24 Sights in San Jose, United States (with Map and Images)
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Explore interesting sights in San Jose, United States. Click on a marker on the map to view details about it. Underneath is an overview of the sights with images. A total of 24 sights are available in San Jose, United States.
Sightseeing Tours in San Jose1. The First Unitarian Church of San José
The First Unitarian Church of San Jose is located at 160 North Third Street in downtown San Jose, California, across from St. James Park, and was designed in "Richardsonian Romanesque" style by architect George Page, who also designed the Hayes Mansion. Local historian Linda Larson Boston called the building, “One of a handful of American churches patterned after Unitarian churches of Transylvania, it features a large triple-arched stained glass window on the facade, multiple domes and cupolas, and both round and square towers,” in her pamphlet, Highlights of San Jose, California’s St. James Park and Environs. The congregation purchased the site in 1888, and the cornerstone was laid in a ceremony on September 23, 1891. The building is registered on both the list of National Register of Historic Places and the list of California Historical Landmarks.
2. Pellier Park
Pellier Park, is a city park covering 0.5 acres (0.20 ha) in San Jose, California, United States, located in close proximity to San Pedro Square. This park holds historical significance as it was once home to City Gardens, a nursery founded by Louis Pellier (1817–1872), who is known as the pioneer of California's prune industry. In October 1850, Pellier established the City Gardens, where with the assistance of his brothers Pierre and Jean, he introduced the French prune, also known as "la petite prune d'Agen," which translates to "the little Agen plum," to California during the winter of 1856. The California Historical Landmark No. 434 now marks the location of the City Gardens site. The park dedicated to California's "Prune King" was officially reopened in a public ceremony on October 18, 2023.
3. César E. Chávez Monument
The Arch of Dignity, Equality, and Justice is an art installation and monument consisting of a pearlescent plaster arch in the style of a Mayan corbelled arch and includes five Venetian tile mosaics. It was created by American artist Judy Baca, and is installed along the Paseo de César Chávez on the San Jose State University campus, in San Jose, California, United States. The four front-facing mosaics feature portraits of Dolores Huerta, Mahatma Gandhi, and two unnamed farm workers, while the mosaic on the underside of the arch features Caesar Chavez encountering Robert Kennedy. The top of the arch is adorned with a stacked glass eagle in the style of the United Farm Workers flag.
4. The Bent of The Tau Beta Pi Association - CA ETA Chapter
The Tau Beta Pi Association is the oldest engineering honor society and the second oldest collegiate honor society in the United States. It honors engineering students in American universities who have shown a history of academic achievement as well as a commitment to personal and professional integrity. Specifically, the association was founded "to mark in a fitting manner those who have conferred honor upon their Alma Mater by distinguished scholarship and exemplary character as students in engineering, or by their attainments as alumni in the field of engineering, and to foster a spirit of liberal culture in engineering colleges".
5. Bank of Italy Building
The Bank of Italy Building is a 14-story, 77.72 m (255.0 ft) Renaissance Revival high-rise built in 1925 in downtown San Jose, California. This building became the second home to the first branch of the Bank of Italy, founded in San Francisco in 1904, which later became the Bank of America. The first location of the Bank of Italy in San Jose, was on the corner of Santa Clara St. and Lightson Alley, near the intersection with Market Street. Restaurants and other businesses occupy the original building, which has been heavily remodeled. A reconstruction of the original building is at History Park in San Jose.
Wikipedia: Bank of Italy Building (San Jose, California) (EN)
6. Olympics Black Power Statue (Historical Landmark)
During their medal ceremony in the Olympic Stadium in Mexico City on October 16, 1968, two African-American athletes, Tommie Smith and John Carlos, each raised a black-gloved fist during the playing of the US national anthem, "The Star-Spangled Banner". While on the podium, Smith and Carlos, who had won gold and bronze medals respectively in the 200-meter running event of the 1968 Summer Olympics, turned to face the US flag and then kept their hands raised until the anthem had finished. In addition, Smith, Carlos, and Australian silver medalist Peter Norman all wore human-rights badges on their jackets.
7. Children’s Discovery Museum
Children's Discovery Museum of San Jose (CDM) is a cultural institution serving children, families, and schools in the Silicon Valley/San Francisco Bay Area. A member of the Association of Children's Museums and the Association of Science-Technology Centers, Children's Discovery Museum is located in downtown San Jose, California on Woz Way. The street is named after Steve Wozniak, co-founder of Apple Computer whose nickname is "Woz." Wozniak was the single largest private donor during the original capital campaign that funded the museum.
Wikipedia: Children's Discovery Museum of San Jose (EN), Website
8. Drawbridge
Drawbridge is a ghost town with an abandoned railroad station located at the southern end of the San Francisco Bay, next to Station Island, now a part of the city of Fremont, California, United States. It is located on the Union Pacific Railroad 6 miles (10 km) south of downtown Fremont, at an elevation of 7 feet. Formerly used as a hunting village, it has been a ghost town since 1979 and is slowly sinking into the marshlands. It is now part of the Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge and is illegal to visit.
9. Institute of Contemporary Art San José
The Institute of Contemporary Art San José (ICA) is a nonprofit art center and gallery founded in 1980, and located in the SoFA District of Downtown San Jose, California, U.S. It supports contemporary artists working in painting, printmaking, sculpture, photography, new media works and site-specific installations. ICA San José is member and community supported. The art center offers rotating art exhibitions with free admission, along with public programs, education programs, and community events.
