   #copyright

San Jose, California

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: North American Geography


   This is a featured article. Click here for more information.
   San José, California

   Official flag of San José, California

                                         Official seal of San José, California
   Flag                                  Seal
   Nickname: "Capital of Silicon Valley"
   Location of San Jose within Santa Clara County, California.
   Location of San Jose within Santa Clara County, California.
   Coordinates: 37°18′15″N, 121°52′22″W
   Country United States of America
   State California
   County Santa Clara
   Incorporated March 27, 1850
   Mayor Ron Gonzales
   Vice Mayor Cindy Chavez
   City Manager Les White
   Area
    - City 461.5 km²  (178.2  sq mi)
    - Land 452.9 km²  (174.9 sq mi)
    - Water 8.6 km² (3.3 sq mi)
    - Urban 673.68 km² (260.11 sq mi)
    - Metro 6,979.4 km² (2,694.7 sq mi)
   Elevation 26 m  (85 ft)
   Population
    - City (2006) 953,679 (city proper)
    - Density 1,976.1/km² (5,118.1/sq mi)
    - Urban 1,611,000
    - Metro 1,741,431
   Time zone PST ( UTC-8)
    - Summer ( DST) PDT ( UTC-7)
   Website: www.sanjoseca.gov

   San José ( IPA: [sæn hoʊˈzeɪ]) is the third-largest city in California,
   and the tenth-largest in the United States. It is the county seat of
   Santa Clara County. For the past several years, it has held the title
   of The Safest Big City in America. San Jose is located in Silicon
   Valley, at the south end of the San Francisco Bay. With a population of
   953,679, San Jose is the largest city in Northern California.

   San Jose was founded in 1777 as the first town in the Spanish colony of
   Nueva California, which later became Alta California. The city served
   as a farming community to support Spanish military installations at San
   Francisco and Monterey. After California gained statehood in 1850, San
   Jose served as its first capital. After over 150 years as an
   agricultural centre, increased demand for housing from soldiers and
   other veterans returning from World War II and starting families, as
   well as aggressive expansion during the 1950s and 1960s led to San Jose
   being a bedroom community for Silicon Valley in the 1970s, which
   attracted more businesses to the city. By the 1990s, San Jose's central
   location within the booming technology industry in the area earned the
   city the nickname as the Capital of Silicon Valley.

   On April 3, 1979, the city council adopted San José as the spelling of
   the city name on the city seal and official stationery; however, the
   name is still more commonly spelled without the diacritical mark. The
   official name of the city is The City of San José.

History

Site chosen by De Anza

   For thousands of years before the arrival of European settlers, the
   area now known as San Jose was inhabited by several groups of Ohlone
   Native Americans. Permanent European presence in the area came with the
   1770 founding of the Presidio of Monterey and Mission San Carlos
   Borromeo de Carmelo by Gaspar de Portolà and Father Junípero Serra,
   about sixty miles (100 km) to the south. Don Pedro Fages, the military
   governor at Monterey, passed through the area on his 1770 and 1772
   expeditions to explore the East Bay and Sacramento River Delta. Late in
   1775, Juan Bautista de Anza led an expedition to bring colonists from
   New Spain to California and to locate sites for two missions, one
   presidio, and one pueblo (town). He left the colonists at Monterey in
   1776, and explored north with a small group. He selected the sites of
   the Presidio of San Francisco and Mission San Francisco de Asís in what
   is now San Francisco; on his way back to Monterey, he sited Mission
   Santa Clara de Asís and the pueblo San Jose in the Santa Clara Valley.
   De Anza returned to Mexico City before any of the settlements were
   actually founded, but his name lives on in many buildings and street
   names.

Early Spanish pueblo

   El Pueblo de San José de Guadalupe (The Town of Saint Joseph from
   Guadalupe) was founded by José Joaquin Moraga on November 29, 1777, the
   first settlement not associated with a mission or a military post
   (presidio) in Alta California. (Mission Santa Clara, the closest
   mission, was founded earlier in 1777, three miles (5 km) from the
   original pueblo site in neighboring Santa Clara. Mission San José was
   not founded until 1797, about 20 miles (30 km) north of San Jose in
   what is now Fremont.) The town was founded by the colonists led to
   California by de Anza, as a farming community to provide food for the
   presidios of San Francisco and Monterey. In 1778, the pueblo had a
   population of 68. In 1797, the pueblo was moved from its original
   location, near the present-day intersection of Guadalupe Parkway and
   Taylor Street, to a location in what is now Downtown San Jose,
   surrounding Pueblo Plaza (now Plaza de César Chávez).

Early statehood

   San Jose, 1875.
   Enlarge
   San Jose, 1875.

   During the Bear Flag Revolt, Captain Thomas Fallon led a small force
   from Santa Cruz and captured the pueblo without bloodshed on July 11,
   1846. Fallon received an American flag from John D. Sloat, and raised
   it over the pueblo on July 14, as the California Republic agreed to
   join the United States following the start of the Mexican-American War.
   Fallon would later become the tenth mayor of San Jose.

   During the California Gold Rush period, the New Almaden Mines just
   south of the city were the largest mercury mines in North America
   (mercury was used to help separate gold from ore). The cinnabar
   deposits were discovered in 1845 by a Mexican cavalry captain, Don
   Andres Castillero, when he recognized the red powder used by local
   Ohlone Indians to decorate the chapel at Mission Santa Clara. Mining
   operations began in 1847 at what was the first operating mine in the
   province, just in time for the Gold Rush. The importance of the mercury
   industry at the time explains why the local newspaper is named the
   Mercury News.

