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Coordinates: 37°13′17″N 121°51′44″W / 37.2214°N 121.8622°W / 37.2214; -121.8622
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Almaden revisions

@Yogeshgs:, Firstly, great initiative on this draft, you've done some really great work. I have gone through your draft and done a revision below, where I consolidated lots of the great info you provided. I removed a good chunk of info that was either superfluous, non-encylopedic, or irrelevant, such as the list of Almaden's sub-divisions, over-elaborate descriptions for trails, the repeated entries for parks, entries for schools that don't have wiki links, etc. I also slimmed down much of the history section to what is most relevant. The following revision meets all the standards of Wikipedia and is ready to post to the Almaden page if you would like to, but the original does not. Please let me know if you have questions. Best, Cristiano Tomás (talk) 20:02, 8 July 2021 (UTC)[reply]





Almaden
Spanish: Almadén
Neighborhood of San Jose
Almaden Valley
Spanish: Valle de Almadén
Clockwise: panorama of Almaden Valley; the Old Almaden Winery; Almaden Lake Park; New Almaden Historic District; Almaden Lake Park.
Almaden is located in San Jose, California
Almaden
Almaden
Location within San Jose and Silicon Valley
Coordinates: 37°13′17″N 121°51′44″W / 37.2214°N 121.8622°W / 37.2214; -121.8622
CountryUnited States
StateCalifornia
CountySanta Clara
CitySan Jose
Zip Code
95120

Almaden Valley (Spanish: Valle de Almadén),[1] commonly known simply as Almaden (Spanish: Almadén),[2] is a valley and neighborhood of San Jose, California, located in South San Jose. It is nestled between the Santa Cruz Mountains to the west and the Santa Teresa Hills to the east.

Almaden, named after the ancient Spanish mining town of Almadén, traces its history back to the 1820's, when Mexican miners discovered mercury deposits on Rancho Los Capitancillos, which later led to the establishment of the New Almaden mines. Almaden is one of the most expensive neighborhoods to live in San Jose and is consistently ranked as one of the most expensive areas in the country.[3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9].

History

[edit]
View of Almaden Valley (William Rich Hutton, c. 1847-1852).
The Old Almaden Winery, founded in 1852, was the first commercial winery established in California.
A community picnic in 1908 at the Casa Grande in the New Almaden neighborhood of Almaden Valley.

Nueva Almadén

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Main article: New Almaden

The New Almaden Quicksilver Mines were named after the mercury mine in (old) Almadén, Spain, and the region produced mercury that was used to process ore during the Gold Rush[10]

Like its Spanish namesake, California's Almaden had a number of quicksilver mines. The mercury was used during gold extraction in the California Gold Rush, but the mines were closed in 1975 and have been converted into Almaden Quicksilver County Park. Despite the closure of the mines, there still remains a high mercury content in the nearby soil, creeks, and rivers, and signs are posted alongside them warning people not to eat the fish.

Many of the names in Almaden retain their mercury mine themes. For example, there are streets called Silver Lode Lane and Silver Mine Drive (the latter of which was renamed). Also, many places in Almaden still use the name Quicksilver.

Post-Conquest era

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Following the American Conquest of California, Almaden Valley attracted a significant amount of settlers from the East Coast and Europe.

In 1852, Charles LeFranc founded Almaden Vineyards, the first commercial winery in California,[11] with his father-in-law Éthienne Thée, using vine cuttings from his native France. Following Prohibition, the winery and the company had great success with their blush wine and the White Grenache Rosé, one of the first popular pink wines in the United States. Almaden Vineyards has since moved its winery to Madera, California, while the historic remains of the property are now known as the Old Almaden Winery, which serves as a public park and California Historic Landmark.[12]

Beginning in the late 1800's, Almaden was home to the Graystone Quarry, one of the most significant quarries in the Bay Area, used in the construction of landmarks including San Francisco City Hall, Stanford University, Cathedral Basilica of St. Joseph, among numerous others.[13][14] [15][16]

UC San Jose campus

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In December 1959, the Regents of the University of California selected Almaden Valley to be the site of the next campus of the University of California system.[17] Unfortunately, news of this decision caused property values in the area to increase so rapidly that the Regents could no longer afford to buy the needed land.[17] After another year of study, the Regents selected another site much farther south, which opened in 1965 as the University of California, Santa Cruz.[17]

Geography

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Almaden Lake Park.
Almaden Quicksilver County Park from the Guadalupe Reservoir.

The neighborhood is southeast of Los Gatos, southwest of the Blossom Valley, and west of the Santa Teresa. The Santa Teresa Hills are to Almaden's east, separating it from Santa Teresa, and the Capitancillos Hills of the Sierra Azul are to Almaden's west and south.

Almaden Valley includes all the areas within the 95120 zip code.

