Built by Barron, Forbes & Company in the late 1840’s, this cottage is one of several houses with a brick basement. Individuals who rented this house included William Flemming, John Marr, George Granger, and Thomas Barrett.
Theodore S. Shaw, a . . . — — Map (db m41334) HM
This cottage is the largest of the dwellings built by Barron, Forbes & Co. in the late 1840’s. It contained four fireplaces and a large wood-burning basement stove used by servants to prepare meals. It was purchased in 1863 by New Almaden . . . — — Map (db m41285) HM
The Yellow Kid
Below and on the opposite hillside was the opening to the Yellow Kid Tunnel. Because of a yellow vein in the earth, the tunnel was named after a popular early American cartoon depicting an Irish immigrant boy wearing a yellow . . . — — Map (db m52780) HM
A spring of carbonated water, locally known as Vichy, bubbled up here beside the Alamitos Creek. When the distant Buena Vista Shaft penetrated the 2100 foot level in 1882, the spring ceased flowing. San Francisco banker F.L.A. Pioche and others . . . — — Map (db m41277) HM
[Side-bar on left:]
Wood Road and Jacques Ridge
Built in April 1876 by the Quicksilver Mining Company, Wood Road originally served to connect nearby oak woodlands to the mining operations where voracious wood-fueled furnaces processed . . . — — Map (db m52816) HM
The log cabin was built 1914-1916 as a memorial to the pioneers and was donated to the City of San Jose on September 24, 1916. The cabin is constructed of redwood logs from the Santa Cruz Mountains. This log cabin provides an example of the physical . . . — — Map (db m63791) HM
Located in what was originally known as the East San Jose barrio of “Sal Si Puedes” or “Get Out If You Can,” Cesar and Helen Chavez and their family resided in a home at this site from 1951 to 1953 while Cesar began his work in the Civil Rights . . . — — Map (db m212692) HM
Following the Stock Market Crash of 1893, John Center took over the Alum Rock Railway for Richard Quincey. Shortly after he took over the line, John Center sold it for $1.00 to his nephew, Hugh Center.
By 1896, Hugh Center had the line running . . . — — Map (db m63778) HM
Emma Prusch
Born February 12, 1876, Emma
Prusch was the daughter of William
and Cathrena Prusch. The Prusch
family ran a dairy farm on the land
that is now Emma Prusch Farm Park.
Emma spent her life on the family farm
and helped raise . . . — — Map (db m155041) HM
Founded in 1872 and known as the reservation, Alum Rock Park is the oldest municipal park in California. It was named for a large rock formation believed to contain alum. Even after it was discovered to have been incorrectly identified, the name . . . — — Map (db m92718) HM
The mineral springs located in this area have played an important role in the history and development of the park. Between 1891 and 1902, the Parks Commission began developing the park, highlighting the springs. During this period, over 20 . . . — — Map (db m63781) HM
In 1891, Richard Quincey, a local wood and coal dealer, began building the first rail line to Alum Rock Park. Quincey began construction on May 11, 1891 at Santa Clara Street and McLauglin Avenue. By June 26, 1891, had reached White Road and has . . . — — Map (db m63779) HM
Heavy rains fell during March of 1911 causing rail service from the Penitencia Creek Entrance to the Picnic Grounds to close. The rains continued swelling Penitencia Creek until it overflowed its banks. On March 7 an 8-foot wall of water from the . . . — — Map (db m63780) HM
This area was once the site of one of Alum Rock Park’s most popular attractions, the Natatorium, a large indoor swimming pool. Built about 1912, it attracted over 35,000 swimmers each summer season. For about 20 cents, park visitors could swim in . . . — — Map (db m63790) HM
Alum Rock Park was acquired in stages over many years. The original claim is based on the first land grant by Governor Filipe de Neve, July 22, 1778. Alum Rock Park has survived many challenges to that original grant and on March 13, 1872 the . . . — — Map (db m63788) HM
After hearing about the Gold Rush in 1848, Henry
Wade joined the Bennett-Arcan Wagon Party and was
among the first group to reach California through
Death Valley's Desolation Canyon. Wade built this
