SAN JOSE, California
One of the fastest-developing
cities in California. It lies 50
miles (80 kilometers) southeast of
San Francisco in the Santa Clara
Valley. The area surrounding the
city has long been known for fruit
packing and canning and, since the
late 1960s, for its high-technology
industries consisiting of computers,
micro chips, communications and
software.
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Near the center of San Jose is Kelley Park, which
covers 150 acres (60 hectares); it contains Happy Hollow
Park and Zoo, which features baby animals, and the
Japanese Friendship Garden patterned after Korakuen
Park in Okayama, Japan. San Jose Historical Museum
displays elements of early San Jose. The Rosicrucian
Science Museum and Planetarium and the Egyptian Museum,
with a large collection of Egyptian antiquities, are
located in Rosicrucian Park.
Other sights in San Jose are the Winchester Mystery
House, the eerie mansion of the eccentric heiress to the
Winchester rifle fortune; Municipal Rose Garden; and Alum
Rock Park. Overfelt Botanical Gardens includes a natural
wildlife sanctuary and the Chinese Cultural Center. The
home of the poet Edwin Markham is owned by California
State University,
San Jose, which was opened in 1857 as the state's first
teachers' college. Annual events include the Santa Clara
County Fair, the Great American Arts Festival, and the
Fire Fighters Rodeo.
The Santa Clara Valley produces large quantities
of prunes, apricots, and other fruits. Manufactures
include electronic, aerospace, and automotive components.
With the growth of electronic technology firms and
simi conductor chip production, the area became known
as Silicon Valley.
The Loma Prieta earthquake that rocked the San
Francisco Bay area on Oct. 17, 1989, had its epicenter
on the outskirts of San Jose, near Los Gatos. Measuring
7.1 on the Richter scale, the earthquake damaged hundreds
of buildings, injured 900 people, and claimed five lives
in or near San Jose.
San Jose was settled in 1777 by a group of Spaniards
led by Jose Joaquin Moraga. They named it San Jose de
Guadalupe. The first civic settlement in California, it
became a Spanish military supply base and later the center
of a stock-raising district. With two missions nearby,
the city became an ecclesiastical center. In the Gold
Rush days it was a supply center for fields in the Sierra
Nevada foothills. Between 1849 and 1852 the city served
as California's first capital. It was incorporated in 1850.
San Jose is the seat of Santa Clara County and has a council-
manager form of government. (See also California.) Population
(1990 census), city, 782,248; metropolitan area, 1,497,577.
STATS:
San Jose, CA
Population: 1,505,580 ---------- Region: West
1996 Money Best Places Ranking: 19 out of 300
1995 Money Best Places Ranking: 44 out of 300
1994 Money Best Places Ranking: 5 out of 300
This National
city average
---- --------
Average July high (degrees Fahrenheit): 78.6 86.7
Average January low (degrees Fahrenheit): 40.2 26.9
Average annual rainfall (inches): 16.0 36.2
Days per year when some rain falls: 47.0 110.7
Average annual snowfall (inches): 0.0 23.0
Cost of living index (average=100%): 122.4% 100.0%
Median price (3-bedroom home): $234,598 $105,179
Change in average home value since 1994: - 9.2% +1.8%
Change in housing permits since 1994: +17.0% -3.5%
Recent unemployment rate: 5.6% 5.9%
Job growth since 1994: - 0.5% +3.1%
Forecast job growth to 1998: +13.7% +8.4%
Property crimes yearly per 100,000 people: 4,115.6 4,947.6
Violent crimes yearly per 100,000 people: 524.7 654.4
Number of doctors per 100,000 people: 294.1 182.5
Number of library books per capita: 1.9 2.4
Number of 4- and 5-star restaurants: 9 1.2
Average commute time (minutes): 23.3 19.9
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JERI's SiamWeb S.F. Bay Area Page
References: Compton's Interactive Encyclopedia
Copyright (c) 1994, 1995 Compton's NewMedia, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Picture: America Alive CD by MediAlive, Sunnyvale, CA
