Stories
At the 50th Annual California Preservation Conference—Breaking Barriers, Building Bridges—held at the Sacramento Convention Center, more than 140 speakers came together to engage over 700 attendees in meaningful conversations about preservation, design, and cultural transformation. This milestone event marked the first time since 2006 that the preservation community gathered in Sacramento, shining a spotlight on the city’s evolving identity—a place where rich history meets forward-thinking design.
One of the conference’s standout moments was a walking tour and presentation led by Adam Lovern through the historic Sacramento Railyards, with rare interior access to the iconic Paint Shop, where Southern Pacific train cars once went to receive fresh coats of paint. Lovern’s presentation sparked imagination and conversation around adaptive reuse, inviting attendees to envision the Paint Shop as a vibrant live music venue attracting quality artists to entertain a growing urban metropolis.
Adam addressed both the grand vision and the technical realities, offering innovative strategies for preserving the building’s structural integrity while meeting modern acoustic demands. Solutions like a lightweight, thin-profile acoustic assembly and a hidden roof well helped to preserve the historic silhouette while optimizing performance and cost. Lovern’s presentation exemplified the spirit of this year’s conference: breaking down barriers between past and future, and building bridges toward more inclusive, inspired uses of our shared historic spaces.
Learn more:
Reimagining the Railyards, RMW’s Master Plan for Amazon HQ2
The Railyards, Lot 12