"Round the Horn" House ca. 1851 out of . . . — — Map (db m178924) HM
They built a baseball diamond with the homeplate on the Jackson and Sixth Street corner and the outfield towards the railroad tracks. Rightfield was shorter and leftfield went on across Seventh Street. The centerfield was much lower than homeplate, . . . — — Map (db m52513) HM
For over 100 years, the Del Monte corporation & its predecessors –
The California Packing Corporation (Calpak) & the San José Fruit
Packing Company – processed fruits & vegetables at this site. In 1893
the San José Fruit Packing Company . . . — — Map (db m155048) HM
Del Monte Park is named after the cannery that once occupied this site and the land across the
street. California was a major producer of fruits and vegetables in the late 1800's. Santa Clara
Valley was known as the Valley Of Heart's Delight for . . . — — Map (db m168464) HM
“... you come upon the boiled eel, the quail’s eggs, the dried seaweed, and the squid like root called gobo, as well as the crinkly cabbage Japanese call napa and Korean pickled radishes packed in Hawaii and small cans of shrimp paste imported . . . — — Map (db m52508) HM
Founded as “Minns’ Evening Normal School” in 1857, the school became the State Normal School by act of the state legislature on May 2, 1862. In 1870 the state legislature chose Washington Square as a permanent location. Destroyed by fire . . . — — Map (db m52641) HM
First People
The Ohlone-speaking First People have lived in what we now call the San Francisco Bay Area for thousands of years. The bay and surrounding landscape provided ample fish, animals and plants for the thriving community. Both the . . . — — Map (db m155137) HM
Within a year after the opening of the first overland route from Mexico to Alta California, Governor Filipe de Neve authorized the establishment of the first civil settlement in the state on lands including and surrounding the present Civic Center. . . . — — Map (db m52937) HM
This is a picture of second generation Filipinos. Pacita Todtod who was also known as “Pacing” was famous for being a singer appearing at the beginning of the 1948 movie, “They Were Expendable,” starring John Wayne.
Curt . . . — — Map (db m52497) HM
My grandmother kept her patients in the house for five days. My mother cooked the meals and grandmother would serve them. My mother was a very good cook. My dad taught her how; he’d learned to cook while working as a houseboy to put himself through . . . — — Map (db m52214) HM
Ideal Laundry designed and built especially for laundry work and housed in a handsome, two-story fireproof brick building, erected as a cost of $30,000. This new enterprise was founded by I. Tsurukawa, one of the leading men in the local Japanese . . . — — Map (db m52549) HM
1887 Heinlenville Chinatown founded
1890 San Jose’s Japantown founded
1895 Wesley United Methodist Church established
1902 San Jose Buddhist Temple established
1910 Kuwabata Hospital built (Issei Memorial Building)
1916 Japanese Theater . . . — — Map (db m200160) HM
I have been at this corner most of my life being born in the midwife house across the street. Nothing has changed in the neighborhood, except the people. I’ve seen Tokunaga go, Hashimoto’s Drug store across the street become a golf shop, Tom and . . . — — Map (db m52498) HM
The Nishiura Brothers built this Colonial Revival structure in 1910. Named after its first resident physician from Japan, Dr. Taisuka Kuwabara, the Kumamoto Kenjin-kai (a prefectural association) established the hospital to serve the Japanese . . . — — Map (db m52554) HM
San Jose Japantown was the center of many amusements. We had theater that performed Kabuki and modern shows, like “love stories.” When I was young, people gathered here with their horse and wagon – just tied their horse up to the . . . — — Map (db m65003) HM
From the late 1800s, Japantowns began to emerge in California’s port towns and agricultural areas where Japanese immigrants helped build the state’s economy through fishing, farming and other businesses. By the 1930s, as many as forty Japan towns . . . — — Map (db m52558) HM
