.
  31. "California State Capitol - The Skyscraper Center". www.skyscrapercenter.com. Retrieved August 27, 2025.
  32. "1201K Tower". Emporis.com. Archived from the original on May 21, 2007. Retrieved November 3, 2007.
  33. "12th K Tower". SkyscraperPage.com. Retrieved November 19, 2007.
  34. "West America Bank Building". skyscraperpage.com.
  35. "Department of Justice Building". Emporis.com. Archived from the original on February 16, 2007. Retrieved November 3, 2007.
  36. "Department of Justice Building". SkyscraperPage.com. Retrieved November 19, 2007.
  37. "Elks Club Building". Emporis.com. Archived from the original on February 15, 2013. Retrieved November 3, 2007.
  38. "Elks Tower - The Skyscraper Center". www.skyscrapercenter.com. Retrieved August 27, 2025.
  39. "The Citizen Hotel". Emporis.com. Archived from the original on April 10, 2013. Retrieved November 3, 2007.
  40. "The Citizens Hotel". skyscraperpage.com.
  41. "Image / California Western States Life Insurance Company". Calisphere. Retrieved August 16, 2023.
  42. Lillis, Ryan (April 8, 2022). "Exclusive: CalPERS to sell downtown Sacramento's 'hole in the ground.' What happens now?". The Sacramento Bee. Retrieved April 10, 2022.
  43. van der Meer, Ben (October 15, 2022). "Capitol Towers project of 436 units in Downtown Sac starts moving in residents". Sacramento Business Journal. Retrieved October 16, 2022.
  44. van der Meer, Ben (November 16, 2018). "Website spells out new Vanir Tower concept". Sacramento Business Journal. Retrieved July 1, 2019.
  45. Sites, Matthew (June 29, 2018). "601 J st". Sacramento Community Development Tracker. Retrieved September 22, 2021.
  46. van der Meer, Ben (December 20, 2022). "Southern Land Co.'s plans for Downtown Sacramento's Lot X revised to add more housing units, second tower". Sacramento Business Journal. Retrieved June 19, 2023.
  47. van der Meer, Ben (June 15, 2023). "Downtown Sacramento projects on K Street, Lot X pushed back until next year at soonest". Sacramento Business Journal. Retrieved June 19, 2023.
  48. Hamann, Emily (June 8, 2023). "Christofer Co., Gafcon propose 330-room hotel attached to the SAFE Credit Union Convention Center". Sacramento Business Journal. Retrieved June 19, 2023.