Parks

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The Almaden Station of the VTA Light Rail.

Almaden Valley is home to over 15 parks including 3 county parks, 3 lakes, 1 regional park, 1 open space preserve and several neighborhood parks:

Trails

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Almaden Valley is home to an expansive trail system, including:

  • Los Alamitos Creek Trail is a 9.8 mile trail[18]
  • Almaden Lake Loop Trail, a 1.4-mile trail[19]
  • Almaden Quicksilver County Park, 4163 acres with several trails across the parkCite error: A <ref> tag is missing the closing </ref> (see the help page).
  • Mount Umunhum trail, a 7.7 mile trail in the Sierra Azul Open Space Preserve to the summit of the mountain
  • Senador Mine Trail, Mine Hill Trail, and Castillero Trail, a 12.7 mile trail
  • Webb Canyon, New Almaden, Cinnabar, Mine Hill, Randol and Prospect #3 Loop Trail, a 5.4-mile trail
  • New Almaden, Mine Hill and Guadalupe Trail Loop, a 13.6-mile loop trail

Economy

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Part of Silicon Valley, Almaden is home to numerous high tech companies. It is notably home to the IBM Almaden Research Center, which has played an important role in the discovery and development of new technologies for IBM.[20][21][22]

Government

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Almaden Valley is part of San Jose's District 10, represented by Council Member Matt Mahan.[23]

Demographics

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The average income per household in Almaden Valley is $235,212[24]

The 2010 United States Census and the American Community Survey (ACS) conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau reported that, as of 2019[25], Almaden Valley had a population of 38,122, with 12,877 housing units.

The racial makeup of Almaden Valley was 20,726 (54.4%) White, 13,866 (36.4%) Asian, 2,700 (7.1%) Hispanic or Latino, 741 (1.9%) African American, 124 (0.3%) Native American, 2184 (5.7%) from two or more races and 442 (1.2%) of some other race.

The population was spread out, with 9430 (24.7%) children under the age of 18, 21,243 (55.7%) adults aged 18 to 64, and 7,449 (19.5%) adults aged 65 years or older. The median age was 46.3 years. For every 100 females, there were 98.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.4 males.

Education

[edit]
Almaden Branch Library of the San José Public Library.

Almaden Valley students attend primary, middle and high schools across 3 different school districts, San Jose Unified School District, Campbell Union School District and Los Gatos Union School District. While most neighborhoods are in San Jose Unified School District, some in the northwest are in the Campbell Union School District, and some in the southwest bordering Los Gatos are in the Los Gatos Union School District.[26].

Schools in Almaden include:

Public schools
Private schools

Culture

[edit]

Almaden is home to numerous annual cultural events, including the Almaden Art & Wine Festival, the Almaden Harvest Festival, and the San Jose Lantern Festival.[29][30][31]

Sporting events held in the area include the Quicksilver Endurance Runs and the Quicksilver Trail Challenge.[32][33]

Landmarks

[edit]

Case Grande

[edit]

Casa Grande was constructed in 1854, under the direction of the mine's general manager, Henry Halleck, who used the building until 1920 as a personal and official residence for the New Almaden Mining Company. John McLaren, of Golden Gate Park fame, assisted in designing the five acres of formally landscaped grounds around the house.

In 1997, Santa Clara County purchased the building to house the Almaden Quicksilver Mining Museum, which started as a private collection by Constance Perham, who displayed it in her house in New Almaden. The new museum opened in 1998. The building underwent extensive renovation from 2009-2010 to restore it to its configuration when it was a mine manager’s residence from 1854 to 1925. It reopened in January 2011. It houses interpretive exhibits and displays on the history of the New Almaden mines and on the lives of its workers and their families.[34]

Hacienda Hotel

[edit]

In the mid-1800s, just a few years before the great California Gold Rush, Andres Castillera, a Mexican officer with the Artillery discovered cinnabar in New Almaden, a precious metal also known as quicksilver which bought Castillera lot of riches. As the word spread, New Almaden was thriving with miners trying to mine more cinnabar themselves.

In 1848, a boarding house was constructed by the creek in New Almaden as a house for boarding for the miners. Hot meals were served in the rustic dining room downstairs. This was the first two-story lodging in California. Fire destroyed the building in 1875 but it was rebuilt and stayed in operation in this capacity until the 1930s.

It was then converted into Cafe Del Rio which served New Almaden for almost 40 years.