   On March 27, 1850, San Jose became the first incorporated city in the
   U.S. state of California; the first mayor was Josiah Belden. It also
   served as the state's first capital with the first and second sessions
   of the California Legislature, known as the Legislature of a Thousand
   Drinks, being held there in 1850 and 1851. The legislature was unhappy
   with the location, as no buildings suitable for a state government were
   available in the city, and took up State Senator Mariano Guadalupe
   Vallejo's offer to build a new capital on land he donated to the state
   in what is now Benicia.

   In 1884, Sarah L. Winchester (née Pardee), the widow of William
   Winchester and heiress to the empire that manufactured the Winchester
   rifle, was told that the Winchester family was cursed and haunted by
   ghosts who were killed by the rifle. She moved from Connecticut to San
   Jose and began a construction project of such magnitude that it was to
   occupy the lives of carpenters and craftsmen until her death: the house
   was continually under construction for thirty-eight years. It is
   believed that she built the massive, bewildering house to confuse these
   spirits. Before the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake, the Winchester
   Mystery House reached a height of 7 stories; today it stands three
   stories with approximately 160 rooms. Many visitors to the house claim
   to have felt the presence of ghosts.

Notable events

   This replica of the Light Tower at the San Jose History Park stands
   only half of the original tower's 237 feet (72 m).
   Enlarge
   This replica of the Light Tower at the San Jose History Park stands
   only half of the original tower's 237 feet (72 m).

   In 1881, because of a forceful campaign by editor J.J. Owen of the San
   Jose Mercury, the city council authorized the construction of the San
   Jose Electric Light Tower, ostensibly to replace the gas streetlights
   that had illuminated downtown San Jose since 1861. It didn't provide
   sufficient illumination, and by 1884 was used only for ceremonial
   purposes. It collapsed during a gale in 1915. In 1989, an informal
   "Court of Historical Inquiry" looked into the issue of whether the
   Eiffel Tower was a copyright infringement of the Electric Light Tower;
   the Justice ruled that it was not.

   The 1933 kidnapping and murder of Brooke Hart resulted in mob violence
   in San Jose. About 10,000 residents (approximately 1/6 of the city's
   population at the time) stormed the jail and lynched the two men who
   had confessed to the killing. The case drew international attention to
   San Jose, for the kidnapping, lynching, and for the praise that
   Governor James Rolph directed to those who participated. It is also
   notable as the last public lynching in California's history. Photos of
   the lynchings were even used as Nazi propaganda, to demonstrate that
   Americans were supportive of their Jewish population (the Hart family
   was Jewish).

Earthquakes

   San Jose lies near the San Andreas Fault; a major source of earthquake
   activity in California. Significant quakes rocked the city in 1839,
   1851, 1858, 1864, 1865, 1868,1891 and 1906. The Daly City Earthquake of
   1957 caused some damage. Most recently, the Loma Prieta earthquake of
   1989 also caused some major damage to parts of the city. The most
   serious earthquake, the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, with its
   epicenter slightly off the coast of San Francisco near Golden Gate Park
   , devastated many buildings in San Jose. The city was still primarily
   rural and the population much smaller than San Francisco, so houses and
   businesses were not so closely built, providing no opportunity for a
   major fire like the one that destroyed the city up the Peninsula. The
   all-brick Agnews Asylum (later Agnews State Hospital) suffered possibly
   the worst damage in the San Jose area, killing over 100 people as the
   walls and roof collapsed. The 8-year-old San Jose High School's
   three-story stone and brick structure also collapsed, and many other
   buildings were severely damaged. There have been many other earthquakes
   felt in San Jose that cause little or no damage other than causing a
   "stir" around town and a few broken bottles or windows. Although most
   damages from earthquakes are quickly repaired, if you look closely,
   earthquake damage may be seen around town in the way of cracked
   sidewalks, raised curbs, slanted or cracked walls, patched freeway
   divider walls. The other faults near San Jose are the Monte Vista
   Fault, South Hayward Fault, Northern Calaveras Fault, and Central
   Calaveras Fault.

Transition from agriculture to technology

   For nearly two centuries a farming community, San Jose produced a
   significant amount of fruits and vegetables until the 1960s, and many
   past and current names of teams, streets, buildings, and so on reflect
   its agricultural beginnings. Prunes, grapes, and apricots were some of
   the major crops. In 1922, the first commercial farming of broccoli in
   the U.S. was started in San Jose, by brothers Stephano and Andrea
   D'Arrigo. The Del Monte cannery in Midtown was the largest employer in
   the city for many years.

   Food Machinery Corporation (FMC) was founded in San Jose as the Bean
   Spray Pump Company in 1883. In 1941 the company received an order from
   the United States War Department for one thousand LVTs, bringing
   defense contracts to San Jose for the first time. After World War II,
   FMC continued as a defense contractor, with the San Jose facilities
   designing and manufacturing military platforms such as the M113 Armored
   Personnel Carrier, the Bradley Fighting Vehicle, and various subsystems
   of the M1 Abrams. FMC's military business would later be spun off into
   United Defense.

   IBM established their west coast headquarters in San Jose in 1943. In
   1952 they opened a research and development facility in downtown, where
   Reynold Johnson and his team invented RAMAC. In 1956 IBM opened its
   Cottle Road manufacturing facility in the Santa Teresa neighbourhood,
   where disc drives were invented in 1962. IBM moved the research and
   development operation out of downtown, opening the Santa Teresa
   Laboratories in the Coyote Valley in 1976, and the Almaden Research
   Centre in 1986.

Growth

   Downtown San Jose looking over the Tech Museum towards Mount Hamilton;
   hills in the background show their winter green color.
   Enlarge
   Downtown San Jose looking over the Tech Museum towards Mount Hamilton;
   hills in the background show their winter green colour.