Wikipedia: Institute of Contemporary Art San José (EN), Website
10. San Jose Museum of Quilts & Textiles
The San Jose Museum of Quilts & Textiles is an art museum in Downtown San Jose, California, USA. Founded in 1977, the museum is the first in the United States devoted solely to quilts and textiles as an art form. Holdings include a permanent collection of over 1,000 quilts, garments and ethnic textiles, emphasizing artists of the 20th- and 21st-century, and a research library with over 500 books concerning the history and techniques of the craft.
Wikipedia: San Jose Museum of Quilts & Textiles (EN), Website
11. Hotel De Anza
The Hotel De Anza is a historic hotel in San Jose, California. At ten stories, it once was the tallest hotel in the San Jose central business district, prior to the construction of Hilton, Fairmont, and Marriott hotels. Significant for its architectural style, it is one of San Jose's few Zig Zag Moderne buildings. The hotel was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on January 21, 1982.
12. Downtown Historic District
The Downtown Historic District of San Jose, California is a designated U.S. Historic District area of the city roughly the size of one square block. It is bounded by S. First Street to the west, E. San Fernando Street to the south, S. Third Street to the east, and E. Santa Clara Street to the north, but also includes the south side of E. Santa Clara Street between Third and Fourth Streets.
Wikipedia: Downtown Historic District (San Jose, California) (EN)
13. Japanese Friendship Garden
The Japanese Friendship Garden is a walled section of Kelley Park in San Jose, California, United States. Dedicated in October 1965, it is patterned after Japan's famous Korakuen Garden in Okayama and spans six acres. Its three main ponds were stocked with koi sent from Okayama in 1966. The ponds are at different elevations in the park, and are inter-connected by streams.
Wikipedia: Japanese Friendship Garden (San Jose) (EN), Website, Yelp
14. History Park at Kelley Park
History Park at Kelley Park in San Jose, California, USA is designed as an indoor/outdoor museum, arranged to appear as a small US town might have in the early 1900s (decade). Since its inauguration in 1971, 32 historic buildings and other landmarks have either been moved from their original San Jose locations or are represented by replicas.
15. Plaza de César E. Chávez
The Plaza de César Chávez is an urban plaza and park in Downtown San Jose, California. The plaza's origins date to 1797 as the plaza mayor of the Spanish Pueblo de San José de Guadalupe, making it the oldest public space in Northern California. The plaza was rededicated after Californian civil rights activist César Chávez in 1993.
16. San Jose Civic
The San Jose Civic is a former arena, currently operating as a theatre and concert venue, located in downtown San Jose, California. The venue is owned by the City of San Jose, is managed by Team San Jose and is booked by Nederlander Concerts. The auditorium seats 3,036 which can be expanded up to 3,326 in a general admission setting.
17. Luis María Peralta Adobe
The Peralta Adobe, also known as the Luis María Peralta Adobe or the Gonzales-Peralta Adobe, is the oldest building in San Jose, California. The adobe was built in 1797 by José Manuel Gonzeles, one of the founders of San Jose, and is named after Luis María Peralta, its most famous resident.
18. Santa Clara County Fairgrounds
The Santa Clara County Fairgrounds is an event venue in San Jose, California. The 165-acre (67 ha) fairgrounds has been owned by the County of Santa Clara since 1940 and is operated by the Santa Clara County Fairgrounds Management Corporation, a public-benefit nonprofit corporation.
19. East San José Carnegie Branch Library
The East San José Carnegie Branch Library is a Carnegie library in San Jose, California, USA. It opened in 1908 and is the last Carnegie library in Santa Clara County still operating as a public library. It is a part of the San José Public Library.
Wikipedia: East San José Carnegie Branch Library (EN), Website, Heritage Website
20. Municipal Rose Garden
The San Jose Municipal Rose Garden is a historic rose garden in San Jose, California, in the Rose Garden District. Founded in 1927, the garden is exclusively dedicated to roses and features more than 3,500 shrubs representing 189 rose varieties.
21. The Tech Interactive
The Tech Interactive is a science and technology center that offers hands-on activities, labs, design challenges and other STEAM education resources. It is located in downtown San Jose, California, adjacent to the Plaza de César Chávez.
22. Five Wounds Portuguese National Church
Five Wounds Portuguese National Church is parish church of the Latin Church of the Roman Catholic Church in San Jose, California, in the Little Portugal neighborhood of East San Jose. The church was founded on November 8, 1914.
Wikipedia: Five Wounds Portuguese National Church (EN), Website
23. Happy Hollow Park and Zoo
Happy Hollow Park & Zoo is a small 16-acre (6.5 ha) zoo and amusement park in San Jose, California, which originally opened in 1961. It was closed in 2008 for major renovations, and opened its gates again on March 20, 2010.
24. Cathedral Basilica of Saint Joseph
The Cathedral Basilica of St. Joseph is a large Roman Catholic church in Downtown San Jose, which serves as the cathedral for the Roman Catholic Diocese of San Jose in California, with the distinction of minor basilica.
Wikipedia: Cathedral Basilica of St. Joseph (San Jose) (EN), Website
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Disclaimer Please be aware of your surroundings and do not enter private property. We are not liable for any damages that occur during the tours.