San Jose History Begins

Taken from PAC SJ's Continuity"St. James Square Historic".(Above) The Court house & Hall of Records at St. James Square.

The origin of St. James Square dates back to the beginning of San Jose's American period (1848) when the city fore fathers commissioned a Yale educated surveyor, Charles S. Lyman,  to lay out plans for a future city known –the city of San Jose. Lyman reserved an area for public open space by combining twin rectangular blocks within the standard grid plan for the city.  This area was called St. James Square.

Reflections of an Earlier Era

Beginning with the construction of the Trinity Episcopal Church in 1863 (pictured above) , St. James Park was the favored site of many of the city's distinguished churches and public buildings. Serenely set apart from downtown’s commercial district, the park has been spared the periodic renovations and upheavals of the city's main street, and it remains one of the few areas in San Jose which maintains San Jose’s Historic legacy. In 1977, it was recognized by the United States Department of the Interior and the park and the surrounding buildings were placed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Nine remaining buildings which surround St. James Park are designated National Register and San Jose Landmarks. They are:

Trinity Episcopal Church -1863

The oldest permanent Protestant church in San Jose. Constructed by John W. Hammond, it is one of the finest examples of carpenter Gothic religious architecture in the western United States

***

 Santa Clara County Courthouse -1866

Hoping to lure the state Capital back to San Jose plans for a courthouse, so grand in it’s architecture, the  hope would have been to use it as a capitol building should this occur. One of the most ornate and opulent civic buildings of its day (the original building was two-storied with a central dome) was designed by pioneer architect Levi Goodrich, who went on to build many important local structures

***

First Unitarian Church -1891

The First Unitarian Church was designed by local architect G. W. Page who had among his commissions many of the city's finer homes, including the Hayes mansion in Edenvale.

***

Sainte Claire Club -1893

The Sainte Claire Club was organized by former Mayor of San Francisco, Senator James D. Phelan as a meeting place for local businessmen. IT was designed by A. Page Brown, the architect of the San Francisco Ferry Building.

***

Eagles Hall -1900

The Masons chose to build their first temple facing St. James Park (later became the home of the Eagles order) is one of the finest examples of Greek revival architecture in San Jose

* * *

Scottish Rite Temple. 1924

Originally a temple for the local Masonic - A massive three-story neo-classical structure and Egyptian ornamentation. The building is consistent with several other buildings around the park, in particular, the Courthouse. It is now the home of the San Jose Athletic Club.

* * *

San Jose Post Office. 1933

The post office is on the site of the former St. James Hotel, one of the city's leading hostelries dating from the 1890's.

***

 First Church of Christ Scientist 1904

The First Church of Christ Scientist is one of the few examples in the South Bay of the work of one of California most famous architect Willis Polk.  The ground floor plan of the church is in the shape of a Greek cross.

XXXXXX

Visual renderings in time