Sourisseau News: Let's Go To The Movies!

In the latest installment of Sourisseau News, learn about the history of theaters in San Jose in under three minutes (embedded video below). It is unfortunate that many of these no longer exist today. SoFA used to be packed with theaters as you can see from the photo.


Sourisseau News November 2015 - Let's Go To The Movies! from WMS media Inc. on Vimeo.

Do You Know the Way to San Jose? (From Brooklyn)

A couple years ago Glove and Boots--famous NYC puppeteers--did an epic twelve hour AMA on reddit. In a unique twist, they answered questions with videos produced on the spot. Below was their answer to "Do you know the way to San Jose?" Thanks to Kevin Zing for sending this in!

Sourisseau News: Ice Cold Beer!

In the latest installment of Sourisseau News, learn about the history of beer in San Jose. The local beer scene is exploding today, but its history goes back over 150 years. Eagle Brewery was founded in 1853 by a German immigrant and was the first brewery in San Jose. The brewery itself was located the corner of Market and San Carlos, where the Westin San Jose (previously the Saint Claire) currently sits. For the rest of the story, you'll have to watch the two minute video below!


Ice Cold Beer! from WMS media Inc. on Vimeo.

Drone Video of Communications Hill

Below is a five minute video taken using a drone flying around Communications Hill in South San Jose. It captured "the stairs" from a new perspective along with showing off the great views of San Jose from the hill.

Sourisseau News: The Home Front

The latest edition of Sourisseau News takes us to San Jose during World War II. There are some great photos in this latest video, including Moffett Field. Enjoy the two minute trip back in time right by clicking play on the video below.


Sourisseau News August 2015 The Home Front from WMS media Inc. on Vimeo.

Sourisseau News: Arnold Del Carlo (The Valley's Photographer)

In the latest edition of Sourisseau news, learn about a photographer that has been documenting the transformations in the valley across multiple decades. Even at 94 years old, Arnold Del Carlo is still taking photos to this day. The Sourisseau academy is even planning to release a documentary film on his fascinating life and work--more to come on that in the future.

DelCarlo - The Valley's Photographer from TAW on Vimeo.

EDITORS NOTE: The Del Carlo Photograph Collection resides at the Sourisseau Academy for State and Local History and spans a remarkable 30+ years. Few professional photographers exhibit Del Carlo’s versatility, making the collection all the more unique. And at 94, Del is still shooting pictures. Many thanks from all of us at Sourisseau Academy!

Sourisseau News: Fiesta De Las Rosas Parade

Check out the latest Sourisseau News video highlighting the Fiesta De Las Rosas Parade, which goes all the way back to 1896. You can think of this event as the predecessor to San Jose's Cinco de Mayo festivities and the Rose, White, and Blue Parade.


Fiesta De Las Rosas Parade from WMS media Inc. on Vimeo.
Santa Clara County's Rose-themed festival bloomed on and off from 1896 to 1969. Enjoy its history in photographs.

Sourisseau News: 1906 Earthquake

Today is the 109th anniversary of the 1906 Earthquake. As you can see from the short video below, Downtown San Jose was devastated by the famous quake. A lot more damage was done in the South Bay than most people realize. The video is only two and a half minutes long and is well worth watching!


1906 Earthquake in San Jose from WMS media Inc. on Vimeo.

Sourisseau News: Quest for Flight

Did you know that Santa Clara County was home to several aviation pioneers and inventions? Check out the two minute video below for your weekly dose of interesting history.


Quest for Flight - 110 Year Anniversary of Early Aeronautics in Santa Clara Valley from WMS media Inc. on Vimeo.

Sourisseau News: The City of Campbell

The latest edition of Sourisseau News educates us on the early history of one of our immediate neighbors--Campbell. Why is the Pruneyard Shopping Center called the Pruneyard? Find out in the two minute video below.


The City of Campbell from WMS media Inc. on Vimeo.

Sourisseau News: Whatever Happened to the Corner Market?

In the latest edition of Sourisseau News, you can see what San Jose's food markets and original supermarkets looked like. I really wish the Palace Market was still around--that would have been something very interesting to see. The video is only 2 minutes long and you can watch it below:


Whatever Happened to the Corner Market?” from WMS media Inc. on Vimeo.

Sourisseau News: Fruit Labels in the Valley of Heart's Delight

The latest edition of the Sourisseau News provides a looks at historic fruit labels going back to the late 1800s. It would be nice to have some more murals honoring these like the one we have across the street from the San Pedro Square Market. Completely unrelated, but did you know the Fruit Cocktail was invented in San Jose?


Fruit Labels in the Valley of Heart's Delight from WMS media Inc. on Vimeo.

Our January Sourisseau News video, sponsored by Linda L. Lester, helps us to forget the Winter Solstice and the icy north wind that whistles outside our windows. Instead, we get to languish in artful visions of the Valley of Heart's Delight— as preserved on the colorful labels which adorned the wood fruit crates and cans that shipped our bounty near and far!

Sourisseau News: Car Culture

The latest edition of Sourisseau News offers a glimpse at early car culture in San Jose. You'll even find a photo of the famous (infamous?) Letcher's Garage, the very first garage on the west coast and the site of a gruesome domestic murder/suicide. Watch the full two minute video below!


