Alviso, San Jose, California
Encyclopedia
Alviso is a small community in San Jose
, Santa Clara County, California
. It is located approximately 1.5 miles (2.4 km) south of Drawbridge
, at the north end of San José where it meets the southern end of the San Francisco Bay
and borders the nearby city of Milpitas.
The Guadalupe River
and Coyote Creek both end at Alviso, emptying into the Bay through Alviso Slough and Mud Slough. In 1983, Alviso was victim to severe flooding caused by El Niño.
, the son of Corporal Domingo Alviso, one of the original members of the de Anza expedition. Corporal Alviso lived but a short time after reaching San Francisco and was buried March 11, 1777 Alviso's descendants were granted the Rancho Rincon de Los Esteros holding. In 1840, his descendant of the same name, Ignacio Alviso, moved from Mission Santa Clara de Asís
to this 3653 acres (14.8 km²) ranchero. From this port, beaver pelts, cattle hides and tallow went to San Francisco
.
The city of Alviso was incorporated on March 4, 1852, as the boating and shipping port of San José and the transportation hub for the Santa Clara Valley to the San Francisco Bay. Steamboats traveled regularly between San Francisco and Alviso. That usage declined with the growth in railroad transportation between San Francisco
and San José. In 1864 Alviso was bypassed by the San Francisco and San Jose Railroad, (later part of the Southern Pacific Railroad
). However in the 1880s Alviso was a stop on the Newark
line of Southern Pacific Railroad between San José and Oakland.
Alviso was the home to a series of several successful business ventures. Alviso Mills, founded in 1853, at its peak produced up to 300 barrels of flour a day. As wheat production in the San Joaquín Valley grew, production in the Santa Clara Valley waned and the Alviso Mills closed in 1885. In 1906, Sai Yin Chew opened the Bayside Canning Company there, and at its peak was the 3rd largest cannery in the United States. During The Depression Alviso was known for its dance halls and gambling establishments. In the 1960s and 1970s a small independent boat building community developed there.
The city ceased to exist when it was consolidated with the City of San Jose on March 12, 1968, following a 189 to 180 vote in favor of consolidation. The city's final census was in 1960 when it recorded a population of 1,174. The United States Postal Service
still recognizes "Alviso" as the placename for mail sent to the Post Office in the area. Mail is not delivered in Alviso, but must be picked up at the post office.
After the 1970s, Alviso was treated like a socioeconomic backwater of the prospering Silicon Valley
and struggled to restore its former vitality. On October 9, 1973,
9 acres (3.6 ha) were added to the National Register of Historic Places listings in Santa Clara County, California
as site 73000449 under the name Alviso Historic District.The listing cited 11 historic structures and alternative name Embarcadero de Santa Clara, although exact boundaries were not disclosed. The floods of the early 1980s were devastating to Alviso, especially because Alviso is below sea level and is on marshland. Water was as much as 10 feet (3 m) deep in some locations. A number of homes and businesses were destroyed. Some of the picturesque character of the town was lost.
Today, shipping and industry have left Alviso, leaving it mostly as a small residential neighborhood. Digital video recorder company TiVo
is based in the community as well as Foundry Networks
. Many salt evaporation pond
s formerly owned by Cargill
in the neighborhood are being converted to wetlands as part of the Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge
.
.) As of the census
of 2000, there were 2,128 people, 506 households, and 400 families residing in the CDP. There were 514 housing units. The racial makeup of the CDP was 40.8% White, 0.6% African American, 1.1% Native American, 2.7% Asian, 50.5% from other races
, and 4.3% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 75.4% of the population.
Hiking, biking and bird watching are favorite activities in both the park and the refuge, while picnicking and strolling along the manicured pathways can be enjoyed within the County Park. Dogs are allowed in the County Park's pathways and picnic areas, but are not allowed on the trails, levees and boardwalks. While bikes are allowed on all pathways and trails in the park, please walk your bikes on the boardwalks. The launch ramp provides one of the few clear routes in the San Jose area through the salt marshes out to the open waters of the San Francisco Bay.
