While most errors on the seal are unintentional , at least one was done " on porpoise " : the staff of Assemblyman Jerry Lewis once ordered a birthday cake for their boss with a California seal on it , but it was " the kind that has flippers , swims in the ocean and eats fish . " The seal can be seen in its various incarnations near the entrances of a number of state buildings in downtown Sacramento , including the State Capitol ( as well as several inside of the Capitol , including an 1854 carving and a 1908 stained glass " sky " light ) , Stanley Mosk Library and Courts I ( within the tympanum at 914 Capitol Mall ) , Department of Rehabilitation ( 721 Capitol Mall , not to be confused the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation ) , State Personnel Board ( 801 Capitol Mall ) , Employment Development Department ( 722/800 Capitol Mall ) , Resources Agency ( 1416 Ninth Street ) , Secretary of State ( 1500 Eleventh Street ) , CalTrans ( 1121 O Street ) , Office of the State Fire Marshal ( 1131 S Street ) , and the Department of Motor Vehicles ( 2415 First Avenue ) . A hand-painted seal which used to be on display at the old Oakland State Building ( 1111 Jackson Street ) until its closure following the Loma Prieta earthquake of 1989 can today be seen just within the front entrance of the state building at 1304 O Street , Sacramento . In West Sacramento , on the opposite shore of the Sacramento River from Old Sacramento , near the entrance to the headquarters of the California Department of General Services in the distinctive Ziggurat building , is another seal . Near the base of the James W. Marshall monument at Marshall Gold Discovery State Historic Park in nearby Coloma , can be found an artistic rendition of the seal from 1890
Loma Prieta earthquake
1989 Loma Prieta earthquake
Great Seal of California