Car Culture from WMS media Inc. on Vimeo.

Vogliazzo Home About to be Torn Down

A historic Neo-classical home at 152 Terraine Street (across from the San Pedro Square Market) is scheduled to be torn down on November 30th to make way for Silvery Towers. In order to preserve this property built back in 1912, a group from Little Italy San Jose have put together a campaign to get the house moved to a lot on the Guadalupe River Park right next to Little Italy. For more information on the history of the house, a rare look inside, and the location of the move, please watch the short video below.


Please help us save this historic Vogliazzo home at 152 Terraine Street from WMS media Inc. on Vimeo.

This historic home is about to be demolished to make way for a high rise building in San Jose. Please help us save this home by moving it to Little Italy San Jose.

To make a donation: razoo.com/story/Save-The-Historic-Vogliazzo-Home?referral_code=share

For more information please contact:

JOSHUA DEVINCENZI MELANDER
Executive Director
jcmelander@yahoo.com
(408) 394-2893

DEBBIE CAMINITI
Assistant Director
dcami123456@comcast.net

Sourisseau News: Port SAN-O-SAY

Boat rentals in San Jose? The Guadalupe Lake? Check out the latest edition of the Sourisseau News bellow for a dose of super-interesting San Jose history. The video is only 2 minutes long and will leave you wondering what San Jose would be like if the Guadalupe Dam was never taken down.


Port SAN-O-SAY from WMS media Inc. on Vimeo.

Sourisseau News: "Our Japanese Neighbors"

The latest edition of Sourisseau News features a more somber story on what happened to Japanese Americans in San Jose during World War II. The video is less than three minutes long and as always is well worth your time. Watch it through the end for a surprisingly ironic ending to the story.


Our Japanese Neighbors from WMS media Inc. on Vimeo.

Sourisseau News: College of Notre Dame

Did you know that the College of Notre Dame in Belmont was originally in Downtown San Jose? They had quite an impressive looking campus located at Notre Dame Avenue by San Pedro Square. Check out the two minute video below for some great local history!


College of Notre Dame from WMS media Inc. on Vimeo.

Sourisseau News: A Tale of Two City Halls

What city is that below? Check out the following short video to see two of San Jose's previous city halls... one that looks like a castle and the magnificent structure below. This might be my favorite Sourisseau News video so far.

A Tale of Two City Halls - San Jose from WMS media Inc. on Vimeo.

Frontier Village Remembered

Frontier Village was slightly before my time, but based on the two videos below I wish I had the opportunity to visit it. This was a 39-acre theme park that operated from 1961 to 1980 in what is now Edenvale Garden Park. There was everything from a roller-coaster, fishing, stunt shows, canoeing, and even a mule-ride (real mules). The first video below features former employees reminiscing about the park. A slideshow starts around 12:30 in the video. The second clip is home video footage from 1979.

To learn more about the park and see tons of photos, visit the "Remembering Frontier Village" website over here.

Sourisseau News: 99 Notre Dame, the Birthplace of the Magnetic Disk Drive

How many people knew that the hard drive was invented in Downtown San Jose about a block away from where the San Pedro Square Market sits today? Check out the great 2-minute video below for a quick history lesson on how IBM developed RAMAC in San Jose, the first system for storing data on magnetic disks.


99 Notre Dame, the birthplace of the magnetic disk drive from WMS media Inc. on Vimeo.

"Today's iPod-toting hipsters have no idea how much they owe to an unremarkable little building in downtown San Jose. It was there, at 99 Notre Dame Ave., nearly 50 years ago, that a small band of IBM engineers developed the RAMAC, the first system for storing data on magnetic disks.

The RAMAC was a big success for IBM. Big Blue made more than 1,000 of the machines over a five-year period, helping establish the company's dominance in mainframe computing. Today, just a few of the original RAMACs are known to exist. One sits outside Hoagland's office on the third floor of the engineering building at Santa Clara University.

The RAMAC's specifications are laughable by today's standards. Some hard drives are as small as a quarter and can store 100 billion bits of data per square inch, 50 million times that of the RAMAC. Hitachi, for example, recently announced the development of "Mikey,'' a one-inch hard drive weighing just 14 grams and able to hold up to 10 gigabytes of data.

The company is also testing a new method of aligning data bits on hard disks vertically instead of horizontally. The new orientation could allow companies to increase hard drive storage capacity tenfold, Munce said. "I think things like micro-drives will change the way we consume digital entertainment,'' he said. Hoagland's goal is to preserve the legacy of the hard-disk innovation in San Jose. As director of the Magnetic Disk Heritage Center, he has been pushing to create a museum at 99 Notre Dame Ave.

He may get his wish. The San Jose City Council recently passed a resolution promising to begin discussions around the idea. And a couple of city council members are due at tonight's ceremony, organized by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. "My dream,'' Hoagland said, "is if you think of the RAMAC, you think of Rey Johnson and you think of 99 Notre Dame Ave."

By Michael Bazeley
San Jose Mercury News