Benicia

City in north-central California, 39 km/24 mi northeast of San Francisco, on the northern shore of Carquinez Strait, between Suisun and San Pablo bays; population (1990) 24,400. Founded in 1846, it was capital of California for 13 months in 1853–54; its old capitol is now a museum. The city relies substantially on tourism, and has an arts community.

Its industrial park, on the site of a major 1840s US arsenal, has housed an oil company, a wharf for oceangoing vessels, and the manufacture of dredges, steel plates, and machinery.