In 1992, La Foret, a high-end French restaurant opened in the building. The restaurant, still in operation, is a local landmark in San Jose and well known across the Bay Area for its fine dining[35][36][37]

New Almaden Historic District

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A two-teacher school was built in the 1860s on a flat near Casa Grande. Enrollment came chiefly from the Hacienda along with some children from nearby ranches. One of the oldest buildings in the district is the Carson-Perham Adobe, built between 1848 and 1850 by Mexican miners, and later the home of George Carson, the mine company bookkeeper, postmaster, telegraph operator, and Wells Fargo agent. Constance Perham lived in the adobe house for many years and established a private museum there in 1949, the collections of which were purchased in 1983 by Santa Clara County. [38]

Transportation

[edit]

Roads

[edit]

Almaden Expressway is the primary arterial road intersecting Almaden Valley and connecting it with the rest of Silicon Valley. Blossom Hill Road, an important artery for South San Jose, goes through Almaden.

Rail

[edit]

Until 2019, Almaden station of the VTA light rail was the main rail connection in the area. Since its closure, the following are the VTA and CalTrain rail stations that serve Almaden Valley:

Media

[edit]
[edit]

Notable Residents

[edit]

Following are some of the notable past or present residents of the Almaden Valley:

Further reading

[edit]
  • The United States vs. Andres Castillero New Almaden (multiple volumes) (1923), by Andrés Castillero
  • Cinnabar Hills-the Quicksilver Days of New Almaden (1976) by Milton and Laurence Bulmore Lanyon
  • Almaden is My Life (1984), by Ruth Teiser, Morris H. Katz, William A. Dieppe
  • New Almaden (2006) by Michael Boulland
  • Memoir On the Mines and Works of Almaden (2010), by H Kuss

