California (San Francisco Area)
San Jose

Burt Bacharach could easily find his way to SAN JOSE today – heading south from San Francisco, it’s about an hour’s drive (on those rare occasions when traffic is actually fluid) into the heart of the heat and smog that collects below the bay. The fastest growing city in California is not strong on sights – though in area and population it’s already close to twice the size of San Francisco and growing fast.

California's first civilian community was founded in 1777 to grow food for the Spanish military presidios of Monterey and San Francisco. From 1849 to 1851 the city served as the state capital. Utterly transformed during the past 30 years, San Jose produces not crops but computer chips, for Silicon Valley. 

San Jose’s highest priority is the development of a culture outside the engineering lab, a project it’s undertaking with the same sort of zeal as it brings to computing, with new museums, shopping centers, restaurants, clubs, and performing arts companies mushrooming throughout the compact downtown area. Granted, San Jose’s nightlife and culture is no match for San Francisco’s, and residents head north for weekends on the town; still, there are enough pleasant nooks in San Jose to fill the downtime of a business trip, including a few cultural gems that draw tourists from the surrounding area in increasing numbers.

Sitting at the southern end of the peninsula, San Jose has emerged as the civic heart of Silicon Valley, spurred by the growth of local behemoths Apple, Intel, and Hewlett Packard and surrounded by miles of faceless high-tech industrial parks where the next generations of computers are designed and crafted. Though it’s seen now by some as the city of the future, San Jose’s 1777 founding makes it one of the oldest settlements – and the oldest city – in California, and for centuries was little more than a sleepy agricultural community of prune farms.

Perhaps the best thing about San Jose today is that the coast is just 45 minutes away, west on Hwy-17, over the mountains residents call “The Hill.” It’s a wild drive, and worth it, if only to escape the heat of the valley, where summer temperatures hang around 100°F, but are a cool 70°F along the coast.

Two reminders of early days are the 1797 Peralta Adobe (175 W. St. John St. 408-993-8182. Closed Mon.), last remnant of the city's Spanish colonial settlement; and the adjacent Fallon House (408-993-8182. Closed Mon.), a Victorian mansion with furnishings of the pre-Civil War period. (Convention & Visitors Bureau, 150 W. San Carlos St. 408-977-0900) 

San Jose Historical Museum (Kelley Park, 1600 Senter Rd. 408-287-2290. Adm. fee) This 25-acre complex evokes early San Jose through original and reconstructed buildings, including Victorian-furnished houses, an 1888 Chinese temple, and the Bank of Italy (forerunner of the Bank of America). The Pacific Hotel has exhibits on local history and communications.

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