From history, places to eat and charming shopping, downtown Lodi has it all

Make a day of exploring Lodi, the old downtown, perhaps taking in a few vineyards/wineries and visiting a compelling museum of local history and agricultural innovation. If you plan to explore several of the Lodi-Woodbridge Winegrape Appellation’s well over 80 wineries, plan a mid-morning stop at the Lodi Visitors Bureau at the intersection of Turner Road and Lower Sacramento Road.

For a busy day, start with a delectable breakfast at a fun, historic restaurant, Richmaid, 100 S. Cherokee Lane, featuring American breakfast (and lunch and dinner) at reasonable prices. And I am A side benefit, just across the street from Richmaid is the Vintage Reserve Garage, a facility that sells classic and collectible autos and, with a changing cast of 20-some autos, is almost a mini-museum of American rolling stock. I have visited the restaurant dozens of times with friends and my spouse, and I am never disappointed in the food and the timeless “days gone by” vibe.

In downtown Lodi, walk the five blocks of School Street, from Locust on the north to Lodi Avenue on the south, where several unique retail shops present their wares. You’ll find a fun run of restaurants, including Moo’s Burger Barn and Nash and Tender (in the Lodi Cinema complex), Brickhouse (Italian), Angelo’s Mexican, Lodi Beer, Dancing Fox, Shangri La Asian Bistro and Sushi Bar and other fine dining options. Go just a few blocks east to the historic Lodi Mission Arch, on East Pine near the railroad tracks, a sure-fire selfie photo destination.

One of the stars of this road trip is Micke Grove Regional Park, just south of Lodi, 11793 N. Micke Grove Rd., Lodi. Set amongst the vineyards beginning to leaf out, the park is home to the San Joaquin Historical Museum, the Micke Grove Zoo, Fun Town for kids, a lovely Japanese Garden, and a popular disc golf course and picnic grounds galore.

The Park is open daily (except Christmas) from 8 a.m. to sunset. The Museum is open Thursday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The Japanese Garden is temporarily closed due to storm damage, and Fun Town at Micke Grove will reopen soon. Parking (per vehicle) & Pets: $5 per vehicle (weekdays), $6 (weekends and holidays), $10. The Museum and zoo also have modest entry fees.

A gem of the park is the San Joaquin County Historical Museum, one of the west’s marvelous history museums. The museum profiles early Native American history, presents the pioneers who founded Lodi, Stockton, and the county and offers an immense collection of agricultural and road-building equipment to amaze kids young to old. In addition, the Museum provides the most exciting insight into all the types of agriculture grown in San Joaquin County, from grapes to asparagus, tomatoes, almonds, walnuts, and many more valuable crops.

I caught up with a favorite museum docent, Jack Jacobs, who emphasized that the goal of the Historical Society is to preserve our county's rich history and share many fascinating stories that have shaped the community. Stories feature the Miwok- and Yokuts-speaking nations that cared for this region for millennia and Captain Charles Weber, who envisioned developing Stockton as a transportation, manufacturing, and agricultural center.

Jacobs adds, "my recommendation to visitors is to take the time to wander our 18 acres.  Stop by the Weber Cottage and the Julia Weber House. The Weber cottage, built in 1848, was Weber’s first home. He later expanded it with a large two-story adobe, the cottage becoming his kitchen. Nearby, the Julia Weber House, built by Weber’s daughter, is wonderfully preserved as the home looked in the 1890s”.

Jacobs continued, “be sure to visit the giant satellite map of San Joaquin County in the foyer of the Cortopassi Building - Innovations in Agriculture. Not to miss is the Tony Segale mural on the north wall of the Tree and Vine Building.  In his far right panel, notice the "No Talking Allowed" sign in the mural; the original sign hangs on the eastern wall of the building.”

The Museum brings to life the early American settlers who emigrated to build families, farms, and communities here; of inventors and entrepreneurs such as Benjamin Holt and R.G. LeTourneau, who started international corporations; thousands of immigrants who built levees in the Delta, and toiled in our fields and brought new energy and ideas for agriculture.

The kid in me is constantly amazed by multiple museum exhibit buildings full of historic tractors, agricultural and road-building implements, and technological wonders of our county’s agriculturists. The huge Holt Side-hill Harvester, made by Holt Brothers of Stockton in the early 1900s, allowed grain harvesting on slopes up to 40 degrees and opened the granaries in the Sierra Foothills on the east side of our county. The huge UC Blackwelder Tomato Harvester was designed to move through vast fields of tomatoes, pick the entire plant, shake the tomatoes off the vine and sort them as to size, then transfer them to a gondola pulled by a following tractor.

The Museum collaborated with the local Sikh community, the oldest in the country, on their new celebratory exhibit, "The Sikhs in America: Faith, Resilience, and Power," opening at the Stockton Gurdwara on April 15th; the exhibit comes to the Museum in May for a brief engagement. On April 15, guests will be able to experience the Lodi Unified Art Show, with compelling and creative artwork from district students. While they're here, guests should visit the Museum Mercantile to pick up some of our new merchandise, including gifts with a historical theme.

Where are you touring? Contact Tim at tviall@msn.com. 

For more information

Lodi, visitlodi.com; Micke Grove Park, sjparks.com; San Joaquin Historical Society and Museum, sanjoaquinhistory.org.

This article originally appeared on The Record: Visitors to downtown Lodi will find plenty of history, places to eat