Spartan Keyes is a neighborhood of central

San Jose, California San Jose, officially the City of San José ( ; ), is a cultural, commercial, and political center within Silicon Valley and the San Francisco Bay Area. With a city population of 997,368 and a metropolitan area population of 1.95 million, it is ...

, located just south of

Downtown San Jose Downtown San Jose is the central business district of San Jose, California, San Jose, California, United States. Downtown is one of the largest tech Business cluster, clusters in Silicon Valley, as well as the cultural and political center of Sa ...

. Spartan Keyes is home to a notable community of artists, art studios, and galleries. The neighborhood is home to the south campus of

San Jose State University San José State University (San Jose State or SJSU) is a Public university, public research university in San Jose, California. Established in 1857, SJSU is the List of oldest schools in California, oldest public university on the West Coast of ...

and is one of central San Jose's historic neighborhoods, made up of late 19th and early 20th century architecture.

History

The neighborhood is made up of late 19th and early 20th century residences, former canneries and warehouses, and other noteworthy historic structures. The neighborhood is predominantly

Chicano Chicano (masculine form) or Chicana (feminine form) is an ethnic identity for Mexican Americans that emerged from the Chicano Movement. In the 1960s, ''Chicano'' was widely reclaimed among Hispanics in the building of a movement toward politic ...

Mexican-American Mexican Americans are Americans of full or partial Mexican descent. In 2022, Mexican Americans comprised 11.2% of the US population and 58.9% of all Hispanic and Latino Americans. In 2019, 71% of Mexican Americans were born in the United State ...

. Rail tracks were laid through the district in the late 1860s and the area came to house numerous canneries and processing companies supporting the

Santa Clara Valley The Santa Clara Valley (Spanish language, Spanish: ''Valle de Santa Clara'') is a geologic trough in Northern California that extends south–southeast from San Francisco to Hollister, California, Hollister. The longitudinal valley is bordered ...

's burgeoning agricultural industry at the time. Local landmarks including the former

American Can Company The American Can Company was a manufacturer of tin cans. It was a member of the Tin Can Trust, that controlled a "large percentage of business in the United States in tin cans, containers, and packages of tin." American Can Company ranked 97th amo ...

factory and the JTR Distributors warehouses were built to support these industries. The Old Home of Benevolence, at the corner of 11th and Martha, was built by the Ladies' Benevolent Society in a

Spanish Colonial Revival architecture The Spanish Colonial Revival architecture (), often known simply as Spanish Revival, is a term used to encompass a number of revivalist architectural styles based in both Spanish colonial architecture and Spanish architecture in general. Thes ...

in 1924.

Geography

Spartan Keyes is located south of

and east of Washington-Guadalupe. The neighborhood's eastern border is made up of Coyote Creek and

Kelley Park Kelley Park is a city park in San Jose, California, United States. Location and facilities Kelley Park is bounded by Story Road (on the northwest), Senter Road (on the southwest), Roberts Street (on the northeast), and Yerba Buena High School a ...

Arts

The area is notably home to a community of artists, art studios, and galleries. Many former warehouses and factories have been converted into art studios and galleries, such as Citadel Art Studios and Art Ark. The

San José State University San José State University (San Jose State or SJSU) is a public research university in San Jose, California. Established in 1857, SJSU is the oldest public university on the West Coast and the founding campus of the California State Universit ...

Foundry and its art program are also located in the area.

Landmarks

CEFCU Stadium CEFCU ('sef-kyü) Stadium, formerly known as Spartan Stadium, is an outdoor athletic stadium on the west coast of the United States, located in the Spartan Keyes neighborhood of central San Jose, California. Owned by San José State Universi ...

, home of the

San José State Spartans The San Jose State Spartans are the college athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent San Jose State University, San José State University. SJSU sports teams compete in the Mountain West Conference at the NCAA ...

*Bestor Art Park *Old Home of Benevolence

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is an American daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1847, it was formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper", a slogan from which its once integrated WGN (AM), WGN radio and ...

Orphanage is Converted to Homes
/ref> *Old American Can Company Factory * Santa Clara County Fairgrounds

References

External links

Neighborhoods in San Jose, California Chicano and Mexican neighborhoods in California {{SanJoseCA-stub