   A. P. Hamann (nicknamed "Dutch") became city manager in 1950. At the
   time, the city had a population of 95,280 and a total area of only 17
   square miles. Hamann instituted an aggressive growth program by
   annexation of adjacent areas, such as Alviso and Cambrian Park, and a
   program of dispersed urbanization, called urban sprawl. Hamann also
   spent significant time on the East Coast, selling San Jose as an ideal
   place for businesses to expand into. Hamann's efforts resulted in an
   annual population growth rate of over eight percent. When Hamann left
   office in 1969, San Jose had grown to 495,000 residents and 136 square
   miles.

   The costs of uncontrolled growth—high municipal debt load,
   deteriorating public services (including double sessions at public
   schools overtaxed fire and police services), and environmental
   degradation—triggered a populist revolt against Hamann's growth
   machine. In the late 1960s, several anti-growth candidates were elected
   to the City Council. Seeing the writing on the wall, Hamann retired. In
   1971, Norman Mineta--who had been appointed to fill a vacant City
   Council seat by pro-growth Mayor Ron James but who proved to be an
   independent—was elected Mayor. During the early 1970s, a
   feminist-environmentalist electoral alliance consolidated a liberal,
   anti-growth majority on the City Council. In a final coup against the
   growth machine, voters elected Janet Gray Hayes as mayor in 1974. Since
   then, San Jose has been governed by a liberal-managerial regime focused
   on growth management, neighbourhood services, and fiscal solvency.

   Subsequently, the city adopted a general plan that established an
   "urban service area" (also known as "urban growth boundary") within
   existing city boundaries, limited development in the eastern foohills,
   and deferred growth in Coyote Valley to the south. To the west,
   communities such as Campbell and Cupertino had incorporated as cities
   to avoid being annexed to San Jose, while expansion to the north was
   impossible because of San Francisco Bay. The city also adopted more
   rigorous planning practices and a "pay-as-you-grow" system of paying
   for new infrastructure. However, San Jose's new policies did not stop
   or even significantly restrict growth; rather, they directed growth
   towards incorporated areas and mitigated the costs of growth. The
   city's housing stock and population steadily increased during
   subsequent decades.

   Indeed, continued growth has created enormous challenges for the city
   and region. With the boom of the electronics industry, specifically
   personal computers and integrated circuits, the population of San Jose
   and Silicon Valley continued to grow rapidly. By 1980, the city's
   population was 629,442; it reached 782,248 by 1990; and at which point
   Santa Clara County as a whole had grown to 1,682,585 residents. Because
   of rapid job growth and in-migration, housing costs in San Jose and the
   rest of the Bay Area rose faster than the national average in the 1980s
   and 1990s; between 1976 and 2001, San Jose's housing costs increased by
   936%, the fastest growth in the nation over that time. The average 2003
   home price in Santa Clara County was approximately 330% of the national
   average.

   In response, the city has tried to direct growth inward and densify
   already urbanized areas. In 1994, the city council approved another
   general plan with the original 1974 urban growth boundaries intact. In
   1998, city voters rejected a ballot measure that would have eased
   development restrictions in the foothills. Sixty percent of the housing
   built in San Jose since 1980 and over three-quarters of the housing
   built since 2000 have been multifamily structures, reflecting an
   orientation towards Smart Growth planning principles.

   Many people's view of San Jose is still formed by the Dionne Warwick
   hit from 1968, "Do You Know the Way to San Jose?" Written by Burt
   Bacharach and Hal David (neither of whom had spent time there and chose
   the name because it suited the tune), it includes the lyrics, "there's
   a lot of space in San Jose; there'll be a place where I can stay" and
   "I may go wrong and lose my way," and contrasts it to Los Angeles, "a
   great big freeway." In 1960, the population of San Jose was only
   204,000, just over a fifth of the 2003 population. The only freeway
   through or near San Jose was U.S. Route 101, which touched only the
   outermost edges of the city and was still a rural route or controlled
   by traffic lights in some areas. A large portion of the Santa Clara
   Valley still contained commercial orchards.

Law and government

   The San Jose City Hall opened in 2005.
   Enlarge
   The San Jose City Hall opened in 2005.

   San Jose is a charter city under California law, giving it the power to
   enact local ordinances that may conflict with state law, within the
   limits provided by the charter. The city has a council-manager
   government with a city manager nominated by the mayor and elected by
   the city council.

   The San José City Council is made up of ten council members elected by
   districts, and a mayor elected in an at-large election. During city
   council meetings, the mayor presides, and all eleven members can vote
   on any issue. The mayor has no veto powers. Council members and the
   mayor are elected to four-year terms; the even-numbered district
   council members beginning in 1994; the mayor and the odd-numbered
   district council members beginning in 1996. Council members and the
   mayor are limited to two successive terms in office, although a council
   member that has reached the term limit can be elected mayor, and vice
   versa. The council elects a vice-mayor from the members of the council
   at the second meeting of the year following a council election. This
   council member has the right to act as mayor during the temporary
   absence of the mayor, but does not have the right of succession to the
   mayor's office upon a vacancy.

   The City Manager is the chief administrative officer of the city, and
   must present an annual budget for approval by the city council. The
   council elects the manager for an indefinite term, and may at any time
   remove the manager, or the electorate may remove the manager through a
   recall election. Other city officers elected by the council are the
   city attorney, city auditor, and city clerk.
   San Jose, surrounding cities, and salt evaporation ponds from space,
   September 1994. North is to the lower right.
   Enlarge
   San Jose, surrounding cities, and salt evaporation ponds from space,
   September 1994. North is to the lower right.

   Like all California cities except San Francisco, both the levels and
   the boundaries of what the city government controls is determined by
   the local county (LAFCO). The goal of a LAFCO is to try to avoid
   uncontrolled urban sprawl. The Santa Clara County LAFCO has set
   boundaries of San Jose's 'Sphere of Influence' (indicated by the blue
   line in the map near the top of the page) as a superset of the actual
   city limits (the yellow area in the map), plus parts of the surrounding
   unincorporated county land, where San Jose can, for example, prevent
   development of fringe areas to concentrate city growth closer to the
   city's core. The LAFCO also defines a subset of the Sphere as an 'Urban
   Service Area' (indicated by the red line in the map), effectively
   limiting development to areas where urban infrastructure (sewers,
   electrical service, etc.) already exists.

