Art hanging in the San José Museum of Art lobby. This work is called Noisey Blushes by artist Pae White (https://paewhite.com).
Moving and looking from different angles changes the art.
San José Museum of Art Lobby
History Park San Jose
History Park is like a little part of a town with sidewalks and buildings that have been moved to the location for preservation. Inside the various buildings, including an original post office, one room school house, hotel, fire station, numerous houses, and more, are various exhibits and museums within the park.
Here is the one room school house. Volunteers are in the open buildings to explain and tell about the history within.
Fruit boxes from our agricultural days.
This sculpture by artist Ramon Franco honors San Jose’s 1975 mayor, Janet Gray Hayes, who along with numerous other accomplishments became the first mayor in the United States of America of any large city with more than 500,000 residents.
Looking up at the 1/2 scale model of the 1821 light tower that had been designed to bring electric light to many in downtown San Jose by shining brightly from a central location.
You can still ride the historical San Jose electric trolleys.
And the current home of the dancing pig sign, a local icon for many. The sign was moved from its original location where construction will be taking place.
CAN DO! Sculpture of Rosie the Riveter
“CAN DO!” sculpture by Seward Johnson (https://sewardjohnsonatelier.org/) in San Jose’s History Park.
MACLA Museum
MACLA means Movimiento de Arte y Cultura Latino Americana. Here are a few works that stood out for me on a recent visit.
You can visit MACLA at 510 South 1st Street, San Jose CA
maclaarte.org
San Jose Museum of Quilts & Textiles
This is a wonderful place to see new things. The art on display changes regularly, so it is good to go back for new thoughts.
Here is some of what stood out for me on a recent visit.
You can visit the San Jose Museum of Quilts & Textiles, 520 S. First Street, San Jose, Ca 95113
www.sjquiltmuseum.org
Pacific Grove
Inside the Pacific Grove Natural History Museum, one of the many interesting things to look at is this well aged donated collection of carefully labeled sand from around the world. There is a list with the location of sand origin and the corresponding label number.
There are a lot of sand samples that this collector had gathered.
Sandy, the gray whale, was celebrating a birthday during our visit. Sandy was used for years as an educational model that could be disassembled and reassembled to spread knowledge. Today, Sandy rests permanently assembled to greet visitors of the museum.
Chabot Space and Science Center in Oakland
Lights in The Tech Museum
Fallon House
Touring the Fallon House, the biggest house in San Jose when built in 1855. It was the home of Thomas Fallon, prominent resident and a mayor of San Jose. You can learn more about it and sign up for tours at HistorySanJose.org.
Peralta Adobe
The oldest building in San Jose today is known as the Peralta Adobe. It was built in 1797 by Manuel Gonzalez, an Apache native who came to the area as part of the Anza Expedition, helped found San Jose, and became the second Alcalde, the equivalent of mayor of San Jose. Luís María Peralta, whom the house is now named after, purchased the house after Gonzalez’s death. He too had arrived with the Anza Expedition and became a leader in the pueblo as the Comisionado, something like the sheriff of San Jose. Peralta also lived in the adobe until his death. Today you can see the adobe right in San Pedro Square while you enjoy a meal. You can go to HistorySanJose.org to sign up for a tour and to learn more about the building.
