What to See in Stockton - Top Sights and Attractions

Museum in Stockton, California. The Haggin Museum is an art museum and local history museum in Stockton, San Joaquin County, California, located in the city's Victory Park. The museum opened in 1931. Its art collection includes works by European painters Jean Béraud, Rosa Bonheur, William-Adolphe Bouguereau, Jean-Léon Gérôme, and Pierre-Auguste Renoir, landscapes by French artists of the Barbizon school, and sculptures by René de Saint-Marceaux, Alfred Barye, and Auguste Rodin. The museum also features a number of works by Hudson River School and California landscape painters, including the largest collection of Albert Bierstadt works in the region, and in 2017 dedicated a gallery to display the largest public collection of original artworks by J. C. Leyendecker.^[1]

Private university in Stockton, California. University of the Pacific is a private Methodist-affiliated university with its main campus in Stockton, California, and graduate campuses in San Francisco and Sacramento. It is California's first university, the first independent coeducational campus in California, and the first conservatory of music and first medical school on the West Coast.

Pacific was first chartered on July 10, 1851, in Santa Clara, California, under the name California Wesleyan College. The school moved to San Jose in 1871 and then to Stockton in 1923. Pacific is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC). In addition to its liberal arts college and graduate school, Pacific has schools of business, dentistry, education, engineering, international studies, law, music, pharmacy, and health sciences.

It is home to the papers of environmental pioneer John Muir in Pacific's Holt-Atherton Special Collections and Archives. The University also has a John Muir Center that hosts a Muir Symposium to encourage the use of John Muir's Papers. At Pacific's William Knox Holt Memorial Library, there is a museum style presentational space for Muir's Papers. The Muir Experience has on display physical and digital exhibits to inspire user interaction with Muir's work.^[3]

Cathedral in Stockton, California. The Cathedral of the Annunciation is a Catholic cathedral in Stockton, California, United States. It is the seat of the Diocese of Stockton.

Archbishop John J. Mitty of San Francisco approved the building of a new parish in the north side of Stockton in 1941. As the population of the city was growing to the north, the decision was made to build a "new" St. Mary's, and then eventually tear down the "old" St. Mary's downtown that had been built in 1893 and was in bad need of repair. Monsignor William E. McGough was the first pastor of the "new" St. Mary's. He worked with San Francisco architect Henry A. Minton and Stockton contractors Shepherd and Green to construct the modified-Gothic church. The building permit for the church was issued on March 5, 1941, for a building that would cost $175,000 and take approximately one year to build. As the Second World War began, the pace of building slowed but did not stop. The building had been fully paid for before construction was finished and the total cost was $285,000. The church was dedicated on December 12, 1942.

The church is constructed of reinforced concrete, then faced with brick and ornamented with cast stone. The overall treatment is Gothic. A ninety-two-foot belfry tower is located in the northeast corner. Limestone steps lead to the entrance, which has a vaulted ceiling and terrazzo floor.^[4]

The Philomathean Clubhouse is a historic clubhouse in Stockton, California and served the Philomathean Club, a women's club. Its building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2009.

The Philomathean Club (philomath, from the Greek, meaning "lover of learning") began in 1893 from a reading group of nine women. The club was formally organized eventually, and joined the California Federation of Women's Clubs in 1900. The group included a book discussion club and hosted speakers regarding contemporary political and social topics, supported literacy programs, as well having as more social functions such as tea and playing cards. It met in various venues including the public library, the Yosemite Theatre, the Elks Hall and the Hotel Stockton. It grew to have more than 300 women members in 1910, when it began a process to build its own building. The club chose to quit the California Federation of Women's Clubs in 1943 but continued to operate and contribute to Stockton. At one point, the roll included 700 members. and as of 2012 it had around 70.

The 5,900 square feet (550 m2), two-story building was built during 1911-12 by local contractor William E. Wood. It is Craftsman in style. On February 9, 1912, the women's club began meeting in the clubhouse. The clubhouse includes an upstairs lecture hall, which also served as a ballroom. The lower level housed a kitchen and meeting rooms. Historic photographs at the Holt-Atherton Special Collections, University of the Pacific Library, show finely dressed Stocktonians on the front porch of the clubhouse in the 1930s.

In 1982, the membership wished to retain control over its building so it voted not to be included in Stockton's Magnolia Historical District. Following the Philomathean Club's decision, there were several break-ins at the clubhouse. At the same time, maintenance costs grew and membership diminished. In 2000, the City of Stockton purchased the building for $25,000 with the intention of using it to host public events. Due to the city's bankruptcy dealings in 2013, creditors pressed them to put for sale many historic properties, including the Philomathean Clubhouse. However, the terms of the city's deal with the club was that a new owner must allow the club to use the building on the condition the club maintains at least 10 members. Soon after the city removed the clubhouse from the list of properties for sale. In 2015 it was sold to a newly formed foundation named the Philomathean Foundation, whose goal was to make improvements to the building and use it for public events. The price of the sale was $28,500 despite a valuation of $400,000. At the time, the building was in such disrepair that city documents estimated it needed over $540,000 in renovations, the majority of the cost relating to the roofing.

As of 2016, work was still being done to the building to make it accessible to the public with the goal of it being used for weddings, cultural events, banquets, and more. By 2019,just before the outbreak of Covid-19 significant repairs had been accomplished, but due to the pandemic the building has not been available for rental.^[7]

The Tretheway Block is a historic commercial building located at 229 E. Weber St. in Stockton, California. The building, which was built in 1892, is noteworthy due to its eclectic architecture. While the building was mainly designed in the Queen Anne style, it also includes Romanesque and Moorish influences. The building's front features three small bays with banded arches in the center and two large bays with partial ribbed domes on the sides; the domes and the banded arches are Moorish elements. The building is topped by a cornice made of corbelled arches and split by four vertical projections, exhibiting the Romanesque influence on the design. Zinc floral ornaments are located on the projections of the cornice and at various places on the bays.

The building was built by farmer John Tretheway and originally housed a hardware store on its first floor and lodging on its upper floors. In 1925, the building became a hotel called the Hotel Argonaut; it remained a hotel until the 1970s.

The Trethaway Block was added to the National Register of Historic Places on October 29, 1982.^[9]