As of 2004, the Refuge spans 30000 acres (121.4 km²) of open bay, salt pond, salt marsh, mudflat, upland and vernal pool habitats located throughout south San Francisco Bay. Located along the Pacific Flyway, the Refuge hosts over 280 species of birds each year. Millions of shorebirds and waterfowl stop to refuel at the Refuge during the spring and fall migration.
In addition to its seasonal visitors, the Refuge provides critical habitat to resident species like the endangered California clapper rail and salt marsh harvest mouse. Today, hundreds of thousands of people visit the Refuge each year to enjoy its diverse wildlife and habitats.
The Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge is part of a complex made up of six other wildlife refuges in the San Francisco Bay Area. Founded in 1974 and administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, It was renamed Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge in 1995 in recognition of Congressman Don Edwards' efforts to protect sensitive wetlands in south San Francisco Bay.
, and accessible via the Union Pacific Railroad
tracks which run through the remains of Drawbridge.
San Jose, California
San Jose is the third-largest city in California, the tenth-largest in the U.S., and the county seat of Santa Clara County which is located at the southern end of San Francisco Bay...
, Santa Clara County, California
Santa Clara County, California
Santa Clara County is a county located at the southern end of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. As of 2010 it had a population of 1,781,642. The county seat is San Jose. The highly urbanized Santa Clara Valley within Santa Clara County is also known as Silicon Valley...
. It is located approximately 1.5 miles (2.4 km) south of Drawbridge
Drawbridge, California
Drawbridge is a ghost town with an abandoned railroad station located at the southern end of the San Francisco Bay on Station Island, now a part of the city of Fremont, California, United States. It is located on the Union Pacific Railroad south of downtown Fremont, at an elevation of 7 feet...
, at the north end of San José where it meets the southern end of the San Francisco Bay
San Francisco Bay
San Francisco Bay is a shallow, productive estuary through which water draining from approximately forty percent of California, flowing in the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers from the Sierra Nevada mountains, enters the Pacific Ocean...
and borders the nearby city of Milpitas.
The Guadalupe River
Guadalupe River (California)
The Guadalupe River is a short river in California whose headwater creeks originate in the Santa Cruz Mountains near the summit of Loma Prieta and Mount Umunhum. The river mainstem now begins on the Santa Clara Valley floor at the northern end of Lake Almaden, which is fed by Los Alamitos Creek and...
and Coyote Creek both end at Alviso, emptying into the Bay through Alviso Slough and Mud Slough. In 1983, Alviso was victim to severe flooding caused by El Niño.
History
Alviso was first settled in the 18th century. The community was named for Ignacio AlvisoIgnacio Alviso
Juan Ignacio Alviso was an early Spanish settler of what is today the U.S. state of California and grantee of Rancho Rincon de Los Esteros...
, the son of Corporal Domingo Alviso, one of the original members of the de Anza expedition. Corporal Alviso lived but a short time after reaching San Francisco and was buried March 11, 1777 Alviso's descendants were granted the Rancho Rincon de Los Esteros holding. In 1840, his descendant of the same name, Ignacio Alviso, moved from Mission Santa Clara de Asís
Mission Santa Clara de Asís
Mission Santa Clara de Asís was founded on January 12, 1777 and named for Santa Clara de Asis , the foundress of the order of the Poor Clares. Although ruined and rebuilt six times, the settlement was never abandoned.-History:...
to this 3653 acres (14.8 km²) ranchero. From this port, beaver pelts, cattle hides and tallow went to San Francisco
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
.
The city of Alviso was incorporated on March 4, 1852, as the boating and shipping port of San José and the transportation hub for the Santa Clara Valley to the San Francisco Bay. Steamboats traveled regularly between San Francisco and Alviso. That usage declined with the growth in railroad transportation between San Francisco
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
and San José. In 1864 Alviso was bypassed by the San Francisco and San Jose Railroad, (later part of the Southern Pacific Railroad
Southern Pacific Railroad
The Southern Pacific Transportation Company , earlier Southern Pacific Railroad and Southern Pacific Company, and usually simply called the Southern Pacific or Espee, was an American railroad....
). However in the 1880s Alviso was a stop on the Newark
Newark, California
Newark is a city in Alameda County, California, United States. It was incorporated as a city in September 1955. Newark is an enclave, completely surrounded by the city of Fremont. Its population was 42,573 at the 2010 census.-Geography:...
line of Southern Pacific Railroad between San José and Oakland.
