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YES! Benicia Arsenal Park
The Vision
Our vision is to create a park in the Benicia Arsenal Historic District that will promote appreciation of this national, state, and local historic treasure, and provide opportunities for recreation and heritage tourism.
Benicia Arsenal Park can be...
Vision: Text
A place for recreation, with restored gardens, trails, benches, picnic tables, and lawns, all with magnificent views of the Carquinez
Strait and Mt. Diablo.
A place for education, with interpretive signs and exhibits explaining the features of the National Register-listed Benicia Arsenal Historic District and the Arsenal’s great significance in national, state, and local history, dating back to before the Civil War.
A gathering place for public events, with picnics and celebrations in a restored assembly area where an 80-foot-tall flag once again flies on Jefferson Ridge.
A visitors’ center and base for people exploring Benicia, the Mare Island Historic District, and other places in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta National Heritage Area, designated by the National Park Service in 2019 as the first National Heritage Area in California.
A magnet for heritage tourism, carrying out longstanding City of Benicia economic development policies and enhancing the City’s investment in the Clocktower and Commanding Officer’s Quarters buildings, with potential for an events center or other
visitor-serving uses.
A historical park, carrying out a vision proposed by the State of California in
the 1960s.
A catalyst for further investment in the Benicia Arsenal Historic District.
A special place that enhances Benicia’s unique identity and character, honoring the town’s history, resilience, and promise of continuity.
Vision: What We Do
Today, this vision is in dire peril. The grounds of Jefferson Ridge are proposed for development, threatening the character and integrity of the entire National Register-listed Benicia Arsenal Historic District. Under new state laws, some construction could even be approved and built with no public review, no environmental review, and no assessment of impacts on historic resources. Help us preserve this historic treasure as a park for all to enjoy!
Find out what you can do.
Vision: Who We Are
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