Old Sacramento’s beloved oddball landmark is getting ready to turn the lights back on. Evangeline’s confirmed Tuesday that its upstairs Costume Mansion will reopen in June, bringing back the maze of theme rooms and wall-to-wall costumes that generations of Sacramentans have dragged their friends through at least once.
The comeback will roll out in stages. The upper floors are slated to welcome shoppers first, while restoration of the ground-floor novelty and gift shop continues behind the scenes. After last June’s fire left a dark gap in the middle of Old Sacramento, a target month for reopening is the clearest sign yet that the downtown staple is on its way back.
Reopening timeframe
According to CBS News Sacramento, the owners say the “historic Costume Mansion portion” is set to reopen by summer, with June as the goal for letting customers back in. The plan puts the spotlight on the upstairs experience first while repair crews keep working and restocking the damaged ground floor.
Owners' message and timing
On its official site, Evangeline’s publicly thanked the Sacramento Fire Department and the broader community for rallying around the business, and said it has “set our sights on a Spring 2026 reopening,” while promising more details as restoration moves forward, according to Evangeline’s. The website lists the store’s Old Sacramento address at 113 K Street and urges customers to watch its social channels for firm opening dates and special events tied to the comeback.
How the fire affected the building
The June 17, 2025 fire left heavy smoke and water damage in the novelty and gift section on the lower level, although the building’s sprinkler system kept flames from spreading farther, the Sacramento Fire Department said, as reported by KCRA. No one was hurt, but the impact was serious enough that Evangeline’s halted in-person shopping and online orders while staff tackled repairs and restocked the historic Howard House and Lady Adams building.
What it means for Old Sacramento
Evangeline’s has been holding down its corner of Old Sacramento since 1974, and the three-level Costume Mansion has long been a year-round magnet for locals, tourists and last-minute Halloween shoppers. Its presence helps feed foot traffic to nearby restaurants and neighboring storefronts, coverage in the Sacramento Business Journal notes. A phased return, with the Mansion reopening before the ground-floor novelties, is expected to give downtown merchants a visible psychological boost as much as an economic one.
The owners have not circled a specific day on the calendar yet, instead reiterating on their website that they will announce exact dates and related events through social media once everything is locked in. For now, that June target stands as the first real milestone since the doors closed, and costume fans will have to keep refreshing the shop’s official updates for the final word on opening day and any pop-up festivities that might surround Evangeline’s long-awaited return.
