San Jose--in the shadow of its famous neighbor, San Francisco

A trip last year to Northern California began with a stop in San Jose.  LOTS to see in San Jose—much more than I would have imagined! 

Ever heard of Winchester rifles?  Of course, right?  The Winchester House is a California Registered Historical Landmark which was built by Sarah Winchester, widow of rifle manufacturer William Winchester.  This unique Victorian structure was constructed beginning in 1884 and continued without interruption until Mrs. Winchester’s death in 1922.  The continual building and remodeling efforts created a 160-room house covering an area of six acres.  The grounds and gardens have been carefully restored to the time when Mrs. Winchester had a full-time staff of eight gardeners.

Adjacent to the Winchester House was another not-so-obvious piece of history…albeit from nearly a century later…  Built in 1964, and closed nearly 50 years later in 2014, the Century 21 theater was granted historic status by the San Jose City Council.  Of the three dome-style theaters, the Century 21 is the oldest and the most intact.  The San Jose Century 21 was opened with the intention of using the 3-strip Cinerama process; but it actually only showed 70mm. The screen was later replaced with a flat model, but has remained intact as a wonderful throwback to the domed Cinerama palaces of the 1960’s.  The domed buildings are still visible, but were not accessible (and didn’t photograph well given our path to the Winchester House…)—so the sign will have to do!

Next stop was to visit the Japanese Friendship Garden.  The Garden was built as a symbol of everlasting friendship between the City of San Jose and its Sister City of Okayama, Japan in 1965 and is patterned after the world famous Korakuen Garden in Okayama. The gardens are beautiful, with water features, plants and gardens, lawn and picnic areas, and venues for special event ceremonies.  There was even a Green heron perched in one of the pools…

Not done yet…next up was right around the corner in Kelley Park, a 156-acre city park in San Jose.  It not only encompasses the Japanese Friendship Garden, but the Happy Hollow Park & Zoo and, the History Park of San Jose, which was really quite fascinating and picturesque!  History Park highlights Santa Clara Valley’s past. Complete with paved streets, running trolleys (except when we were there!) and a café.  This 14-acre site has the charm and ambiance of times gone by.

And to cap off the visit--a visit to the Municipal Rose Garden.  Rolling green lawns and colorful blooms of more than 3,500 plantings and 189 varieties highlight the 5 1/2–acre Municipal Rose Garden.  A one-time prune orchard, today is one of the most attractive gardens of its kind in the world, drawing thousands of visitors each year. San José's Municipal Rose Garden is also home to newly hybridized rose and new rose varieties. In fact, the All-American Rose Selections, a national independent rating organization sends the new varieties to the Garden for testing before release to the general public. The roses are tested in areas like health, amount of blooms, color, form and unique qualities of bloom, before being accepted as a new variety and released to the public.

The Garden has a natural grass stage surrounded by a cathedral of redwood trees and a view of the roses and was championed by early members of the Santa Clara County Rose Society.  In 1927, the San José City Council voted to set aside 5 1/2 acres of an 11–acre tract of land to the Rose Society which pledged to provide roses for the Garden. In 1937, the Rose Garden was officially dedicated.

In summary, San Jose is definitely worth your time to visit.  It's no wonder that it has a modern international airport within its borders.  This is a happening place!