History Park at Kelley Park

San Jose Light Tower half-height replica. Note trolley in lower right corner for scale.

History Park at Kelley Park (or just History Park) in San Jose, California, USA is designed as an indoor/outdoor museum, arranged to appear as a small US town might have in the early 1900s (decade). Since its inauguration in 1971, 29 historic buildings and other landmarks have either been moved from their original San Jose locations or are represented by replicas. It lies within Kelley Park.

Exhibits

Period exhibits include a doctor's office, a dentist's office (complete with an old foot-pedal-powered drill), fruit barn (packing shed), blacksmith shed, a livery stable (US terminology for a business that rented out horse-drawn carriages), a working print shop, a gas station, the Pacific Hotel, the Empire Fire House, the Bank of Italy (precursor to the Bank of America), a one-room schoolhouse, a post office and a number of houses of early Santa Clara Valley settlers. The fruit barn not only has many farm implements and devices from the period, but also displays hundreds of photographs documenting the area's development. It also includes a collection of fruit picker wooden "box ends" from the families and companies of fruit growers from the Valley's history.

Other attractions include:

• A 115-foot scale replica of the San Jose Electric Light Tower that used to tower 237 feet over downtown San Jose
• Portuguese Historical Museum
• Viet Museum
• Ng Shing Gung, a former Chinatown religious and community center that is now a museum of local Chinese-American history
• Paulson House, an 1890s Queen Anne-style residence with local history exhibits from the California Pioneers of Santa Clara County
• Hellenic Heritage Museum, a museum of Greek heritage, operated by the Hellenic Heritage Institute
• The California Trolley and Railroad Corporation houses restored antique trolleys, both horse-drawn and electric, and automobiles, both gasoline and battery powered, along with other antique trolleys and cars awaiting restoration.
• The Leonard and David McKay Gallery, opened on March 13, 2005, contains a collection of paintings of people, buildings, and landscapes from in and around San Jose.
• Steam locomotive Southern Pacific 1215 and tender in a static display.

Weekdays, tours are offered by paid staff, often for local students on class field trips. On weekends, selected exhibit buildings are staffed on a rotating schedule by volunteers, who also operate a vintage trolley over the length of the park, including under the Light Tower replica.

References

• Volunteers at History Park
• History San Jose Website - Official site

External links

• History San Jose Website - Official site
• Map of History Park
• Hellenic Heritage Institute
• Chinese Historical & Cultural Project
• California Trolley & Railroad Corporation
• California Pioneers of Santa Clara Valley
• Portraits of the Past (historical fashion shows)
• List of vehicles in the Trolley Barn (click on the "antique vehicles" link near the bottom of the page)