Our Story

Do you remember the anticipation youd feel throughout the chilly, rainy, days of late fall -- eagerly waiting for the day when your parents would finally give in to your nagging, bundle you up in a warm coat and take you downtown to see the incredible, animated displays in department store windows?

            You would huddle with family, friends, and complete strangers, noses pressed against the plate glass window, and gaze in wonder as Santa and his elves, Victorian store keepers, moving model trains, and fairytale figures, gestured and twirled across winter landscapes, and cheerful family settings.  It was a magical treat for young and old in cities all across the country.

         Well, a whole generation of kids never had that experience.  And, the Sacramento County Historical Society wants to provide if to them.  With your help well recreate a full-sized holiday display window, using animated figures that once graced the windows of the Breuners department store in downtown Sacramento.

         The display will occupy the window of the former Roos Bros. department store building at 1001 K Street, the corner of 10th and K. Setup will take place during November 2010, with a grand reveal of the completed display the day after Thanksgiving, November 26, at noon. The display will remain in place until the first week of January, 2011.

            The theme for the 2010 Holiday Display Window is Winter in the City, an urban scene set in downtown Sacramento about 1910. Store windows containing period gifts and merchandise, a nickelodeon movie theater, and lighted architectural elements will reflect the holiday season. Animated Gaffney Display Company figures will interact with each other and their surroundings. We also hope to recreate the sense of wonder of holiday seasons past.

The Impact

         We hope this celebration of K Streets past can also serve to inspire its future and encourage other cities across the country and not just those big cities in the Midwest like Chicago, Philadelphia and New York, to do the same.

What We Need & What You Get

(Sacramento County Historical Society is organizing the fundraising effort, and our volunteers will build the display. In addition to starting funds provided by SCHS and several private contributors and local nonprofits, we have collected over 85% of our $10,000 funding goal, but we need your help to bring a piece of local history back to life.

Please consider a tax-deductible donation to this project

Other Ways You Can Help