History Park San Jose
Introduction
Text-to-speech Audio
Images
The Empire Fire Station at History Park with fire engine during the Antique Auto Event (image from San Jose in 2018)
Blacksmith Shop at History Park (image from YouTube)
Antique Auto Event (image from NorCalCars.com)
Southern Pacific Railroad Steam Locomotive #1215 at History Park (image from History San Jose)
Dashaway Stables (image from History San Jose)
Hill House Museum (image from History San Jose)
Portuguese Historical Museum at the Imperio, History Park (image from History San Jose)
Backstory and Context
Text-to-speech Audio
Located within Kelley Park, the fourteen-acre History Park is dedicated to Santa Clara Valley's history. The town-like park features 32 historical and reproduction houses, businesses, and landmarks, and includes trolley service, the Arbuckle and the David McKay Galleries, the Pacific Hotel, and an ice cream parlor, café, and candy shop. The buildings of History Park San Jose are home to art, cultural, and historic exhibits and a number of diverse partner museums, including the Museum of the Boat People and Republic of Vietnam, the Victorian Preservation Association's Hill House Museum, the Poetry Center San Jose, a Print Shop, the Chinese American Historical Museum at the Ng Shing Gung, the Portuguese Historical Museum, the African American Heritage House, the Hellenic Heritage Institution's De Luz House, the Santa Ana One-Room Schoolhouse, California Trolley & Railroad Corporation's Trolley Barn, a California Pioneers house, and the Rotary Club of San Jose's Gordon House. In addition, the park features a historic service station, Blacksmith shop, post office, stable, firehouse, fruit barn, doctor's office, and migrant worker houses, as well as a historic light tower, bandstand, steam tractor and steam locomotive, and a caboose and boxcar [1].
The park is run by History San Jose (HSJ), which was founded as the San Jose Historical Museum by Clyde Arbuckle and Theron Fox, both active members of the California Pioneers of Santa Clara Valley. Arbuckle became San Jose's City Historian in 1945 and became curator of the State House Replica and history exhibit four years later, while Fox served as president of the Historic Landmarks Commission during the 1960s, receiving an American Association for State and Local History award on Arbuckle's nomination. The present-day History San Jose organization now manages History Park, the Peralta Adobe-Fallon House Historic Site, and the Collection Center Research Library and Archives (the largest collection of regional artifacts in the state of California). HSJ offers school programs at History Park and the Peralta Adobe-Fallon House, cell phone audio tours, online exhibits, and festivals including El Dia de Portugal, Kwanzaa, Heritage Holidays, and an antique auto event [1].