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SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA - USA
San Jose is a major city in California, USA, and the county seat of Santa
Clara County. In the 1970s, the city council officially adopted San José as
the spelling for the city name, although it is still more commonly spelled
San Jose. The city is located at the south end of the San Francisco Bay,
within the informal boundaries of Silicon Valley. As of 2003, it reported an
estimated population of 925,000, making it the most populous city in
Northern California and third in the state after Los Angeles and San Diego.
It is the eleventh largest city in the United States.
Geography
San Jose is located at 37°18'15" North, 121°52'22" West (37.304051,
−121.872734)¹.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of
461.5 km² (178.2 mi²). 452.9 km² (174.9 mi²) of it is land and 8.6 km² (3.3
mi²) of it is water. The total area is 1.86% water.
The Guadalupe River runs from the Santa Cruz Mountains (which separate the
South Bay from the Pacific Coast) flowing north through San Jose, ending in
the San Francisco Bay at Alviso. The river is the home to the only known
salmon spawning run through a major U.S. downtown area. Along the southern
part of the river is the neighborhood of Almaden Valley, originally named
for the mercury mines which produced mercury needed for gold extraction from
quartz during the California gold rush as well as mercury fulminate blasting
caps and detonators for the U.S. military from 1870 to 1945.
The lowest point in San Jose is at sea level at the San Francisco Bay in
Alviso, the highest is 4,372 feet at Copernicus Peak, Mount Hamilton. Due to
the proximity to Lick Observatory atop Mount Hamilton, San Jose has taken
several steps to reduce light pollution, including replacing all street
lamps with low pressure sodium lamps. To recognize the city's efforts, the
asteroid 6216 San Jose was named after the city.
Economy
San Jose considers itself "the Capital of Silicon Valley." As such, its
economy rises and falls with high-tech employment in the Bay Area. During
the peak of the tech bubble, employment, housing prices, and traffic
congestion peaked, but all eased as the economy slowed during the first few
years of the 21st century. As of 2003, the city reported 355,000 jobs within
the city limits and an unemployment rate of 8.7%.
The city lists 25 companies with 1,000 employees or more, including the
headquarters of Adobe Systems, BEA Systems, Cisco, and eBay, as well as
major facilities for Flextronics, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Hitachi and Lockheed
Martin. Sizable government employers include the city, Santa Clara County,
and San José State University.
Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there are 894,943 people, 276,598 households, and
203,576 families residing in the city. The population density is 1,976.1/km²
(5,117.9/mi²). There are 281,841 housing units at an average density of
622.3/km² (1,611.8/mi²). The racial makeup of the city is 47.49% White,
3.50% African American, 0.77% Native American, 26.86% Asian, 0.40% Pacific
Islander, 15.94% from other races, and 5.04% from two or more races. 30.17%
of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There are 276,598 households out of which 38.3% have children under the age
of 18 living with them, 56.0% are married couples living together, 11.7%
have a female householder with no husband present, and 26.4% are non-families.
18.4% of all households are made up of individuals and 4.9% have someone
living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is
3.20 and the average family size is 3.62.
In the city the population is spread out with 26.4% under the age of 18,
9.9% from 18 to 24, 35.4% from 25 to 44, 20.0% from 45 to 64, and 8.3% who
are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 33 years. For every 100
females there are 103.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there
are 102.5 males.
The median income for a household in the city is $70,243, and the median
income for a family is $74,813. Males have a median income of $49,347 versus
$36,936 for females. The per capita income for the city is $26,697. 8.8% of
the population and 6.0% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the
total people living in poverty, 10.3% are under the age of 18 and 7.4% are
65 or older.
Attractions
Almaden Quicksilver County Park, 4,147 acres (17 km²) of former mercury
mines in South San Jose
Alum Rock Park, 718 acres (2.9 km²) in East San Jose, the oldest municipal
park in California
Cathedral Basilica of St. Joseph, the oldest parish in California
Children's Discovery Museum of San Jose
HP Pavilion - Home of the NHL's San Jose Sharks
Ira F. Brilliant Center for Beethoven Studies, home of the largest Beethoven
collection outside Europe
Lick Observatory, home of what was once the largest telescope in the world
New Gurdwara, the largest Gurdwara (a Sikh temple) in the United States
Peralta Adobe, a restored adobe home showing the lifestyle of Spanish and
Mexican California
Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum, home of the largest collection of Egyptian
relics in the western United States
San Jose Municipal Rose Garden, 5½ acre park (22,000 m²) near downtown,
featuring over 4,000 rose bushes
San Jose Municipal Stadium, home of the minor league San Jose Giants.