When folks came back from the internment camps many of them were helped a lot by a local businessman, Torahiko Kawakami. He worked through the Buddhist Church hostel to resettle people and to get them back on their feet. He became known as . . . — — Map (db m52550) HM
Ken Ying Low was renowned for its homemade noodles, and visitors from Sacramento and San Francisco would always stop at the restaurant for “the best chow mein.” There were several generation of excellent cooks, and one remembered was Ng . . . — — Map (db m52548) HM
Because of the Alien Land Laws in California, Mr. Peckham held land in his name for those of Japanese, Chinese, Filipino and other Asian ancestries ... until the oldest native born child in the family turned 21. He would then transfer the land to . . . — — Map (db m65005) HM
[This marker is composed of four panels, each located at one corner of the intersection of Jackson and North Fifth Streets in San Jose.][Panel 1, south corner]
Pioneers
1890s to 1920s
During the 1890s, Nikkei (Japanese in . . . — — Map (db m52450) HM
Card playing was a social outlet. When I was young, my grandfather brought me here when he stopped to see his friends. The windows were soaped to prevent people from peering in. I was only allowed to sit on a stool and watch the card games. The game . . . — — Map (db m52514) HM
In 1902 a San Jose Buddhist Church was founded as a recognized branch of the San Francisco Buddhist Church. In 1906 property at 630 North 5th Street was purchased and services conducted by the first resident minister from Japan Reverend Honen . . . — — Map (db m26221) HM
Founded in 1863 during the Presidency of Abraham Lincoln, SJHS is the oldeest high school in Santa Clara County and second oldest in California. Its first classes were held in a 2nd floor room of J.G. Orbon’s flour store, where Joseph Bowen, the . . . — — Map (db m68915) HM
In December 1894, nine women met to form the San Jose Woman's Club . Supporting temperance and suffrage, the members also promoted education, community improvements and the arts. The club was opened to women of all creeds and nationalities. Today, . . . — — Map (db m108410) HM
Shivaji founded Pune (circa 1640). He was the first modern warrior who successfully fought the foreign invaders for 40 years and established a Maratha Kingdom that lasted 200 years with Pune as its Capital. — — Map (db m52492) HM
People also made a sumo wresting ring in the baseball grounds and had tournaments. Dr. James Dobashi was the strongest then. Nobody could even be compared with him.
Dr. Isamu Kawamura — — Map (db m52511) HM
Mr. Taketa built this hotel around 1915 to accommodate traveling businessmen and dignitaries to San Jose. There used to be a lot of people playing the game Go in the lobby.
Jimi Yamaichi, 2007 — — Map (db m52551) HM
There were several pool halls, but no gambling houses in Japantown. However a Japanese-operated print shop on Jackson Street which made cannery labels, printed lottery tickets for the Chinese. A gambling “runner” would come from . . . — — Map (db m52510) HM
We had everything in our store for the farmers. Dry goods. Work clothes. Japanese zori, tabi, pots and pans and dishes. We opened at seven in the morning and closed at ten at night everyday. Christmas day was one of the busiest days we had. New . . . — — Map (db m52496) HM
The second Buddhist church building was situated where the Annex is now located. This building was established in 1908 as the “Independent Buddhist Church” when Reverend Hone Takahashi and certain church members seceded from the original . . . — — Map (db m65006) HM
The first Japanese American surgeon in San Jose was Dr. Lee Watanabe. His office was above Tom and Mary’s Snack Shop. He was pretty short, but when he was standing on his box doing surgery, he was a giant.
Sue Inouye — — Map (db m52494) HM
Cast to commemorate the California State Normal School in 1881, this 3,000-pound bell was rung at 8 a.m. each morning until the earthquake stilled its voice in 1906. In 1910, the bell was re-installed in the maim building of the newly constructed . . . — — Map (db m52640) HM
Wesley United Methodist Church was chartered August, 13, 1895 by the evangelical spirit and vision of pioneer Issei Christians and the struggles and hopes of immigrant families who had come to farm rich soil of the Santa Clara Valley.
