|
SAN JOSE,
CALIFORNIA
Heart
of California's Silicon Valley
Introducution by Jerry W.
Bird
 We
look forward to visiting San Jose and the
Silicon
Valley once again this year, before and after the
annual Bay
Area Travel Show.
If you're a travel agent living within reasonable
distance, this is one event ou won't want to miss.
For myself it will be a happy reunion, and our team
at the show will provide a full update direct from
the scene
plus some photos and video to show the developments
and recnstruction since our last visit. More to
come.
PAST, PRESENT AND
FUTURE: San Jose,
the Capital of Silicon Valley, offers a broad mix
of business and technological development. More
than 1,500 of the nation's 2,500 electronics firms,
including Adobe and Cisco Systems, are located in
the region. Yet, beyond San Jose's modern high
rises and sprawling campuses lies a history rich in
agriculture and Spanish influence. Here's a taste
of San Jose history since its early beginnings as
California's first civil settlement, El Pueblo de
San Jose de Guadeloupe.
Peralta Adobe and Fallon
House
The Peralta Adobe, built in
1797, is the city's oldest existing structure and a
legacy to San Jose's Spanish influence. The humble
adobe, situated in a small downtown park, is named
after pueblo official comisionado Luis Peralta, one
of the state's first millionaires who occupied the
adobe from 1807 until his death in 1851.
The Fallon House, a
Victorian mansion built by one of San José's
earliest mayors, Thomas Fallon, showcases 15 fully
furnished rooms typical of the Victorian period.
The site is located across from the Peralta Adobe
and highlights a different era of San
Jose.
Historic
Sites
Plaza de Cesar Chavez, in
the heart of downtown San Jose, bustles with
excitement year round. It serves as both a park and
venue for many of San Jose's unique outdoor events
and festivals. A historical marker in the park
references when California's first legislature met
right across the plaza in a two-story adobe (a site
now occupied by the four-star Fairmont Hotel) in
1849. The conclave was to prepare for California's
admission to the union in 1850. (However, prior to
actual admission, the capital was moved several
times before Sacramento was finally chosen as the
permanent location.)
Across from the plaza,
visitors will find San Jose's first federal
building (1892), which now houses the San Jose
Museum of Art, and the Cathedral Basilica of St.
Joseph (1877), one of the city's most
architecturally stunning buildings. On the eastern
edge of downtown is San Jose State University
(1857), California's first institution of higher
learning.
At downtown's St. James
Square is the elegant Santa Clara County Courthouse
built in 1868 in the vain hope that the state
capital would be returned to San Jose. The
structure has been in nearly continuous use since
its dedication.
Agriculture
In the 1920s, the San Jose
Chamber of Commerce referred to San Jose and the
surrounding Santa Clara Valley as the "Valley of
Heart's Delight." The area's rolling hills, vibrant
orchards (nearly 80,000 acres of prunes) and
canning plants provided an ideal setting for work
and play. Soon, the vast orchards made way for
urbanization. By the late 1990s, fewer than 400
prune acres remained.
"Historic" Attractions
Preserve Yesterday, Today and
Tomorrow
San Jose, a booming
metropolitan area, is home to more than 900,000
people. However, San Jose's rich history is
preserved at several area attractions.
History
Park at Kelley Park, in
south San Jose, is a 14-acre historical site that
brings to life the look and feel of late 19th
century San Jose. The park features 27 original and
replica homes, businesses and landmarks
highlighting periods of the area's past. Paved
streets, running trolleys, an old-fashioned ice
cream parlor and San Jose's original light tower
complete the charm of this fun, yet educational
attraction. History Park houses more than 500,000
artifacts detailing the area's history.
The Mexican
Heritage Plaza, a 55,000
square-foot cultural center, serves as a regional
resource for cultural programming and education. It
includes a 500-seat state-of-the-art theater and a
4,000-square foot exhibition space with two
galleries celebrating the Latino legacy and
exploring the common bonds across cultures. The
Mexican Heritage Plaza hosts a variety of
workshops, festivals, exhibits and community
events.
And finally, the
Tech
Museum of Innovation
gives visitors a sample of today's technology and a
glimpse into the future. Visitors can design
virtual roller coasters, take 3D computer portraits
of themselves, pilot a remotely operated underwater
vehicle, "fly" with a jet pack simulator and ride a
virtual bobsled.
http://www.sanjose.org
For more information on San
Jose's historic attractions or other things to see
and do, contact the San Jose Convention &
Visitors Bureau at 888-SAN JOSE
(726-5673).
[Top
of page
|
..
..
.