   San Jose has consistently been ranked as one of the safest large cities
   in the United States. During the 1990s and 2000s, the crime rate has
   consistently fallen. From 2001 to 2005 the city was ranked as the
   safest American city with a population over 500,000 by the Morgan
   Quitno Awards. The designation is based on crime statistics reported to
   the Federal Bureau of Investigation in six categories: murder, rape,
   robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, and auto theft. However, reports
   of police brutality have become more common.

Sister/twin cities

   The Office of Economic Development coordinates the San Jose Sister City
   Program. As of 2006, there are seven sister cities (aka twinned towns):
     * Japan - Okayama, Japan (established in 1957)
     * Costa Rica - San José, Costa Rica (1961)
     * Mexico - Veracruz, Mexico (1975)
     * Republic of China - Tainan, Taiwan (1975)
     * Republic of Ireland - Dublin, Republic of Ireland (1986)
     * India - Pune, India (1992)
     * Russia - Ekaterinburg, Russia (1992)

Geography

   Location of San Jose, California
   Looking west over northern San Jose (downtown is at far left) and other
   parts of Silicon Valley. See an up-to-the-minute view of San Jose from
   the Mount Hamilton web camera. http://mthamilton.ucolick.org/hamcam/
   Enlarge
   Looking west over northern San Jose (downtown is at far left) and other
   parts of Silicon Valley. See an up-to-the-minute view of San Jose from
   the Mount Hamilton web camera. http://mthamilton.ucolick.org/hamcam/

   San Jose is located at 37°18′15″N, 121°52′22″W (37.304051, −121.872734)
   ¹.

   According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area
   of 461.5 km² (178.2 mi²)^ GR1. 452.9 km² (174.9 mi²) of it is land and
   8.6 km² (3.3 mi²) of it (1.86%) is water.

   San Jose lies near the San Andreas Fault; a major source of earthquake
   activity in California. The most serious earthquake, in 1906, damaged
   many buildings in San Jose as described earlier. Earlier significant
   quakes rocked the city in 1839, 1851, 1858, 1864, 1865, 1868, and 1891.
   The Daly City Earthquake of 1957 caused some damage. The Loma Prieta
   earthquake of 1989 also did some damage to parts of the city. The other
   faults near San Jose are the Monte Vista Fault, South Hayward Fault,
   Northern Calaveras Fault, and Central Calaveras Fault.

   The Guadalupe River runs from the Santa Cruz Mountains (which separate
   the South Bay from the Pacific Coast) flowing north through San Jose,
   ending in the San Francisco Bay at Alviso. Along the southern part of
   the river is the neighbourhood of Almaden Valley, originally named for
   the mercury mines which produced mercury needed for gold extraction
   from quartz during the California gold rush as well as mercury
   fulminate blasting caps and detonators for the U.S. military from 1870
   to 1945.

   The lowest point in San Jose is at sea level at the San Francisco Bay
   in Alviso; the highest is 4,372 feet (1,333 m) at Copernicus Peak,
   Mount Hamilton, which is technically outside the city limit. Due to the
   proximity to Lick Observatory atop Mount Hamilton, San Jose has taken
   several steps to reduce light pollution, including replacing all street
   lamps with low pressure sodium lamps. To recognize the city's efforts,
   the asteroid 6216 San Jose was named after the city. Some residents
   object to the deep yellow colour of the streetlights, saying they are
   distracting because they are the same shade of yellow as traffic lights
   and other illuminated traffic warnings.

Climate

   Mount Hamilton range showing summer's golden mantle. Dark green areas
   in hills are primarily scrub oak and other low-growing shrubs, with
   possibly a grass-fire burned area on the far right.
   Enlarge
   Mount Hamilton range showing summer's golden mantle. Dark green areas
   in hills are primarily scrub oak and other low-growing shrubs, with
   possibly a grass-fire burned area on the far right.
   Mount Hamilton range in January, with morning fog clearing away.
   Enlarge
   Mount Hamilton range in January, with morning fog clearing away.

   San Jose, like most of the Bay Area, has a Mediterranean climate
   tempered by the presence of the San Francisco Bay. Unlike San
   Francisco, which is exposed to the ocean or Bay on three sides and
   whose temperature therefore varies relatively little year-round and
   overnight, San Jose lies more inland, protected on three sides by
   mountains. This shelters the city from rain and makes it more of a
   semiarid, near-desert area, with a mean annual rainfall of only 14.4
   inches (366 mm), compared to some other parts of the Bay Area, which
   can get up to four times that amount. It also avoids San Francisco's
   omnipresent fog most of the year.

   However, temperatures are generally moderate. January's average high is
   59 °F (15 °C) and average low is 42 °F (6 °C), with overnight freezes
   several nights each year; July's average high is 84 °F (29 °C) and
   average low is 58 °F (14 °C), with heat exceeding 100 °F (38 °C)
   several days each year. The highest temperature ever recorded in San
   Jose was 109 °F (42.8 °C) on June 14, 2000; the lowest was 17 °F (-8.3
   °C) on January 9, 1920 and January 10, 1920. Temperatures between night
   and day can vary by 30 or 40 °F (17 to 22 °C).

   With the light rainfall, San Jose experiences over 300 days a year of
   full or significant sunshine. Rain occurs primarily in the months from
   October through April or May, with hardly any rainfall from June
   through September. During the winter, hillsides and fields turn green
   with native grasses and vegetation, although deciduous trees are bare;
   with the coming of the annual summer dry period, the vegetation dies
   and dries, giving the hills a golden cover, which some find beautiful
   but which also provides fuel for frequent grass fires.