With a . . . — — Map (db m52222) HM
Dad would teach us things, but we were not interested in the restaurant. We saw how hard he worked. He started working at ten in the morning and wouldn’t stop until two the next morning. Every day. Seven days a week.
Dr. James Chan, 2006 — — Map (db m52495) HM
Occupying the entire south side of Taylor Street between 5th and 6th was a truck transfer company owned by Mr. K. Yasunage. Farmers had to sell their produce in San Francisco and Oakland markets and needed someone to transport the produce. Most . . . — — Map (db m52493) HM
The Vieira family and their ancestors have owned and lived on Communications Hill since 1896, when José Azevedo
purchased nearly a hundred acres of ranch land on the San Juan Bautista hills in the middle of Santa Clara Valley.
José was a . . . — — Map (db m155038) HM
Lt. Juan Bautista de Anza and party crossed this area in March 1776. en route to select sites for the Presido and the Mission of San Francisco
In the center of the marker is a circular motif, designed by Doris Birkland Beezley, of a rider . . . — — Map (db m38342) HM
One of the San Jose's earliest skyscrapers, this building has served as a local landmark since its construction in 1925-6. The Bank of America, originally known as the Bank of Italy, was founded by San José native A.P. Giannini in 1904. Although the . . . — — Map (db m30549) HM
San Jose’s first Hebrew congregation – Bickur Cholim – was founded August 5, 1861. The congregation met in City Hall and at various locations in the downtown prior to building their first facility on this site in 1870. Used continuously . . . — — Map (db m52655) HM
Amadeo Peter Giannini, founder of the Bank of Italy – now the Bank of America – was born at 79 N. Market St. on May 6, 1870. Perhaps San Jose's most famous native, Giannini is considered by many to be the greatest figure in American banking. A . . . — — Map (db m30166) HM
This statue of Captain Thomas Fallon was commissioned in 1988. It memorializes the raising of the U.S. flag in San Jose in 1846, when California was still part of Mexico. Scheduled to be installed in 1990, the statue generated an intense . . . — — Map (db m232903) HM
On this site in 1909, Charles "Doc” Herrold aired the first
regularly scheduled radio programs, giving birth to
broadcasting. Initially identified as "This is San Jose calling,"
the station was later licensed as KQW before it became
KCBS. . . . — — Map (db m155118) HM
From 1872 to 1887, a large Chinese population occupied this block of Market Street. Despite considerable discrimination against them, the Chinese managed to survive within their insular community. By the late 1880's, as downtown businesses began . . . — — Map (db m26214) HM
The sisters of Notre Dame de Namur founded their college on this site in 1851. The facility began modestly but eventually expanded to occupy the entire north side of Santa Clara Street from Almaden Avenue to Santa Teresa Street. A boarding school . . . — — Map (db m52660) HM
Local Scottish Rite Masons built their hall on this site in 1909. Designed by George Page, it was a simple rectangular structure with a severe Greek Revival façade. When the Masons moved into the new Scottish Rite Temple in 1925, the vacated . . . — — Map (db m30261) HM
When completed in 1881, the 237-foot electric light tower that once spanned the intersection of Market and Santa Clara Streets was the largest single source of electric light in the country. The brainchild of J.J. Owen, founder of the San Jose . . . — — Map (db m31114) HM
The Farmers Union Corporation, established in this building in 1874, was once indispensible to San Jose’s farming community. It served as an agricultural cooperative and bank and throughout the late 19th and early 20th centuries was the chief . . . — — Map (db m52658) HM
The First Church of Christ, Scientist, was designed by Willis Polk and built in 1905. The plan of the building is a Greek cross; four Ionic columns dominate the entry portico. Since the construction of a new church in 1946, the building has been . . . — — Map (db m30226) HM
The first California State Legislature met on this site in 1849. San Jose was designated State Capital at the Constitutional Convention in Monterey after intensive lobbying by local representatives. The town made every effort to accommodate the . . . — — Map (db m52633) HM
Directly opposite this tablet was located the first State Capitol Building in which California’s first legislature assembled in December 1849. San Jose was the seat of government from 1849 to 1851. — — Map (db m3615) HM
This building, designed by George W. Page in 1891, became the permanent home of a congregation that first met in City Hall in 1866. A version of Richardsonian Romanesque style, the innovative structure withstood the earthquake of 1906 and became a . . . — — Map (db m30126) HM
Brigadier General United States Volunteers
Lieutenant Colonel United States Army
A Citizen of San Jose
Born 1815 • Settled in California 1847 • Died 1886
This monument commemorates his service to the Country
in the Mexican and Civil . . . — — Map (db m30196) HM
Henry’s Hi-Life, once known as the Torino Hotel, was opened in 1960 by Henry Puckett (1914-1986). Originally a boarding house for dozens of newly immigrated Italian workers, the building was first named the new Progress Hotel.
