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The Plaza de César Chávez is an urban
The Plaza was established when San Jose moved from its original location on the bank of the Guadalupe River to the current downtown location in 1797 and has been in use ever since, making it the oldest public open space in California.
The present-day park was the site of California's capitol from 1849 to 1851, a period during which the California Republic gained American statehood; hence, the site contained California's first state capitol. From 1889 to 1958, San Jose's city hall occupied the center of the park before the local government moved it northward to North First and Mission Streets. Today, San José City Hall is located nearby on Santa Clara Street.
The Fairmont San Jose's main tower was built in 1997, while its annex tower was completed in 2002.
plaza
A town square (or square, plaza, public square, city square, urban square, or ''piazza'') is an open public space, commonly found in the heart of a traditional town but not necessarily a true geometric square, used for community gatherings. ...
and park in Downtown San Jose
Downtown San Jose is the central business district of San Jose, California. Downtown is one of the largest tech clusters in Silicon Valley, as well as the cultural and political center of San Jose.
History
The town was first settled in 1777. T ...
, California
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
. The plaza's origins date to 1797 as the '' plaza mayor'' of the Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries
**Spanish cuisine
Other places
* Spanish, Ontario, Can ...
''Pueblo
In the Southwestern United States, Pueblo (capitalized) refers to the Native tribes of Puebloans having fixed-location communities with permanent buildings which also are called pueblos (lowercased). The Spanish explorers of northern New Spain ...
de San José de Guadalupe'', making it the oldest public space
A public space is a place that is open and accessible to the general public. Roads (including the pavement), public squares, parks, and beaches are typically considered public space. To a limited extent, government buildings which are open to ...
in Northern California. The plaza was reconsecrated after Californian civil rights
Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and political life o ...
activist César Chávez
Cesar Chavez (born Cesario Estrada Chavez ; ; March 31, 1927 – April 23, 1993) was an American labor leader and civil rights activist. Along with Dolores Huerta, he co-founded the National Farm Workers Association (NFWA), which later merg ...
in 1993.
The Plaza de César Chávez is one of San Jose's primary civic spaces and the historic center of Downtown San Jose. It is bounded by numerous San Jose institutions and landmarks, including The Tech Museum of Innovation
The Tech Interactive (formerly The Tech Museum of Innovation, commonly known as The Tech) is a science and technology center that offers hands-on activities, labs, design challenges and other STEAM education resources. It is located in downtown Sa ...
, the San Jose Museum of Art
The San José Museum of Art (SJMA) is a modern and contemporary art museum in downtown San Jose, California, United States. Founded in 1969, the museum holds a permanent collection with an emphasis on West Coast artists of the 20th and 21st centur ...
, City National Civic, and Circle of Palms Plaza. The plaza hosts numerous notable events, including the San Jose Jazz Festival
The San José Jazz Summer Fest (originally known as the San Jose Jazz Festival) is an annual music festival organized by non-profit San Jose Jazz and held in downtown San Jose, California. The festival was established in 1990. The festival beg ...
, Music in the Park and Christmas in the Park.
History
The Plaza was established when San Jose moved from its original location on the bank of the Guadalupe River to the current downtown location in 1797 and has been in use ever since, making it the oldest public open space in California.
The present-day park was the site of California's capitol from 1849 to 1851, a period during which the California Republic gained American statehood; hence, the site contained California's first state capitol. From 1889 to 1958, San Jose's city hall occupied the center of the park before the local government moved it northward to North First and Mission Streets. Today, San José City Hall is located nearby on Santa Clara Street.
The Fairmont San Jose's main tower was built in 1997, while its annex tower was completed in 2002.
Culture
At different times of the year it hosts livemusic
Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspe ...
, cultural festival
A festival is an event ordinarily celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect or aspects of that community and its religion or cultures. It is often marked as a local or national holiday, mela, or eid. A festival ...
s, arts and crafts fairs, food shows, the official city Christmas tree, water fountain
A fountain, from the Latin "fons" (genitive "fontis"), meaning source or spring, is a decorative reservoir used for discharging water. It is also a structure that jets water into the air for a decorative or dramatic effect.
Fountains were ori ...
s, and open-air theater
Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...
.
The Music in the Park concert series has been held in the park since 1988, except during the 2020 pandemic and in 2011 and 2012, when security issues forced the organizer of the formerly free series to take a break and return as a ticketed event.
The San Jose Jazz Summer Fest has its main stage in the park.
Since 2015, Silicon Valley Pride has been held in the vicinity of the plaza, which had hosted the event in the 1980s as well.
Every winter from Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving is a national holiday celebrated on various dates in the United States, Canada, Grenada, Saint Lucia, Liberia, and unofficially in countries like Brazil and Philippines. It is also observed in the Netherlander town of Leiden ...
until New Year's it hosts the '' Christmas in the Park''.
At the south end of the plaza is the statue of Quetzalcóatl
Quetzalcoatl (, ; Spanish: ''Quetzalcóatl'' ; nci-IPA, Quetzalcōātl, ket͡saɬˈkoːaːt͡ɬ (Modern Nahuatl pronunciation), in honorific form: ''Quetzalcōātzin'') is a deity in Aztec culture and literature whose name comes from the N ...
by Robert Graham.
References
External links
* Squares and plazas in San Jose Parks in San Jose, California History of San Jose, California {{SanJoseCA-stub