Sourisseau News: New Almaden

This week's history video is about New Almaden, one of San Jose's most hidden neighborhoods. The Quicksilver (mercury) mine in New Almaden produced an incredible amount of wealth, more than any gold mine in the state. If you go to the site of the old mine today, there is actually a neat little museum there.

To watch the two minute video on New Almaden, click here.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

We hope that you and your family have a wonderful holiday season.

If you have already done the standard San Jose holiday traditions at Christmas in the Park and Santana Row, you can go on an adventure through our neighborhoods. You can find the addresses of the most decorated homes in San Jose over here. Some even have light shows synced to music--it's worth the drive.

Happy Holidays!

Tiny homes for the homeless

San Jose is exploring a novel way to house part of our homeless community, currently around 3,231 people. The city is working with Gensler to build 80 "tiny homes" that would cost as little as $6,500 each to build. The homes are 80 SQFT but have a bed, storage areas, and a sitting area. Each also come with heating and cooling and three windows.

The plan is to build two pilot communities that would each have 40 of these homes, along with communal areas for cooking. Bathrooms would be placed in a temporary structure.

It may not seem like much, but this would greatly help those that need it most get back on their feet--not to mention reduce the population of our "tent cities." The goal is for residents of these homes to move to permanent housing within 6 months.

This kind of out-of-the-box thinking is exactly what we need in order to make an impact. Just doing more of the same does not seem to be working. Fingers crossed that this will help ameliorate one of our key social issues.

Source: SVBJ

Souresseau News: Ethnic Communities

This week's history video is about ethnic communities that moved to San Jose. Even 100 years ago, San Jose was surprisingly diverse with French, German, Mexican, Chinese, Japanese, Portuguese, Italian, and Filipino immigrants. At one point we even had the largest minority population in California.

To watch the two minute video, click here.

WinterFest at California's Great America

Great America's WinterFest is already in full swing. The theme park is completely decked out for the Holidays. Just like Halloween this year, they did an outstanding job with the decorations. Most of the rides are operating and there are holiday surprises around every corner--carolers, a dance troop on a trolley, costumed entertainers. The lake at the entrance of the park is now an ice skating rink and the food vendors are now offering holiday classics.

New this year are WinterFest igloos. These are cozy heated lounges that you can rent for the whole day in the park. They come with food and beverage delivery, a concierge, reserved seating at shows, and complimentary ice skating or carriage riding. I was able to test them out at a media event and was really impressed. It's a novel concept for those that want the full VIP experience and are willing to pay for it (the rental fee is $299 for a party of four).

Tickets to WinterFest start at only $19.50. For more information, click here.

Sourisseau News: Early Banks

This week's history video is about banking. Below is a drawing of the Knocks and Beans bank, San Jose's first bank which opened in 1866 at 1st and Santa Clara. Eventually it was changed to the Bank of San Jose and moved across the street. Some of the most beautiful historic buildings in San Jose were once banks, and all of them are featured in this short 2 minute documentary.

To watch the video, click here.

SJDA hosting a public year-in-review meeting this Friday

The San Jose Downtown Association always throws an amazing end-of-year meeting with an entertaining slideshow presented by Scott Knies. The event is free and open to the public. It is also early enough that many people can attend before work.

This year topics include BART decisions, the future Google campus Downtown, and election results. Oh, and there will be complimentary coffee and muffins.

The event takes place this Friday, December 14th at Hammer Theatre Center (101 Paseo De San Antonio) from 8am to 9:30am. You can RSVP by emailing sjdarsvp@sjdowntown.com

Content Magazine 7th Anniversary Pick-Up Party - 11.0 "Discover"

Content Magazine is launching their anniversary issue on December 12th at the City Hall Rotunda from 7:30pm to 10pm. Subscribers get free admission, a free drink, and a gift bag. For more info, read the event description below or head over here to RSVP.

This December 12th Content Magazine celebrates seven years in print, and we would love to celebrate with you.

Please join us for a classy and artful evening at the City Hall Rotunda for the release of Issue 11.0 “Discover.” Together we will toast the creatives we have had the honor of featuring over the past seven years.

The night will include art, music, and dance performances by those featured in 11.0, as well as other 2018 featured musicians and dance groups. 

This event is co-produced by our partner BAUNFIRE, a Silicon Valley digital design agency.

We also thank our sponsors: San Jose Office of Cultural Affairs, San Jose Jazz, Stuart Event Rentals, Mach 7 Sound, Tech CU, Silicon Valley Asian Art Center, and Team San Jose.

Content subscribers, 11.0 features, and 11.0 contributors will receive free entry for them + 1 guest, one complimentary drink ticket to kick off the night, and a holiday gift bag (for the first 150).

$10 cover for general admission (supports the artist performing and includes a copy of the 7th-anniversary issue). Subscribe ahead of time at bit.ly/6issues or at the door and receive all the benefits listed for subscribers above. 

Parking: Free parking at City Hall Garage (must enter before 8pm). Paid covered parking at 4th and San Fernando. Street parking is also available.

Attire: Business casual/cocktail