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Telemundo Area de la Bahia Incendio de maleza en San José provoca evacuaciones
  2. ^ City of San José Twitter
  3. ^ "America's Most Expensive Zip Codes, 2016, Forbes". Retrieved 2021-07-01.
  4. ^ "America's Most Expensive Zip Codes 2017, Forbes". Retrieved 2021-07-01.
  5. ^ "America's Most Expensive Zip Codes Lookup, Forbes". Retrieved 2021-07-01.
  6. ^ "Most Expensive US Zip Codes in 2020, based on Closed Home Sales data". Retrieved 2021-07-01.
  7. ^ "Most Expensive US Zip Codes in 2019, based on Closed Home Sales data". Retrieved 2021-07-01.
  8. ^ "Most Expensive US Zip Codes in 2018, based on Closed Home Sales data". Retrieved 2021-07-01.
  9. ^ "Most Expensive US Zip Codes in 2017, based on Closed Home Sales data". Retrieved 2021-07-01.
  10. ^ "Almaden Valley timeline, Mercury News". Mercury News. March 29, 2008. Retrieved Jul 6, 2021.
  11. ^ Lichine, Alexis (1967). Alexis Lichine's Encyclopedia of Wines and Spirits. London: Cassell & Company Ltd. p. 64.
  12. ^ California Office of Historic Preservation, Santa Clara
  13. ^ "Stanford's signature sandstone, Mercury News, KQED". Aug 16, 2020. Retrieved Jul 6, 2021.
  14. ^ "Santa Clara County Parks Archive". Jan 1, 1967. Retrieved Aug 16, 2020.
  15. ^ "Graystone Quarry and surrounding land purchase by Open Space Authority, Mercury News". Mercury News. May 18, 2017. Retrieved Jul 6, 2021.
  16. ^ "History of Pfeiffer neighborhood in Almaden Valley". Retrieved Jul 6, 2021.
  17. ^ a b c Stadtman, Verne A. (1970). The University of California, 1868–1968. New York: McGraw-Hill. pp. 412–413.
  18. ^ | Los Alamitos Creek Trail information on City of San Jose website
  19. ^ | Almaden Lake Park information on City of San Jose website
  20. ^ "Gathering of the Most Brilliant Minds in Energy Storage to Take Place". AZOM. June 23, 2009. Retrieved Jul 6, 2021.
  21. ^ "IBM Research Demonstrates Path for Extending Current Chip-Making Technique". Web Wire. February 20, 2006. Retrieved June 9, 2012.
  22. ^ "IBM Scientists Discover Nanotech Communication Method". Science Daily. Feb 7, 2000. Retrieved June 9, 2012.
  23. ^ Council Districts on City of San Jose website
  24. ^ "95120 Income Statistics - Current Census Data for Zip Codes". Retrieved 2021-07-01.
  25. ^ "ACS DEMOGRAPHIC AND HOUSING ESTIMATES". U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2021-07-01.
  26. ^ Santa Clara School District Finder website
  27. ^ https://www.almadencountrydayschool.org Almaden Country Day School website
  28. ^ https://www.holyspirit-school.org/ Holy Spirit School website
  29. ^ Jose Water Lantern Festival at the Almaden Lake
  30. ^ Art & Wine Festival
  31. ^ Harvest Festival information on City of San Jose website
  32. ^ 50k & 100k
  33. ^ Trail Challenge
  34. ^ "A Visual and history of Casa Grande" (PDF). Mar 28, 2015. Retrieved Jul 6, 2021.
  35. ^ "Almaden Valley timeline, Mercury News". Mercury News. Mar 29, 2008. Retrieved Jul 6, 2021.
  36. ^ "La Forest Restaurant, Mercury News". Mercury News. Aug 19, 2020. Retrieved Jul 6, 2021.
  37. ^ "About La Forest Restaurant". Retrieved Jul 6, 2021.
  38. ^ "New Almaden by National Parks Service (NPS)". Jan 24, 2018. Retrieved Jul 6, 2021.
  39. ^ Almaden Times website
  40. ^ Almaden Resident on Twitter
  41. ^ Bengali film set in Almaden Valley, Mercury News
  42. ^ http://sffcc.org/category/awards/page/3/
  43. ^ Maxwell, Erin (December 20, 2010). "Florida Film Critics laud 'Inception,' 'Social Network'".
  44. ^ https://www.mercurynews.com/2007/08/22/michael-bubls-conductor-got-his-start-in-san-jose/
  45. ^ "2005 Hall of Fame inductee biographies". San Jose Sports Authority. Archived from the original on August 3, 2010. Retrieved February 24, 2010.
  46. ^ a b "Leland High honors its own with Pat Tillman Legacy Classic". San Jose Mercury News. Retrieved March 24, 2014.
  47. ^ http://countfive.com
  48. ^ http://www.sanjoserocks.org/i_countv.htm
  49. ^ http://www.profootballarchives.com/hoff02000.html
  50. ^ http://www.santaclarabroncos.com/general/2001-02/releases/080901aaa.html
  51. ^ http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_19417863
  52. ^ http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,977214,00.html
  53. ^ http://westernwriters.org/2018/03/2018-spur-award-winners/
  54. ^ "Low Takes Oath as Newest Assemblymember for 28th District - Assemblymember Evan Low Representing the 28th California Assembly District". asmdc.org. Archived from the original on December 22, 2014. Retrieved June 17, 2015.
  55. ^ "Silicon Valley 40 under 40: Evan Low, city of Campbell". Silicon Valley Business Journal. December 13, 2013.
  56. ^ "All-Mercury News baseball from the 1990s - Varsity Extra". mercurynews.com. May 20, 2010. Retrieved May 11, 2017.
  57. ^ "Jason Hardtke Baseball Statistics [1990-2001]". www.thebaseballcube.com. Retrieved May 11, 2017.
  58. ^ "Jerry Hsu Biography". Emerica Skate. January 3, 2008. Archived from the original on February 18, 2010. Retrieved February 24, 2010.
  59. ^ "The wrath of Leland | After School". Blogs at San Jose Mercury News. January 11, 2008. Retrieved March 24, 2014.
  60. ^ Rodriguez, Joe (May 8, 2011). "Art matters, but art students matter more". San Jose Mercury News. Retrieved March 24, 2014.
  61. ^ a b https://www.mercurynews.com/2007/07/09/rob-becker-once-an-all-star-always-a-caveman/
  62. ^ http://people.com/archive/this-guy-must-be-serious-vol-39-no-1/
  63. ^ Knight, Dennis (November 4, 2004). "Pregame Ceremony to Honor Local Hero". San Jose Mercury News. Retrieved November 8, 2007. When Pat Tillman was a freshman at Leland High School, he didn't make the varsity baseball team, despite being one of the best players his age in the South Bay.
  64. ^ "Reggie Smith". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved June 17, 2015.
  65. ^ Knight, Dennis (April 2, 2009). "All-Mercury News basketball teams dating back to 1960". Varsity Extra – San Jose Mercury News. Retrieved June 17, 2015.
  66. ^ http://www.youthclassic.org/feature_articles/robbecker07.html
  67. ^ Baxter, Kevin (May 6, 2014). "Steve Beitashour wants to play for Iran in World Cup". Los Angeles Times.
  68. ^ Stranzl, Frank (March 31, 2010). "Beitashour a Hometown Hero". San Jose Earthquakes website. Major League Soccer. Retrieved April 8, 2010.
  69. ^ "Sports shorts: Leland to honor alum Steven Beitashour Jan. 15". San Jose Mercury News. Retrieved March 24, 2014.
  70. ^ http://www.losaltosonline.com/news/sections/news/215-news-briefs/9384-J8755
  71. ^ http://www.bizjournals.com/sanjose/stories/2007/07/30/daily47.html
  72. ^ "Steven L. Smith: NASA International Space Station Program Liaison to the European Space Agency". Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center, NASA. Retrieved February 24, 2010.
  73. ^ "Astronaut Bio: Steven L. Smith 8/98". Spaceacts.com. Retrieved March 24, 2014.
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37°13′17″N 121°51′44″W / 37.2214°N 121.8622°W / 37.2214; -121.8622

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