   The snow level drops as low as 2,000 ft (610 m) above sea level, or
   lower, occasionally each winter, coating nearby Mount Hamilton, and
   less frequently the Santa Cruz Mountains, with snow that normally lasts
   a few days. This sometimes snarls traffic traveling on State Route 17
   towards Santa Cruz. Snow occasionally falls in San Jose, but until
   recently, the most recent snow to remain on the ground was in February
   of 1976 when many residents around the city saw as much as 3 inches on
   car and roof tops. However, in March of 2006, a smaller amount, up to
   one inch of snow fell in downtown San Jose as well as other areas
   around the city at elevations of only 90 feet to 200 feet above sea
   level.

   Again, like most of the Bay Area, San Jose is made up of dozens of
   microclimates. Downtown San Jose experiences the lightest rainfall in
   the city, while South San Jose, only 10 miles (16 km) distant,
   experiences more rainfall and slightly more extreme temperatures.

Economy

   Adobe Systems headquarters
   Enlarge
   Adobe Systems headquarters

   San Jose considers itself "the Capital of Silicon Valley." As such, its
   economy rises and falls with high-tech employment in the Bay Area.
   During the peak of the tech bubble, employment, housing prices, and
   traffic congestion peaked, but all eased as the economy slowed during
   the first few years of the 21st century. As of 2006, the city reported
   405,000 jobs within the city limits and an unemployment rate of 4.6%.
   San Jose had the highest median household income of any city with a
   population over 300,000 in 2000, and currently has the highest median
   income of any city with over 225,000 people.

   The city lists 25 companies with 1,000 employees or more, including the
   headquarters of Adobe Systems, BEA Systems, Cisco, and eBay, as well as
   major facilities for Flextronics, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Hitachi and
   Lockheed Martin. Sizable government employers include the city, Santa
   Clara County, and San José State University.

   The cost of living in San Jose and the surrounding areas is among the
   highest in California and the nation. Housing costs in the city are the
   primary reason for the high cost of living, although the costs in all
   areas tracked by ACCRA are above the national average. Despite the high
   cost of living, San Jose households have the highest disposable income
   of any large American city. San Jose residents produce more U.S.
   patents than any other city, the average worker productivity in San
   Jose is double the national average, and 35% of venture capital funds
   in the U.S. are invested in San Jose and Silicon Valley companies.

Demographics

   This thematic map shows the large Asian American population in
   Saratoga, Cupertino, and the North Valley.
   Enlarge
   This thematic map shows the large Asian American population in
   Saratoga, Cupertino, and the North Valley.

   As of the census^ GR2 of 2000, there were 894,943 people (although CA
   State figures currently put that number closer to 950,000), 276,598
   households, and 203,576 families residing in the city. The population
   density was 1,976.1/km² (5,117.9/mi²). There were 281,841 housing units
   at an average density of 622.3/km² (1,611.8/mi²). The racial makeup of
   the city was 47.49% White, 3.50% African American, 0.77% Native
   American, 26.86% Asian, 0.40% Pacific Islander, 15.94% from other
   races, and 5.04% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race
   were 30.17% of the population.

   There were 276,598 households out of which 38.3% had children under the
   age of 18 living with them, 56.0% were married couples living together,
   11.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.4% were
   non-families. 18.4% of all households were made up of individuals and
   4.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The
   average household size was 3.20 and the average family size was 3.62.
   Age distribution
   Enlarge
   Age distribution

   In the city the population was spread out with 26.4% under the age of
   18, 9.9% from 18 to 24, 35.4% from 25 to 44, 20.0% from 45 to 64, and
   8.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years.
   For every 100 females there were 103.3 males. For every 100 females age
   18 and over, there were 102.5 males.

   The median income for a household in the city was the highest in the US
   for any city with more than a quater million residents with $70,243
   annually. The median income for a family was $74,813. Males had a
   median income of $49,347 versus $36,936 for females. The per capita
   income for the city was $26,697. About 6.0% of families and 8.8% of the
   population were below the poverty line, including 10.3% of those under
   age 18 and 7.4% of those age 65 or over.

   The San Francisco Bay Area has a very diverse religious life with
   thousands of churches, mosques, temples, and religious centers. The Bay
   Area is home to Buddhist, Sikh, Christian, Jewish, Hindu,
   Shiite-Muslim, Sunni-Muslim, Jehovah's Witnesses, and numerous other
   religious communities.

Arts and architecture

   Plumed Serpent statue in Plaza de César Chávez
   Enlarge
   Plumed Serpent statue in Plaza de César Chávez

   San Jose's downtown architecture is noted more for its limited height
   than for any particular buildings. Because the downtown area is in the
   flight path to nearby Mineta San Jose International Airport, there is a
   permanent height limit for all buildings. There has been broad
   criticism, both in the past and present, of the city's architecture. It
   has been said that San Jose's buildings are, in fact, rather lacking in
   ornamentation, or aesthetically pleasing architectural style. The
   thorough re-development of the downtown area in the 1960s to the
   present, in which whole blocks of buildings were razed, has often been
   blamed for this.

   Municipal building projects have experimented more with architectural
   styles than have most private enterprises. The Children's Discovery
   Museum, Tech Museum of Innovation, and the San Jose Repertory Theatre
   building have experimented with bold colors and unusual exteriors. The
   new City Hall, designed by Richard Meier & Partners opened in 2005 and
   is a notable addition to the growing collection of municipal building
   projects.

   Public art is an evolving attraction in the city. The City was one of
   the first to adopt a public art ordinance at 2% of capital improvement
   building project budgets, and the results of this commitment are
   beginning to have an impact on the visual landscape of the City. There
   is a considerable amount throughout the downtown area, and a growing
   collection in the City's neighbourhood newer civic locations including
   libraries, parks, and fire stations. Of particular note, the Mineta
   Airport expansion will incorporate a program of Art & Technology into
   its development.