Alviso was the home to a series of several successful business ventures. Alviso Mills, founded in 1853, at its peak produced up to 300 barrels of flour a day. As wheat production in the San Joaquín Valley grew, production in the Santa Clara Valley waned and the Alviso Mills closed in 1885. In 1906, Sai Yin Chew opened the Bayside Canning Company there, and at its peak was the 3rd largest cannery in the United States. During The Depression Alviso was known for its dance halls and gambling establishments. In the 1960s and 1970s a small independent boat building community developed there.
The city ceased to exist when it was consolidated with the City of San Jose on March 12, 1968, following a 189 to 180 vote in favor of consolidation. The city's final census was in 1960 when it recorded a population of 1,174. The United States Postal Service
United States Postal Service
The United States Postal Service is an independent agency of the United States government responsible for providing postal service in the United States...
still recognizes "Alviso" as the placename for mail sent to the Post Office in the area. Mail is not delivered in Alviso, but must be picked up at the post office.
After the 1970s, Alviso was treated like a socioeconomic backwater of the prospering Silicon Valley
Silicon Valley
Silicon Valley is a term which refers to the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area in Northern California in the United States. The region is home to many of the world's largest technology corporations...
and struggled to restore its former vitality. On October 9, 1973,
9 acres (3.6 ha) were added to the National Register of Historic Places listings in Santa Clara County, California
National Register of Historic Places listings in Santa Clara County, California
This list includes properties and districts listed on the National Register of Historic Places in Santa Clara County, California. Click the "Map of all coordinates" link to the right to view a Google map of all properties and districts with latitude and longitude coordinates in the table...
as site 73000449 under the name Alviso Historic District.The listing cited 11 historic structures and alternative name Embarcadero de Santa Clara, although exact boundaries were not disclosed. The floods of the early 1980s were devastating to Alviso, especially because Alviso is below sea level and is on marshland. Water was as much as 10 feet (3 m) deep in some locations. A number of homes and businesses were destroyed. Some of the picturesque character of the town was lost.
Today, shipping and industry have left Alviso, leaving it mostly as a small residential neighborhood. Digital video recorder company TiVo
TiVo
TiVo is a digital video recorder developed and marketed by TiVo, Inc. and introduced in 1999. TiVo provides an on-screen guide of scheduled broadcast programming television programs, whose features include "Season Pass" schedules which record every new episode of a series, and "WishList"...
is based in the community as well as Foundry Networks
Foundry Networks
Foundry Networks, Inc. was a networking hardware vendor selling high-end Ethernet switches and routers. The company was founded in 1996 by Bobby R. Johnson, Jr. and was headquartered in Santa Clara, California, USA...
. Many salt evaporation pond
Salt evaporation pond
Salt evaporation ponds, also called salterns or salt pans, are shallow artificial ponds designed to produce salts from sea water or other brines. The seawater or brine is fed into large ponds and water is drawn out through natural evaporation which allows the salt to be subsequently harvested...
s formerly owned by Cargill
Cargill
Cargill, Incorporated is a privately held, multinational corporation based in Minnetonka, Minnesota. Founded in 1865, it is now the largest privately held corporation in the United States in terms of revenue. If it were a public company, it would rank, as of 2011, number 13 on the Fortune 500,...
in the neighborhood are being converted to wetlands as part of the Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge
Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge
Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge is a US National Wildlife Refuge located in the southern part of San Francisco Bay, California. The Refuge headquarters and visitor center is located in the Baylands district of Fremont, next to Coyote Hills Regional Park, in Alameda County. ...
.
| Alviso in 1981 | Alviso in 2007 |
|---|---|
 |
 |
Demographics
The Bureau of the Census provides demographic information for the 95002 Zip Code Tabulation Area, which includes the former City of Alviso. (See map of the 95002 Zip Code Tabulation AreaZIP Code Tabulation Area
ZIP Code Tabulation Areas are statistical entities developed by the United States Census Bureau for tabulating summary statistics from Census 2000. This new entity was developed to overcome the difficulties in precisely defining the land area covered by each ZIP code...