Charles Sacco, a . . . — — Map (db m52490) HM
Charles Herrold, a pioneer in radio, was the first person to transmit radio programs of music and news to a listening audience. Beginning in 1909, three years before Congress’ Radio Act of 1912, Herrold broadcast from his College of Engineering and . . . — — Map (db m30335) HM
Completed in 1931, as a civic improvement project during the Great Depression, the Hotel De Anza was named in honor of the Spanish explorer Juan Bautista de Anza. Business and civic leaders established the San Jose Community Hotel Association which . . . — — Map (db m52659) HM
[ Main Marker: ]
International Business Machines : RAMAC
In 1952, IBM sent Reynold Johnson to San José to open its first West Coast development laboratory to research new data storage methods. At this site in 1955, IBM unveiled . . . — — Map (db m30095) HM
On this site stood the Juzgado, or town hall, of the Pueblo de San José. Constructed of adobe in 1798, it housed the jail, the court and the offices of the comisionado and alcalde, and was the pueblo's primary governmental building. When Captain . . . — — Map (db m31152) HM
This charming commercial structure was built in 1889 by Sarah Knox-Goodrich on property left to her by her first husband, Dr. William Knox, using sandstone from the quarry owned by her second husband, Levi Goodrich. Both men were important San José . . . — — Map (db m30960) HM
The San José Labor Temple, located at 72 North Second Street, was a hub of the city’s turn of the century labor movement. It was established informally between 1901 and 1903 by Harry Ryan, an early San José labor leader, and Jack London, the famous . . . — — Map (db m30444) HM
This commercial building was named for Letitia Burnet Ryland, daughter of the first American civil governor of California, Peter Hardeman Burnett, and wife of San Jose councilman C.T. Ryland. Some have speculated that Peter Burnett’s election was . . . — — Map (db m52636) HM
The last vestige of El Pueblo de San Jose de Guadalupe, the simple adobe, rehabilitated in the mid-19th century, is believed built before 1800 by Manuel Gonzalez, an Apache, who was one of the pobladores (founders). Later owned and occupied by Sgt. . . . — — Map (db m3775) HM
This beautiful building was designed by Ralph Wyckoff to house San José’s Main Post Office. It was built as a W.P.A. project in 1933 and is a prime example of Depression-Era federal construction. The terra cotta work on the building’s exterior is . . . — — Map (db m30091) HM
This splendid structure was built in 1880 by Adolf Pfister, a prominent San Jose businessman who served three times as the city’s major. The building was added to twice in later years. A fine example of 19th century commercial architecture, it has . . . — — Map (db m52635) HM
Pellier Park is all that remains of the City Gardens Nursery, established by Louis Pellier in 1850. Here with, his brothers, Pierre and Jean, Louis introduced “la petite D’Agen,” the French Prune, during the winter of 1856-1857. I was this variety . . . — — Map (db m232982) HM
The Plaza de César E. E. Chávez is part of the original plaza of the 1797 Pueblo de San José and is the oldest continuously used public open space in the city. The plaza was the hub of the old Spanish settlement: the site of Juzgado and the . . . — — Map (db m30207) HM
[The Remembering Agriculture marker is composed of seven panels.][Panel 1]
Creation itself seemed to plan a garden where you now stand. This place came to be called “Valley of Heart’s Delight” because of its mild . . . — — Map (db m52670) HM
The Sainte Claire Club was organized in 1888 by a group of distinguished local citizens, including James Phelan, banker, U.S. Senator and former mayor of San Francisco. San Jose's oldest men's club has occupied this handsome structure since its . . . — — Map (db m30232) HM
