Agnew in Santa Clara in Santa Clara County, California — The American West (Pacific Coastal)

Agnews Today: The Legacy

Photographed By Joseph Alvarado, April 5, 2023

1. Agnews Today: The Legacy Marker

Inscription. Sun Microsystems bought the main parcel of Agnews’ historic building complex in 1996. They restored four of the main structures on Palm Drive: the clock tower, the auditorium, the superintendent’s residence, and an administration building. Sun established their corporate headquarters here and created a 14-acre park for local residents. The park incorporated the historic buildings and many heritage trees.

The Martinson Child Development Center and the Emergency Housing Consortium’s Family Living Center occupy facilities on another portion of the Agnews property. The latter uses cottages that were moved from the former hospital complex. The Rivermark Planned Development Master Community stands on the remaining portion of the State surplus land. It consists of nearly 3,000 housing units, a library, shopping center, hotel, and other commercial and civic services.

Sun Microsystems’s “newest campus in Santa Clara…combines preservation carefully balanced with innovative technology.”
Sun Microsystems, press release on August 23, 2000.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Parks & Recreational Areas • Science & Medicine. A significant historical year for this entry is 1996.

Location. 37° 23.551′ N, 121° 57.286′ W. Marker is in Santa Clara,

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California, in Santa Clara County. It is in Agnew. Marker can be reached from George Sellon Circle south of Palm Drive, on the right when traveling east. The resin marker is in the outdoor visitor center. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 4030 George Sellon Circle, Santa Clara CA 95054, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Agnews: A Century of Service (a few steps from this marker); Early History of Agnews (a few steps from this marker); Recent History of Agnews (a few steps from this marker); Life at Agnews: Change Over a Century (a few steps from this marker); Auditorium (within shouting distance of this marker); Administration Building (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); Superintendent's Residence (about 400 feet away); Clocktower Building (about 500 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Santa Clara.

Also see . . .
1. Looking Back: Agnews State Hospital. San Jose Public Library

"The hospital is most famously known as the site of the greatest loss of life in Santa Clara County after the 1906 earthquake. Eleven officials and over one-hundred patients were crushed when the main treatment building collapsed. But the history of Agnews is more interesting than this grim memory."

(Submitted on April 17, 2023, by Joseph Alvarado of Livermore, California.)

2. Agnews Insane Asylum.

Agnews Markers image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Joseph Alvarado, April 5, 2023

2. Agnews Markers

Center Panels

National Park Service

"The treatment of the insane in California dates from the earliest days of the Gold Rush. The first provisions for the insane were to lock them up with criminals in the ship Ephemia, purchased in 1849 by the City of San Francisco, and later to house them at the San Francisco marine hospital in 1850, used primarily for ailing seamen. In 1885 the Agnews Residential Facility was established by the California State Legislature as a neuropsychiatric institution for the care and treatment of the mentally ill."

(Submitted on April 17, 2023, by Joseph Alvarado of Livermore, California.)

Clocktower Building image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Joseph Alvarado, April 5, 2023

3. Clocktower Building

Photographed By Joseph Alvarado, April 5, 2023

4. Auditorium

Superintendent's Residence image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Joseph Alvarado, April 5, 2023

5. Superintendent's Residence

Administration Building image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Joseph Alvarado, April 5, 2023

6. Administration Building

Agnews Visitor Center image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Joseph Alvarado, April 5, 2023

7. Agnews Visitor Center

Agnews Campus Map image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Joseph Alvarado, April 5, 2023

8. Agnews Campus Map

At the visitors center.

Credits. This page was last revised on April 19, 2023. It was originally submitted on April 17, 2023, by Joseph Alvarado of Livermore, California. This page has been viewed 92 times since then and 12 times this year. Photos: 1. submitted on April 17, 2023, by Joseph Alvarado of Livermore, California. 2. submitted on April 16, 2023, by Joseph Alvarado of Livermore, California. 3. submitted on April 12, 2023, by Joseph Alvarado of Livermore, California. 4. submitted on April 17, 2023, by Joseph Alvarado of Livermore, California. 5. submitted on April 14, 2023, by Joseph Alvarado of Livermore, California. 6, 7. submitted on April 17, 2023, by Joseph Alvarado of Livermore, California. 8. submitted on April 14, 2023, by Joseph Alvarado of Livermore, California.