Entry No. 21 — the Sacramento file — filed under: roadside relic
Rainbow Poles
Seventy-two wooden poles painted in every color of the rainbow have stood on this midtown corner for at least 40 years — installed by a paint store decades ago as a literal advertisement for its color selection. The paint store is long gone (a blood bank occupies the lot now), but nobody's ever pulled the poles out.
The story
Stand on the corner of 16th and Q Streets in Midtown and you'll find 72 wooden posts painted in a dense rainbow spectrum stuck straight out of the sidewalk. It has the distinct look of a commissioned public sculpture, but the truth is lazier: decades ago, a long-defunct paint shop planted them on the lot to serve as a physical, real-world color chart for customers.
The paint store folded long ago—a blood bank sits on the property now—but nobody ever got around to pulling the timber out of the ground. The poles have weathered over four decades of Central Valley heat, transforming a mundane commercial sign into an accidental, surviving piece of Midtown street history.
What it's like
Expect a quick, free roadside pitstop right on the sidewalk. You can walk or bike up to the corner at any time of day to inspect the weathered paint layers up close. Kids love weaving through the tight timber grid like a mini-forest, and since it takes all of three minutes to absorb, it's best treated as an offbeat landmark to scout while grabbing coffee or wandering Midtown.
The move: Walk or bike to the corner across from the park, and if you time it for Memorial Day weekend, catch the Chalk It Up chalk-art festival nearby, where kids climb and play in the little multicolored "pole forest" while you grab coffee at a nearby midtown spot.
- 📍 Midtown Sacramento
- 💸 Free
- ⚡ Up for anything
- 🌗 Outdoors
Where: 16th and Q Streets, Sacramento, CA 95811
Hours: Added 2026-07-20 — confirm current hours before you go.
Pair it with
- Shipwrecked Paradise Island — Just a block away from the rainbow poles, you can step off the street into a hidden tiki hideaway packed with carved sea monsters.
- Saha Float Spa — Walk one block over after photographing the roadside relic to reset your senses in a quiet sensory deprivation float tank.
- Verge Center for the Arts — Head under a mile south to trade an accidental commercial relic for deliberate installation art inside a converted artist studio warehouse.
- Dragon House — Continue your tour of unusual street-level Sacramento landmarks by heading down to Curtis Park to see a private home wrapped entirely in mosaic tile.
Good to know
Where are the Rainbow Poles located?
You'll find them right on the public sidewalk at 16th and Q Streets in Midtown Sacramento, in front of the lot currently occupied by a blood bank.
Why were 72 rainbow poles planted here?
They were put up over 40 years ago by a former paint store as an outdoor sample board to show off their paint colors. The store closed down, but the poles were left standing.
How much does it cost to see them, and what are the hours?
They are completely free and located on an open city street corner, making them accessible 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
Plan a visit & invite your people →
Further reading: Roadside America · waymarking.com · maps.roadtrippers.com
last checked: 2026-07-20