   Within the early efforts at public art, there are notable
   controversies. Two examples, include the statue of Quetzalcoatl (the
   plumed serpent) in downtown which was controversial in its planning
   because some religious groups felt that it was pagan, and controversial
   in its implementation because many felt that the final statue by Robert
   Graham did not closely resemble a winged serpent, and was more noted
   for its expense than its aesthetics. Locals have been known to jokingly
   call the statue the "Park God," referring to its shape. The statue of
   Thomas Fallon also met strong resistance from those who felt that
   people like him were largely responsible for the decimation of early
   native populations.

   In 2001, the city sponsored SharkByte, an exhibit of decorated sharks,
   based on the mascot of the hockey team, the San Jose Sharks, and
   modeled after Chicago's display of decorated cows. Large models of
   sharks were decorated in a variety of clever, colorful, or creative
   ways by local artists and were then displayed for months at dozens of
   locations around the city. Many displays were removed early because of
   vandalism. After the exhibition, the sharks were auctioned off and the
   proceeds donated to charity. The sharks can still be found in their new
   owners' homes and businesses.

   The city is home to many performance arts, including Opera San Jose,
   Symphony Silicon Valley, Ballet San Jose Silicon Valley, the San Jose
   Repertory Theatre, and American Musical Theatre of San Jose. San Jose
   also is home to the San Jose Museum of Art, one of the nation's
   premiere Modern Art museums. In addition, the annual Cinequest Film
   Festival in downtown has grown to over 60,000 attendees per year,
   becoming an important festival for independent films.

   The HP Pavilion is one of the most active venues for events in the
   world. According to Billboard Magazine and Pollstar, the arena sold the
   most tickets to non-sporting events of any venue in the United States,
   and third in the world after the Manchester Evening News Arena in
   Manchester, England, and the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada,
   for the period from January 1 – September 30, 2004. Including sporting
   events, the HP Pavilion averages 184 events a year, or roughly one
   event for every two days, which is significantly higher than the
   average for NHL arenas.

Sports

   Club Sport Founded League Venue
   San Jose Sharks Hockey 1991 National Hockey League: Western Conference
   HP Pavilion
   San Jose SaberCats Arena Football 1995 Arena Football League HP
   Pavilion
   San Jose Stealth Lacrosse 2003 National Lacrosse League HP Pavilion
   San Jose Giants Baseball 1988 California League San Jose Municipal
   Stadium

   San Jose is also home to the St Joseph's Hurling Club.
   HP Pavilion
   Enlarge
   HP Pavilion

   Previously, San Jose was home to the San Jose Earthquakes of the North
   American Soccer League (1974-1984), Western Soccer Alliance
   (1985-1988), and Major League Soccer (1996-2005), the San Jose
   Grizzlies (1993-1995) of the Continental Indoor Soccer League, the San
   Jose Golddiggers (1987-1989) of Major League Volleyball (women's), the
   San Jose Jammers (1989-1991) of the Continental Basketball Association,
   the San Jose Lasers of the American Basketball League, the Golden State
   Warriors of the National Basketball Association (while Oakland Arena
   was being renovated, 1996-1997), the San Jose CyberRays of the Women's
   United Soccer Association (2001-2002), and the San Jose Ballers of the
   International Basketball League (2005-), now the Tri City Ballers.

   In addition to professional teams, San Jose hosts several sporting
   events. The SAP Open (formerly the Sybase Open) is an annual men's
   tennis tournament held at the HP Pavilion. San Jose was the host of
   ArenaBowl XVI on August 18, 2002 in which the San Jose SaberCats
   defeated the Arizona Rattlers, 52-14. The San Jose Grand Prix, first
   held in July 2005, brings Champ Car racing on a temporary road course
   on Downtown streets. The city is also one of five host cities for the
   inaugural Dew Action Sports Tour season; the San Jose event was held in
   September 2005.

   In college sports, the San José State Spartans are the local college
   team, however, many residents support the Cal Golden Bears or the
   Stanford Cardinal; local sports news coverage tends to focus more on
   these two schools. The Pac-10 Women's Basketball Championship is held
   at the HP Pavilion as well as either the men's or women's West Regional
   tournament during the NCAA's March Madness.

   In 2004, the San Jose Sports Authority hosted the U.S. Olympic team
   trials for judo, taekwondo, trampolining and rhythmic gymnastics at the
   San Jose State Event Centre. In August 2004, the Authority hosted the
   USA All-Star 7-Aside Rugby Championships at Watson Bowl, east of
   Downtown.

Transportation

   Mineta San Jose International Airport - International Arrivals
   Enlarge
   Mineta San Jose International Airport - International Arrivals
   A passenger jet flying over Downtown on its approach to Mineta San Jose
   International
   Enlarge
   A passenger jet flying over Downtown on its approach to Mineta San Jose
   International

   The San Jose area has a well-developed freeway system, including three
   Interstate highways— I-280, I-880, and I-680—in addition to several
   federal and state highways, US 101, CA-85, CA-87, CA-17, and CA-237. It
   is, however, the largest city in the country not served by a primary,
   "two-digit" interstate. Additionally, San Jose contains many
   expressways of the Santa Clara County Expressway System, including the
   Almaden Expressway, Capitol Expressway, San Tomas Expressway, and
   Lawrence Expressway.

