The Circle of Palms Plaza is located in downtown
San Jose, California
San Jose, officially San José (; ; ), is a major city in the U.S. state of California that is the cultural, financial, and political center of Silicon Valley and largest city in Northern California by both population and area. With a 2020 popul ...
. It is composed of a ring of palm trees encircling a
California State Seal, and designates the California Historical Marker 461, the site of California's first state capital from 1849-1851.
History
When California became part of the USA in 1850, San Jose was the oldest civilian settlement dating back to its establishment in 1777, and selected the first official state capital of California. A two-story adobe hotel built around 1830 became the first state capitol and hosted the first legislative sessions in 1850 and 1851. This site is now the Circle of Palms Plaza, or California Historical Marker 461.
Description
The Circle of Palms Plaza is a ring of palm trees encircling a
California State Seal, located between the
Fairmont San Jose Hotel
The Signia by Hilton San Jose is an 805-room high-rise hotel at 170 South Market Street in San Jose, California, located on the Plaza de César Chávez in Downtown San Jose. Opened in 1987 as the Fairmont San Jose, the hotel closed on March 5, 2 ...
, the KQED building (Silicon Valley Financial Center) and the
San Jose Museum of Art
The San José Museum of Art (SJMA) is a modern and contemporary art museum in downtown San Jose, downtown San Jose, California, United States. Founded in 1969, the museum holds a permanent collection with an emphasis on West Coast of the United Sta ...
.
The concrete around the state seal contains quotes from the 1849 state constitutional convention in Monetery where San Jose was chosen as the capital.
Public activities
Each Winter, the San Jose Downtown Association sets up an outdoor ice rink called "San Jose Downtown Ice" at the Circle of Palms.
Photo gallery
Image:Kluft-photo-Circle-of-Palms-San-Jose-April-2008-Img 0778.jpg, Circle of Palms Plaza
Image:Circle of Palms Plaza with the ice rink in the winter.JPG, The ice rink at the plaza in the Winter
Image:Kluft-photo-Circle-of-Palms-State-Seal-April-2008-Img 0765.jpg, State seal at center of the Circle of Palms
Image:Kluft-photo-San-Jose-Circle-of-Palms-night-April-2008Img 0760.jpg, Night view of the Circle of Palms Plaza and the San Jose Museum of Art
Image:San Jose Museum of Art.jpg, San Jose Museum of Art and Circle of Palms
Image:Circle of Palms Plaza - Night.JPG, Circle of Palms Plaza and Fairmont at Night
Image:SanJoseCirclePalms.jpg, Circle of Palms and San Jose Museum of Art
See also
*
History of San Jose, California
San Jose, California, is the third largest city in the state, and the largest of all cities in the San Francisco Bay Area and Northern California, with a population of 1,021,795.
Site chosen by Anza
For thousands of years before the arrival of E ...
*
List of California Historical Landmarks
Below is a list of California Historical Landmarks organized by county.
List
* Alameda County
* Alpine County
* Amador County
* Butte County
* Calaveras County
* Colusa County
* Contra Costa County
* Del Norte County
* El Dorado County
* Fres ...
*
Chinatown, San Jose, California (the "Plaza Street Chinatown" was located where Circle of Palms Plaza sits today)
References
External links
Scenes of San Jose: Circle of Palms photo by Dana Grover
View of the Plaza from above
{{San Jose and Silicon Valley attractions
History of San Jose, California
California Historical Landmarks
Squares and plazas in San Jose
Tourist attractions in San Jose, California