Little Portugal is a historic neighborhood of San Jose,

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, and historically the center of the local

Portuguese-American Portuguese Americans ( pt, português-americanos), also known as Luso-Americans (''luso-americanos''), are citizens and residents of the United States who are connected to the country of Portugal by birth, ancestry, or citizenship. Americans and ...

community. Little Portugal is home to numerous Portuguese businesses, including Adega (San Jose's first restaurant to earn a

Michelin star The Michelin Guides ( ) are a series of guide books that have been published by the French tyre company Michelin since 1900. The Guide awards up to three Michelin stars for excellence to a select few establishments. The acquisition or loss of a ...

), numerous Portuguese social clubs, and the

Five Wounds Portuguese National Church Five Wounds Portuguese National Church ( pt, Igreja Nacional Portuguesa das Cinco Chagas) is parish church of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church in San Jose, California, in the Little Portugal neighborhood of East San Jose. The church w ...

History

Portuguese immigrants to California have historically come from the

Azores ) , motto =( en, "Rather die free than subjected in peace") , anthem= ( en, "Anthem of the Azores") , image_map=Locator_map_of_Azores_in_EU.svg , map_alt=Location of the Azores within the European Union , map_caption=Location of the Azores wi ...

, rather than from

Mainland Portugal Continental Portugal ( pt, Portugal continental, ) or mainland Portugal comprises the bulk of the Portuguese Republic, namely that part on the Iberian Peninsula and so in Continental Europe, having approximately 95% of the total population and 9 ...

, and were traditionally farmers. Portuguese settlers came to the

Santa Clara Valley The Santa Clara Valley is a geologic trough in Northern California that extends 90 miles (145 km) south–southeast from San Francisco to Hollister. The longitudinal valley is bordered on the west by the Santa Cruz Mountains and on the east ...

beginning in the 1850s.

Development

In the mid-2010s, the Urban Displacement Project at the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...

cited it as one of the three neighborhoods in San Jose where low-income residents were most at risk of displacement by

gentrification Gentrification is the process of changing the character of a neighborhood through the influx of more Wealth, affluent residents and businesses. It is a common and controversial topic in urban politics and urban planning, planning. Gentrification ...

. The proposed second phase of the

Silicon Valley BART extension The Silicon Valley BART extension is an ongoing effort to expand service by Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) into Santa Clara County via the East Bay from its former terminus at the Fremont station in Alameda County. Planned since at least 1981, th ...

project would include an 28th Street/Little Portugal station behind Five Wounds Church. Two of the first

urban village In urban planning and design, an urban village is an urban development typically characterized by medium-density housing, mixed use zoning, good public transit and an emphasis on pedestrianization and public space. Contemporary urban village ide ...

s proposed in the city's general plan for development until 2040 as a means of providing employment and low-cost housing are to be in the neighborhood, one on Alum Rock Avenue.

Portuguese community

Portuguese Band of San José 1293 (cropped)

Map_of_Little_Portugal,_San_Jose,_California

Little Portugal includes a number of Portuguese American social organizations, including Aliança Jorgense, Centro Leonino da Califórnia, IES Hall, the Portuguese Band of San José (the oldest surviving Portuguese marching band in California), Sociedade Filarmónica União Popular, local sport clubs such as the Portuguese Athletic Club, the Portuguese Association for Social Services and Opportunities (POSSO), a neighborhood social services agency founded in 1974, and a business association. Long-time Portuguese businesses in the neighborhood have included: Bacalhau Grill & Trade Rite Market; Café do Canto; Casanova Imports; Five Star Bakery; Foto Christiano; Furtado's Jewelers, now closed;

KSQQ KSQQ (96.1 FM) is a world ethnic radio station broadcasting in the Chinese and Portuguese languages. The station is owned by Coyote Communications and licensed to Morgan Hill, California, with a translator, K277BN, in San Martin, California. It ...

radio, one of three radio stations owned by Batista Vieira, now multi-lingual; L & F Fish Market; Silva Sausage; Popular Bakery or Padaria Popular; Vieira Painting; and Sousa's restaurant. The

Portuguese Historical Museum The Portuguese Historical Museum in San Jose, California, USA opened in 1997 and is a replica of the first permanent ''império'' (religious and cultural buildings primarily in the Azores) originally built in San Jose's Little Portugal district, c ...

in San Jose's

History 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 landmark ...

is a replica of the city's original Portuguese ''império'' (chapel) that preceded the building of Five Wounds Church. Portuguese Heritage Publications of California is headquartered in the Berryessa district. Adega, open since 2015, is the second Portuguese restaurant in the US to win a

and San Jose's first Michelin starred restaurant.

Geography

Little Portugal is centered along the point where Santa Clara Street becomes Alum Rock Ave, roughly between 23rd Street and 34rd Street. and extending into the Anne Darling neighborhood.

Gallery

File:Little Portugal, San Jose 3 (cropped).jpg, The historic Popular Portuguese Bakery File:S.F. Nova Aliança - Little Portugal, San Jose 0297.jpg, S.F. Nova Aliança File:Casa do Benfica - Little Portugal, San Jose, California.jpg, Casa do Benfica File:Portuguese Community Center - Little Portugal, SJ.jpg, Portuguese Community Center File:Sociedade Filarmónica União Popular - Little Portugal, San Jose.jpg, Sociedade Filarmónica União Popular File:Império do Espírito Santo - Little Portugal, San Jose California 0213.jpg, Irmandade do Espírito Santo File:Império_do_Esp%C3%ADrito_Santo_-_Little_Portugal%2C_San_Jose_California_0310.jpg, Império do Espírito Santo File:Aliança Jorgense, Little Portugal San Jose (cropped).jpg, Aliança Jorgense

References

External links

{{Neighborhoods of San Jose Neighborhoods in San Jose, California Portuguese neighborhoods in the United States Ethnic enclaves in California