.) As of the census
Census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
of 2000, there were 2,128 people, 506 households, and 400 families residing in the CDP. There were 514 housing units. The racial makeup of the CDP was 40.8% White, 0.6% African American, 1.1% Native American, 2.7% Asian, 50.5% from other races
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, and 4.3% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 75.4% of the population.
Day on the Bay
On October 16, 2010, Alviso celebrated the opening of the newly renovated marina with their first annual muliticultural festival called "Day on the Bay". About 5,000 people were in attendance from all around the county. Activities included kayaking on the water and watching the entertainment on two stages, as well as fun activities for the children. The goals of the event were not limited to promoting the new city attraction but also to attract a diverse crowd to the outdoor recreational setting. The event also gave the Alviso community the opportunity to shed its reputation of being just another "poor area with the dump and the sewage plant." With the popularity of the festival, Santa Clara County Supervisor Dave Cortese said he believes the event will be back again next October.Alviso Marina County Park
This 18.9 acres (76,485.7 m²) bayside park, though small in size, offers a great deal of activities within its boundaries and on into the Wildlife Refuge. A light dredging of the channel, a new boat ramp, two piers and parking lot were completed in time for the start of summer this year, giving boaters access to the bay again after a quarter of a century. Both the pathways and boardwalks of the County Park and trails around the ponds in the adjacent Wildlife Refuge offer fantastic views of the mountains surrounding the bay, and of the wildlife that call these ponds home.Hiking, biking and bird watching are favorite activities in both the park and the refuge, while picnicking and strolling along the manicured pathways can be enjoyed within the County Park. Dogs are allowed in the County Park's pathways and picnic areas, but are not allowed on the trails, levees and boardwalks. While bikes are allowed on all pathways and trails in the park, please walk your bikes on the boardwalks. The launch ramp provides one of the few clear routes in the San Jose area through the salt marshes out to the open waters of the San Francisco Bay.
Don Edwards Wildlife Refuge
Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge, the first urban National Wildlife Refuge established in the United States, is dedicated to preserving and enhancing wildlife habitat, protecting migratory birds, protecting threatened and endangered species, and providing opportunities for wildlife-oriented recreation and nature study for the surrounding communities.As of 2004, the Refuge spans 30000 acres (121.4 km²) of open bay, salt pond, salt marsh, mudflat, upland and vernal pool habitats located throughout south San Francisco Bay. Located along the Pacific Flyway, the Refuge hosts over 280 species of birds each year. Millions of shorebirds and waterfowl stop to refuel at the Refuge during the spring and fall migration.
In addition to its seasonal visitors, the Refuge provides critical habitat to resident species like the endangered California clapper rail and salt marsh harvest mouse. Today, hundreds of thousands of people visit the Refuge each year to enjoy its diverse wildlife and habitats.
The Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge is part of a complex made up of six other wildlife refuges in the San Francisco Bay Area. Founded in 1974 and administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, It was renamed Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge in 1995 in recognition of Congressman Don Edwards' efforts to protect sensitive wetlands in south San Francisco Bay.
Drawbridge Ghost Town
Alviso has a ghost town which is named Drawbridge. Hunters and fisherman came to the island by train in the 1870s, and many never left. By the 1920s, the autonomous population had grown to more than 400. Of course, since there were no police or no government on the island, it supposedly became a haven for bootleggers, gamblers and whorehouses, but this has been disputed. And they had to fend for themselves, as there was no electricity or plumbing. But the community gradually faded away, as pollution and urbanization from the burgeoning valley destroyed the hunting and fishing industries. Several buildings are visible in the ghost town, though it is steadily sinking into the marshlands. Though there are no roads which lead to the town, it is visible from the side of Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife RefugeDon Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge
Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge is a US National Wildlife Refuge located in the southern part of San Francisco Bay, California. The Refuge headquarters and visitor center is located in the Baylands district of Fremont, next to Coyote Hills Regional Park, in Alameda County. ...
, and accessible via the Union Pacific Railroad
Union Pacific Railroad
The Union Pacific Railroad , headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, is the largest railroad network in the United States. James R. Young is president, CEO and Chairman....
tracks which run through the remains of Drawbridge.