   Rail service to and within San Jose is provided by Amtrak (the
   Sacramento-San Jose Capitol Corridor and the Seattle-Los Angeles Coast
   Starlight), Caltrain (commuter rail service between San Francisco and
   Gilroy), ACE (commuter rail service to Pleasanton and Stockton), and a
   local light-rail system connecting downtown to Mountain View, Milpitas,
   Campbell, and Almaden Valley, operated by the Santa Clara Valley
   Transportation Authority (VTA). Historic streetcars from the San Jose
   History Museum operate on the light rail lines in downtown during
   holidays. Long-term plans call for BART to be expanded into the San
   Jose area via the East Bay. Diridon Station (formerly Cahill Depot, 65
   Cahill Street) is the meeting point of all regional commuter rail
   service in the area. It was built in 1935 by the Southern Pacific
   Railroad, and was refurnished in 1994.

   VTA also operates many bus routes in San Jose and the surrounding
   communities, as well as offering paratransit services to local
   residents. Additionally, the Highway 17 Express bus line connects
   central San Jose with Santa Cruz.

   San Jose is served by Mineta San Jose International Airport, two miles
   (3 km) northwest of downtown, and by San Jose/Reid-Hillview Airport of
   Santa Clara County. San Jose residents also use San Francisco
   International Airport, a major international hub located 35 miles (56
   km) to the northwest, and Oakland International Airport, another
   medium-sized airport located 35 miles (56 km) to the north. Some large
   airlines that fly into San Jose are American Airlines, Southwest
   Airlines, United Airlines, Jet Blue Airways, Northwest Airlines,
   America West Airlines, Alaska Airlines, Continental Airlines, Delta Air
   Lines, Frontier Airlines, Hawaiian Airlines, and Mexicana Airlines.

Utilities

   Potable water is provided primarily by the private-sector San Jose
   Water Company, with some by the Great Oaks Water Company, and ten
   percent by the public-sector San Jose Municipal Water System. Great
   Oaks provides exclusively well water, while the other two provide water
   from multiple sources, including well water, and surface water from the
   Los Gatos Creek watershed, Santa Clara Valley Water District, and the
   San Francisco Public Utilities Commission's Hetch Hetchy reservoir.

   Garbage, wastewater treatment, and recycling services are overseen by
   the city of San Jose's Environmental Services Department. The
   no-sorting convenience and unusually long list of recyclable items has
   resulted in San Jose being one of very few cities that can boast that
   it recycles 64% of its waste. The list includes all plastic categories
   1 through 7; aerosol cans and paint cans; polystyrene including "
   packing peanuts" and hard foam packing, such as in electronic and
   computer products' boxes; aluminium furniture; small metal appliances;
   metal pots and pans (including cast iron); and clean cotton, linen,
   polyester, rayon, and wool fabrics (for example, blankets, clothes,
   cloth diapers, rags, and sheets).

   Wastewater treatment happens at the San Jose/Santa Clara Water
   Pollution Control Plant, which treats and cleans the wastewater of the
   more than 1,500,000 people that live and work in the 300 square mile
   (780 km²) area encompassing San Jose, Santa Clara, Milpitas, Campbell,
   Cupertino, Los Gatos, Saratoga, and Monte Sereno.

   About ten percent of the treated wastewater is sold for irrigation
   ("water recycling") in San Jose, Santa Clara, and Milpitas, through
   local water providers San Jose Municipal Water System, City of Milpitas
   Municipal Services, City of Santa Clara Water & Sewer Utility, Santa
   Clara Valley Water District, San Jose Water Company, and Great Oaks
   Water Company.

   Natural gas and electricity are provided by PG&E. Telephone service is
   provided primarily by AT&T. Cable television is provided by Comcast.

Education

   Tower Hall, San Jose State
   Enlarge
   Tower Hall, San Jose State

Colleges and universities

   San Jose is home to several colleges and universities. The largest and
   most well known is San José State University, which was founded by the
   California Legislature in 1862 as the California State Normal School
   and is the original campus of the California State University system.
   Located in downtown San Jose since 1870, the university's 30,000
   students in bachelor's and master's degree programs are primarily
   commuters from many areas in the South Bay. National Hispanic
   University, with an enrollment of 600, offers associate and bachelor's
   degrees and teaching credentials to its students, focusing on Hispanic
   students. Silicon Valley College offers bachelor's and associate
   degrees useful for workers in high technology industries. Lincoln Law
   School of San Jose offers law degrees, catering to working
   professionals. The San Jose campus of Golden Gate University offers
   business bachelor and MBA degrees. San Jose's community colleges, San
   Jose City College and Evergreen Valley College, offer associate
   degrees, general education units to transfer to CSU and UC schools, and
   adult and continuing education programs.

   The University of California, Santa Cruz operates Lick Observatory atop
   Mount Hamilton. In addition, San Jose residents attend several other
   area universities, including Santa Clara University, De Anza College in
   Cupertino, Stanford University in Palo Alto, Carnegie Mellon West in
   Mountain View and the University of California, Berkeley.

Primary and secondary education

   Most San Jose students go to schools in the San Jose Unified School
   District. Prior to 1954, California law required cities and school
   districts to have the same boundaries. When San Jose began expanding,
   rural school districts became one of the major opponents, as their
   territory and tax base was taken by the city. The city's legislators
   pushed a bill through the California Legislature, removing that
   requirement, and ending much of the opposition. The result is a
   patchwork of local school districts in the areas annexed after 1954.
   Public education in the city is provided by four high school districts,
   fourteen elementary districts, and four unified school districts (which
   provide both elementary and high schools).

   In addition to the main San Jose Unified School District, the unified
   school districts are Milpitas Unified School District, Morgan Hill
   Unified School District, and Santa Clara Unified School District.

   The following districts use the "feeder" system:
     * Campbell Union High School District receives students from:
          + Cambrian
          + Campbell Union
          + Luther Burbank
          + Moreland
          + Union School District.
     * East Side Union High School District receives students from:
          + Alum Rock Union
          + Berryessa Union
          + Evergreen Elementary
          + Franklin-McKinley
          + Mount Pleasant Elementary
          + Oak Grove
          + Orchard Elementary
     * Fremont Union High School District receives students from:
          + Cupertino Union School District.
     * Los Gatos-Saratoga Joint Union High School District receives
       students from
          + Los Gatos Union School District.

