Mayfair is a neighborhood of

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 in the Alum Rock district of

East San Jose East Side San Jose (abbreviated as ESSJ), commonly called The East Side and less commonly as the East Valley, is the eastern region of the city of San Jose, California. The East Side is made up of numerous neighborhoods grouped into two larger ...

. It is one of San Jose's most historic

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 ...

districts and noted for being a center of the

Chicano Movement The Chicano Movement, also referred to as El Movimiento (Spanish for "the Movement"), was a civil rights movements, social and political movement in the United States that worked to embrace a Chicano, Chicano identity and worldview that combated ...

and grassroots activists such as Californian civil rights leader

César Chávez Cesario Estrada Chavez (; ; March 31, 1927 – April 23, 1993) was an American labor leader and civil rights activist. Along with Dolores Huerta and lesser known Gilbert Padilla, he co-founded the National Farm Workers Association (NFWA), ...

History

Mayfair has been a working-class,

neighborhood since its foundation in the early 1900s.Somos Mayfair: About Mayfair
/ref> Mayfair is best known for its historical association with Californian civil rights activist

, who lived in the neighborhood in the 1950s and began his career as a grassroots activist at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church in Mayfair.Visit San José - Neighborhoods: Mayfair
/ref> In the 1960s and 70's, Mayfair became a hub of the

and continues to serve as a center of

Chicano art The Chicano Art Movement represents groundbreaking movements by Mexican-American artists to establish a unique artistic identity in the United States. Much of the art and the artists creating Chicano Art were heavily influenced by Chicano Movement ...

and culture. In 2008, the ''Garden of Strength'' art installation, by artist Fernanda D'Agostino, was installed at the Mayfair Community Center. Divided into three individual art pieces, called ''Bienvenidos'', ''Garden of Life'', and ''The Three Sisters, the art installation was inspired by the diversity and the rich cultural history of the Mayfair area and by the spirit of growth embodied in the Mayfair Community Garden adjacent to the site.

Geography

Mayfair is located within

. It is east of Little Portugal, which it borders at King Road. The

Sinclair Freeway The Sinclair Freeway refers to portions of two contiguous stretches of freeway in California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Orego ...

(CA-680) forms Mayfair's eastern and southern border, separating it from the King & Story neighborhood to the south and from the Alum Rock district to the east.

Culture

Mayfair is an important center for

and Chicano/Mexican-American culture. It hosts the

Mexican Heritage Plaza The Mexican Heritage Plaza - Centro Cultural de San José is a Chicano/Mexican-American cultural center in San Jose, California, located in the Mayfair neighborhood of East San Jose. History Mexican Heritage Plaza opened in 1999. It is operated ...

, a notable cultural center and school of Chicano/Mexican arts. The neighborhood hosts the ''Mayferia'' (

portmanteau In linguistics, a blend—also known as a blend word, lexical blend, or portmanteau—is a word formed by combining the meanings, and parts of the sounds, of two or more words together.

of "Mayfair" and "feria", Spanish for fair), a celebration of the community and greater

's Chicano/Mexican heritage.

Education

Mayfair is served by the Alum Rock Union School District, which operates: * César Chávez Elementary School * San Antonio Elementary School

Parks and plazas

* Rancho del Pueblo Municipal Golf Course *Mayfair Park *Mayfair Community Gardens *Parque de la Amistad *Mayfair Skatepark *Zolezzi Park *

Landmarks

*The César Chávez Memorial Walkway is a 5-mile long walking path stretching from

Plaza de César Chávez The Plaza de César Chávez is an urban plaza and park in Downtown San Jose, California. The plaza's origins date to 1797 as the ''plaza mayor'' of the Alta California, Spanish ''Pueblo de San José de Guadalupe'', making it the oldest public sp ...

in Downtown passes through

Paseo de César Chávez The Paseo de César Chávez is a Pedestrian zone, pedestrian paseo in Downtown San Jose, spanning across San Jose State University's campus. History Paseo de César Chávez was developed from 1994–1996 by San Jose State University, along w ...

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 ...

and onwards to five sites located in Mayfair:Visit San José - César Chávez Memorial Walkway
/ref> **

**Mayfair Community Center ** César Chávez Elementary School ** Our Lady of Guadalupe Church ** Chávez Family Home

Gallery

File:Shops in Mayfair, East San Jose 1129.jpg, Shops along Alum Rock Ave. File:Townhomes on San Antonio in Mayfair, San Jose (cropped).jpg, Townhomes on San Antonio St. File:César Chávez Elementary School (San Jose, California) 1168 (cropped).jpg, César Chávez Elementary School File:Eastside Center of the Catholic Charities of Santa Clara Valley (cropped).jpg, Eastside Neighborhood Center of the Diocese of San Jose charities File:San Antonio Elementary School 1116 (cropped).jpg, San Antonio Elementary School File:Iglesia Universal del Reino de Dios (Mayfair, SJ) (cropped).jpg, Iglesia Universal del Reino de Dios

References

External links

Somos Mayfair
{{neighborhoods of San Jose Neighborhoods in San Jose, California Chicano and Mexican neighborhoods in California