Self-Guided Tour of San Jose, California
As a kid growing up in central California, downtown San Jose was a place to avoid. Several years ago, Mayor Tom McHenry initiated a downtown revitalization project that has resulted in a wonderfully new or renovated neighborhood. San Jose is the largest of the cities in the Bay Area named after its sometimes north San Francisco rival. San Jose has a larger number of people and a much larger land area than San Francisco.
One of the most recent additions to the city center is the new town hall with a transparent dome that invokes an image of transparency in government like that (on a smaller scale) of the Reichstag in Berlin.
Many visitors to downtown start out as visitors to a convention at the San Jose Convention Center named after former Mayor Tom McHenry. This state-of-the-art facility helps attract visitors to the downtown neighborhood.
The HP Pavilion also gave locals and visitors a reason to return to the city center. The HP Pavilion is located just across Highway 87 from the rest of downtown, but it’s an easy walk from one to the other. In addition to being the home of the San Jose Sharks, the Pavilion is also a popular concert venue.
You don’t have to be a hockey fan to enjoy the energy of teal-clad San Jose Shark fans. In preparation for a Sharks game, practice this move. Place both arms straight out in front of you, one on top of the other, palms facing each other. Spread your arms apart and together and you’re ready to “bite” the other team.
Another popular sports team is the San Francisco Giants’ only A farm team, the San Jose Giants who play at the municipal stadium just south of downtown. If you haven’t had a chance to see a minor league baseball game, imagine the movie “Bull Durham” with billboards from local businesses on the fence. This being Silicon Valley, some of these local businesses are advertising databases rather than steaks. Check out the kids racing the mascot around the bases or the contestants trying to blow out the headlights of a truck with a fastball to win a prize.
Since San José has 300 sunny days a year, a great place to eat is at a side cafe on Plaza San Pedro, but there are plenty of other restaurants downtown as well. For an inexpensive meal, try a burrito at La Victoria or a brochette at Askew. For a fancier meal, one of my favorite classic local restaurants is Paulos.
A great interactive museum for young children is the Children’s Discovery Museum on Woz Way (named for Apple founder and big boy Steve Wozniak). Older kids and adults will also enjoy the Tech museum downtown, which celebrates the science and innovation that created the wonder that is Silicon Valley. The Tech also has an IMAX theater.
My favorite place for live theater downtown is the San Jose Rep, which puts on around 6 plays a year in a spectacularly intimate theater. There are no bad seats at the Rep. If comedy is more your thing, check out Comedy Sports’ comedic style.
The downtown neighborhood can be reached by car or by CalTrain, Amtrack, and bus.