History Park at Kelley Park
Encyclopedia
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...
, USA
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
is designed as an indoor/outdoor museum
Museum
A museum is an institution that cares for a collection of artifacts and other objects of scientific, artistic, cultural, or historical importance and makes them available for public viewing through exhibits that may be permanent or temporary. Most large museums are located in major cities...
, arranged to appear as a small US town might have in the early 1900s. Since its inauguration in 1971, 29 historic buildings and other landmarks have either been moved from their original San Jose locations or are represented by replicas.
Exhibits
Period exhibits include a doctorPhysician
A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
's office, a dentist
Dentistry
Dentistry is the branch of medicine that is involved in the study, diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of diseases, disorders and conditions of the oral cavity, maxillofacial area and the adjacent and associated structures and their impact on the human body. Dentistry is widely considered...
's office (complete with an old foot-pedal-powered drill), fruit
Fruit
In broad terms, a fruit is a structure of a plant that contains its seeds.The term has different meanings dependent on context. In non-technical usage, such as food preparation, fruit normally means the fleshy seed-associated structures of certain plants that are sweet and edible in the raw state,...
barn, blacksmith
Blacksmith
A blacksmith is a person who creates objects from wrought iron or steel by forging the metal; that is, by using tools to hammer, bend, and cut...
shed, a livery stable (US terminology for a business that rented out horse-drawn carriages), a working print
Printing
Printing is a process for reproducing text and image, typically with ink on paper using a printing press. It is often carried out as a large-scale industrial process, and is an essential part of publishing and transaction printing....
shop, a gas station
Filling station
A filling station, also known as a fueling station, garage, gasbar , gas station , petrol bunk , petrol pump , petrol garage, petrol kiosk , petrol station "'servo"' in Australia or service station, is a facility which sells fuel and lubricants...
, the Pacific Hotel, the Empire Fire House, the Bank of Italy (precursor to the Bank of America
Bank of America
Bank of America Corporation, an American multinational banking and financial services corporation, is the second largest bank holding company in the United States by assets, and the fourth largest bank in the U.S. by market capitalization. The bank is headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina...
), a one-room schoolhouse
One-room school
One-room schools were commonplace throughout rural portions of various countries including the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, United Kingdom, Ireland and Spain in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. In most rural and small town schools, all of the students met in a single room...
, a post office
Post office
A post office is a facility forming part of a postal system for the posting, receipt, sorting, handling, transmission or delivery of mail.Post offices offer mail-related services such as post office boxes, postage and packaging supplies...
and a number of houses of early Santa Clara Valley
Santa Clara Valley
The Santa Clara Valley is a valley just south of the San Francisco Bay in Northern California in the United States. Much of Santa Clara County and its county seat, San José, are in the Santa Clara Valley. The valley was originally known as the Valley of Heart’s Delight for its high concentration...
settlers. The fruit barn not only has many farm implements and devices from the period, but also displays hundreds of photographs documenting the area's development.
Other attractions include:
- A 115-foot scale replica of the San Jose Electric Light Tower that used to tower 237 feet over downtown San Jose
- Portuguese Historical MuseumPortuguese Historical MuseumThe Portuguese Historical Museum in San Jose, California, USA opened in 1997, and is a replica of the first permanent império built in San Jose circa 1915...
- Viet MuseumViet MuseumThe Viet Museum is a museum focusing on the experience of Vietnamese Americans and their journey from Vietnam to the United States. It is located in the historical Kelley Park in San Jose, California, United States and was opened on August 25, 2007....
- Ng Shing Gung, a former Chinatown religious and community center that is now a museum of local Chinese-American history
- Paulson House, an 1890s Queen Anne-style residence with local history exhibits from the California Pioneers of Santa Clara County
- Hellenic Heritage Museum, a museum of Greek heritage, operated by the Hellenic Heritage Institute
- The California Trolley and Railroad CorporationCalifornia Trolley and Railroad CorporationEstablished in 1982, the California Trolley and Railroad Corporation is a 501 non-profit organization with a mission to preserve and reflect the rich legacy of rail transportation in the Santa Clara Valley for the educational and recreational benefit of current and future generations.Among the...
houses restored antique trolleys, both horse-drawn and electricElectricityElectricity is a general term encompassing a variety of phenomena resulting from the presence and flow of electric charge. These include many easily recognizable phenomena, such as lightning, static electricity, and the flow of electrical current in an electrical wire...
, and automobileAutomobileAn automobile, autocar, motor car or car is a wheeled motor vehicle used for transporting passengers, which also carries its own engine or motor...
s, both gasoline and batteryBattery (electricity)An electrical battery is one or more electrochemical cells that convert stored chemical energy into electrical energy. Since the invention of the first battery in 1800 by Alessandro Volta and especially since the technically improved Daniell cell in 1836, batteries have become a common power...
powered, along with other antique trolleys and cars awaiting restoration. - The Leonard and David McKay Gallery, opened on March 13, 2005, contains a collection of paintingPaintingPainting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...
s of people, buildings, and landscapes from in and around San Jose.
Weekdays, tours are offered by paid staff, often for local students on class field trips. On weekends, selected exhibit buildings are staffed on a rotating schedule by volunteers, who also operate a vintage trolley
Tram
A tram is a passenger rail vehicle which runs on tracks along public urban streets and also sometimes on separate rights of way. It may also run between cities and/or towns , and/or partially grade separated even in the cities...
over the length of the park, including under the Light Tower replica.
External links
- List of vehicles in the Trolley Barn (click on the "antique vehicles" link near the bottom of the page)
- Map of History Park
- Hellenic Heritage Institute
- Chinese Historical & Cultural Project
- California Trolley & Railroad Corporation
- California Pioneers of Santa Clara Valley
- Portraits of the Past (historical fashion shows)