This was the site of the first synagogue on the Pacific Coast, dedicated on September 3, 1852. The building, prefabricated in Baltimore and shipped around Cape Horn in 1849, originally housed the Methodist Episcopal Church, whose trustees sold the edifice on June 4, 1852, to Alexander Myer, Joseph Levison, and Charles Freidman, officers of the Association of the Children of Israel (B'nai Israel). The congregation followed the Orthodox tradition until 1880, when it became an adherent of Reform Judaism.

California Registered Historic Landmark No. 654

Plaque placed by the California State Park Commission with Congregation B'nai Israel and the Sacramento Historic Landmarks Commission, October 26, 1958.