Veteran museum leader will help advance a broader vision for history, civic identity and heritage tourism in California\u2019s Capital City<\/p>\n
A new chapter is beginning at the Center for Sacramento History. Ty Smith will begin serving as Sacramento\u2019s new City Historian on June 1, bringing more than two decades of experience in public history, museum leadership, interpretation and education through his work with California State Parks.<\/p>\n
Smith has served as museum director of the California State Railroad Museum and Old Sacramento State Historic Park, with previous leadership experience overseeing cultural destinations including Hearst Castle and the California State Capitol Museum.<\/p>\n
As City Historian, Smith will oversee the Center for Sacramento History while helping shape a broader vision for how Sacramento preserves, shares and elevates its stories as California\u2019s Capital City.<\/p>\n
\u201cSacramento has an extraordinary opportunity to make history a more visible and meaningful part of civic life,\u201d said Megan Van Voorhis, director of Convention and Cultural Services for the City of Sacramento. \u201cThis role is about more than preserving records and collections \u2014 it is about helping residents and visitors better understand the people, places and stories that shaped Sacramento, while strengthening culture, education and heritage tourism throughout the city.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSacramento\u2019s local history is world history. I am honored to be a part of gathering, holding, and telling Sacramento\u2019s stories. In Sacramento, the past didn\u2019t go anywhere; it flows into our lives and expresses itself through our lived experiences,\u201d said Ty Smith, incoming City Historian. \u201cThe highest calling of a public historian is to help people see themselves in history and, in so doing, help people imagine their futures through understanding our collective past. I look forward to building on the previous success of the Center for Sacramento History and in serving my community.\u201d<\/p>\n
The City Historian serves as both the steward of Sacramento\u2019s historical collections and a civic leader helping shape how the city preserves, shares and connects its history to education, culture, tourism and community identity.<\/p>\n
\u201cTy Smith has demonstrated throughout his career that history is not simply about preserving the past \u2014 it is about helping communities better understand themselves and envision their future,\u201d said John Fraser, district superintendent for the Capital District of California State Parks and Smith\u2019s former supervisor. \u201cHis transformative leadership at the California State Railroad Museum expanded both the audiences we reached and the stories we told, positioning the museum as one of California\u2019s leading institutions for inclusive and forward-looking public history.\u201d<\/p>\n
About the Center for Sacramento History<\/p>\n
The Center for Sacramento History serves as the official archives and research center for the historical records of the City and County of Sacramento, preserving materials that document the political, cultural, social and economic history of California\u2019s Capital City dating back to 1849. Widely regarded as one of the region\u2019s most significant historical repositories, the Center houses millions of photographs, archival documents, oral histories, artifacts and audiovisual materials that help tell the story of Sacramento and the surrounding region.<\/p>\n
Its nationally recognized collections include the Tower Records Collection, the Eleanor McClatchy Collection and more than 15 million feet of historic film footage from KCRA-TV and KOVR-TV archives that have been licensed for documentaries, television productions and major motion pictures around the world.<\/p>\n
Beyond preservation and research, the Center advances public understanding of Sacramento\u2019s history through exhibitions, films, educational programming, interpretation and community engagement initiatives. Its \u201cUnlocking the Past: Exploring Racism in Sacramento\u201d series received a Leadership in History Award from the American Association for State and Local History (AASLH) for its contribution to public history and civic dialogue.<\/p>\n
Through partnerships, digital engagement and heritage tourism initiatives, the Center works to make Sacramento\u2019s history more visible, accessible and relevant to residents and visitors alike. Learn more at the Center\u2019s website<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Veteran museum leader will help advance a broader vision for history, civic identity and heritage tourism in California\u2019s…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":326939,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[121,123,122],"class_list":["post-326938","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sacramento","tag-sacramento","tag-sacramento-headlines","tag-sacramento-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/326938","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=326938"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/326938\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/326939"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=326938"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=326938"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=326938"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}