San Jose Museum of Art
Spartan Stadium, home of San Jose State University football and the Major
League Soccer's San Jose Earthquakes
The Tech Museum of Innovation
Winchester Mystery House, a sprawling, 160-room Victorian mansion built by
Sarah Winchester
See also attractions in adjacent communities in Santa Clara County.
Arts and architecture
San Jose's downtown architecture is noted more for its limited height than
for any particular buildings. Because the downtown area is in the flight
path to nearby Mineta International Airport, there is a permanent height
limit for all buildings.
Municipal building projects have experimented more with architectural styles
than have most private enterprises. The Children's Discovery Museum, Tech
Museum of Innovation, and the San Jose Repertory Theater building have
experimented with bold colors and unusual exteriors.
Public art is not a major attraction in the city, and much of it has been
controversial. For example, the statue of Quetzalcoatl (the plumed serpent)
in downtown was controversial in its planning because some religious groups
felt that it was pagan; it was controversial in its implementation because
many felt that the final statue did not closely resemble a winged serpent.
Attempts to place statues of early explorers and settlers around the city
met strong resistance from those who felt that these people were largely
responsible for the decimation of early native populations.
In 2001, the city sponsored SharkByte, an exhibit of decorated sharks, based
on the mascot of the hockey team, the San Jose Sharks, and modeled after
Chicago's display of decorated cows[1] (http://www.chicagotraveler.com/cows_on_parade.htm).
Large models of sharks were decorated in a variety of clever, colorful, or
creative ways by local artists and were then displayed for months at dozens
of locations around the city. Many displays were removed early because of
vandalism. After the exhibition, the sharks were auctioned off and the
proceeds donated to charity. The sharks can still be found in their new
owners' homes and businesses.
Colleges and universities
Golden Gate University
National Hispanic University
San Jose State University
Silicon Valley College
Lincoln Law School of San Jose
Evergreen Valley College (http://www.evc.edu/) (community)
San Jose City College (community)
Sports teams
San Jose is the home of the San Jose Sharks of the National Hockey League,
San Jose SaberCats of the Arena Football League, San Jose Earthquakes of
Major League Soccer, St Joseph's Hurling Club, the San Jose Stealth of the
National Lacrosse League, and the San Jose Giants of the California League
of minor league baseball. San Jose was to have been the home of the Demons
of the XFL, but the team moved to San Francisco prior to the start of the
season.
Notable residents
[edit]
People born in San Jose
Brandi Chastain, soccer player
Dustin Diamond, actor
Dudley R. Herschbach, winner of the 1986 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
Luis A. López, poet
Norman Mineta, Mayor of San Jose, United States Secretary of Transportation
Jim Plunkett, American football quarterback
William Price, entertainer and gay rights activist
Dave Righetti, baseball pitcher
Randy Stonehill, singer/songwriter
Pat Tillman, American football player, Army Ranger
People who moved to San Jose
César Chávez, farm labor leader
Edgar F. Codd, computer scientist
Kate Elliott, novelist
Mike Honda, member of the United States House of Representatives
Joseph Menusa, USMC non-commissioned officer
Henry Morris Naglee, U.S. Civil War general
Linda Park, actress
Linus Torvalds, programmer
Al Ruffo, Mayor of San Jose
Sarah Winchester, heiress and eccentric
Jerry Yang, cofounder of Yahoo!
Neighborhoods
Center
Downtown San Jose
Japantown
Rose Garden
Sunol-Midtown
Willow Glen
Naglee Park
North
Alviso
Berryessa
North Valley
South
Almaden Valley
Blossom Valley
Coyote Valley
Evergreen
San Filipe Valley
Santa Teresa
Silver Creek Valley
East
Alum Rock
East Foothills
King and Story
Little Portugal
West
Burbank
Cambrian Park
Rancho Rinconada
West San Jose
Winchester
Transportation
The San Jose area has a well-developed freeway system, including three
Interstate highways—I-280, I-880, and I-680—in addition to several federal
and state highways, US 101, CA 85, CA 87, CA 17, and CA 237. Rail service to
San Jose is provided by Amtrak, Caltrain (commuter rail service to San
Francisco and Gilroy), ACE (commuter rail service to Pleasanton and
Stockton), and a local light-rail system connecting downtown to Mountain
View, Milpitas, and Almaden Valley, operated by the Santa Clara Valley
Transportation Authority (VTA). San Jose is served by the medium-sized
Mineta San Jose International Airport, two miles northwest of downtown, as
well as San Francisco International Airport, a major international hub 35
miles northwest.
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