A reconstruction of California's first public theatre, built in Old Sacramento on the site of the original 1849 building. The Eagle Theatre opened on 16 October 1849, staging melodramas for an audience of miners who paid between $2 and $3 for a ticket — at a time when a day's wages for casual labour ran about the same amount. The building was destroyed by flooding in 1850 but its reputation as the cradle of California theatre has endured.
The reconstruction is part of the Old Sacramento State Historic Park and is open for self-guided tours. The interior is small — about 200 seats — and bare by modern standards, which actually helps convey how rough-and-ready the original was. Occasional period performances are staged here; check the park schedule.