   Private schools in San Jose are primarily run by religious groups. The
   Catholic Diocese of San Jose has the second largest student population
   in the Santa Clara County, behind only SJUSD; the diocese and its
   parishes operate several schools in the city, including four high
   schools: Archbishop Mitty High School, Bellarmine College Preparatory,
   Notre Dame High School, and Presentation High School . There are two
   Baptist high schools, Liberty Baptist School and White Road Baptist
   Academy. Valley Christian High School is a Protestant high school in
   the North Valley neighbourhood. There is also the nonsectarian K-12
   Harker School.

San Jose library system

   Martin Luther King, Jr. Library
   Enlarge
   Martin Luther King, Jr. Library

   The San Jose City Library system is unique in that the Dr. Martin
   Luther King, Jr. Library combines the collections of the city's system
   with the San Jose State main library. The library is the largest (built
   all at once) west of the Mississippi River, with a 1.5 million item
   collection.

   The city has 20 neighbourhood branches including the Biblioteca
   Latinoamericana which specializes in Spanish language works. The East
   San Jose Carnegie Branch Library, a Carnegie library opened in 1908, is
   the last Carnegie library in Santa Clara County still operating as a
   public library and is listed in the National Register of Historic
   Places. The Calabazas Branch has four primary language-specific
   collections: Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and Russian. Vineland Library
   was nominated library of the year 2004.

Neighborhoods

                       Neighborhoods of San Jose, California
   Central       Downtown San Jose · Japantown · Rose Garden · Sunol-Midtown ·
                 Willow Glen · Naglee Park · Newhall/College Park
   West          Burbank · Cambrian Park · West San Jose · Winchester
   North         Alviso · Berryessa · North Valley
   East          Alum Rock · East Foothills · King and Story · Little Portugal
   South         Almaden Valley · Blossom Valley · Coyote Valley · Evergreen ·
                 Santa Teresa · San Felipe Valley · Silver Creek Valley
   Nearby cities

                 West: Cupertino · Mountain View · Santa Clara · Sunnyvale
                 North: Fremont · Milpitas
                 South: Campbell · Gilroy · Los Gatos · Morgan Hill · Saratoga

Attractions

   The Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum
   Enlarge
   The Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum
   Front of the San Jose Museum of Art, the remaining facade of San Jose's
   first post office.
   Enlarge
   Front of the San Jose Museum of Art, the remaining facade of San Jose's
   first post office.
   Cathedral Basilica of St. Joseph
   Enlarge
   Cathedral Basilica of St. Joseph

Parks, gardens, and other outdoor recreational sites

     * Almaden Quicksilver County Park, 4,147 acres (17 km²) of former
       mercury mines in South San Jose
     * Alum Rock Park, 718 acres (2.9 km²) in East San Jose, the oldest
       municipal park in California
     * Emma Prusch Farm Park, 43.5 acres (176,000 m²) in East San Jose.
       Donated by Emma Prusch to demonstrate the valley's agricultural
       past, it includes a 4-H barn (the largest in San Jose), community
       gardens, a rare-fruit orchard, demonstration gardens, picnic areas,
       and expanses of lawn.
     * Kelley Park, including diverse facilities such as Happy Hollow Park
       & Zoo (a child-centric amusement park), the Japanese Friendship
       Garden, History Park at Kelley Park, and the Portuguese Historical
       Museum within the history park
     * Kirk Park, home to the San Jose Young People's Theatre
     * Overfelt Gardens, including the Chinese Cultural Garden
     * Plaza de César Chávez, a small park in Downtown, hosts outdoor
       concerts and the Christmas in the Park display.
     * Raging Waters, water park with water slides and other water
       attractions. This sits with in Lake Cunningham Park
     * San Jose Municipal Rose Garden, 5½ acre (22,000 m²) park in the
       Rose Garden neighbourhood, featuring over 4,000 rose bushes

Museums, libraries, and other cultural collections

     * Children's Discovery Museum of San Jose
     * History Park at Kelley Park
     * Ira F. Brilliant Centre for Beethoven Studies, home of the largest
       Beethoven collection outside Europe
     * Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Library, the largest U.S. public
       library west of Mississippi River
     * Mexican Heritage Plaza, a museum and cultural centre for Mexican
       Americans in the area
     * Portuguese Historical Museum
     * Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum, home of the largest collection of
       Egyptian relics in the western United States
     * San Jose Museum of Art
     * The Tech Museum of Innovation

Sports and event venues

     * HP Pavilion - home of the NHL's San Jose Sharks and the AFL's San
       Jose SaberCats
     * San Jose Convention Centre-home of the CBA's San Jose Sky Rockets.
     * San Jose Municipal Stadium, home of the minor league San Jose
       Giants.
     * Spartan Stadium, home of San José State University football and the
       former Major League Soccer's San Jose Earthquakes
     * San Jose Grand Prix, Champcar racing on a temporary Downtown street
       course.

Restaurants and bars

   There are many places to eat or enjoy Happy Hour in Downtown San Jose

Other structures

     * Cathedral Basilica of St. Joseph, the oldest parish in California
     * Lick Observatory, home of what was once the largest telescope in
       the world
     * Sikh Gurdwara - San Jose, the largest Gurdwara (a Sikh temple) in
       the United States
     * Peralta Adobe, a restored adobe home showing the lifestyle of
       Spanish and Mexican California
     * Winchester Mystery House, a sprawling, 160-room Victorian mansion
       built by Sarah Winchester
     * Raging Waters, the largest water park in Northern California with
       23 acres and millions of gallons of water

   Retrieved from " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Jose%2C_California"
   This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia
   with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details
   of authors and sources) and is available under the GNU Free
   Documentation License. See also our Disclaimer.