The San José Academy was founded on this site in 1850, as Edward Bannister’s English and Classical School, and held it first graduation ceremony – the earliest in the state – in December, 1851. A private, non-sectarian preparatory school . . . — — Map (db m52638) HM
The San Jose Mercury News was first published, on this site, on June 20, 1851. Known as the San Jose Weekly Visitor, it was the city’s fist permanent newspaper. The paper changed owners and mastheads several times before becoming the San Jose Weekly . . . — — Map (db m52657) HM
Completed in 1867, this imposing building was constructed in the hope of attracting the State Legislature back to San José. It was designed by Levi Goodrich, a noted local architect. The original building was two-storied with a central dome. After . . . — — Map (db m30118) HM
Built as the Scottish Rite Temple in 1925-25, this distinguished structure was designed by architect Carl Werner. The entry portico, with its six Ionic columns and unusual Egyptian ornamentation, lends the buildings special grandeur. In 1981, the . . . — — Map (db m30285) HM
Pellier, native of France, and founder of California's prune industry, came to California in 1849.
In October 1850 he established a nursery called
"City Gardens" on this site. Here, aided by his brothers Pierre and Jean, he introduced the . . . — — Map (db m154468) HM
On this corner stood the Garden City Bank Building, where Charles D. Herrold established Station FN, the first radio broadcasting station in the world. As a pioneer in wireless telephony (radio), Herrold established the first station in 1909 to . . . — — Map (db m30327) HM
St. James Park and its environs were the heart of nineteenth century San Jose. While the Plaza has been the center of the older Hispanic settlement, St. James Park and its surrounding buildings reflect the aspirations of an emerging American city. . . . — — Map (db m52561) HM
St. Joseph’s was the first church of the Pueblo de San José. The original adobe structure was built on the present site in 1803. It was replaced by a second adobe in 1845, which in turn was replaced by a wooden building in 1869. After this . . . — — Map (db m30209) HM
In Memory of
The Burning of San Jose Chinatown
May 4, 1887
On this site on May 4, 1887 a mysterious fire, deliberately set, destroyed San Jose's Chinatown. This was the largest Chinatown South of San Francisco. A community of bachelors and . . . — — Map (db m26215) HM
With the vision of universal freedom
for all mankind
this tree is dedicated to
Lt. Col. Gordon L. Page
and all
Prisoners of War
and
Missing in Action — — Map (db m155050) HM
The Juan Bautista de Anza National HistoricTrail marks a 1,200 mile route that brought settlers to California from Tubac, in present-day Arizona, to what is now San Francisco.
The Spanish planned a system of Presidios, or military . . . — — Map (db m30147) HM
The Palomar Ballroom was constructed on this site in 1946. Operating
under various names, it was an important venue for music and dance
lovers for almost 60 years. As the first racially integrated ballroom in
the city, it attracted big bands, . . . — — Map (db m155027) HM
This house was built by Thomas Fallon in 1854. A handsome, charismatic figure, Fallon was one of the early San José’s most prominent citizens: he captained the volunteer company that seized San José from the Mexicans, served in the California . . . — — Map (db m30692) HM
This Carpenter Gothic church was constructed in 1863 and is the oldest church building in San José. John W. Hammond, a sea captain and a member of the parish, built the structure to his own design. A simple rectangle with a steeply hipped roof, it . . . — — Map (db m30292) HM
