St. James Park Improvements – San Jose CA

City:
San Jose, CA

Site Type:
Parks and Recreation, Gardens and Nurseries, Comfort Stations (Restrooms)

New Deal Agency:
Works Progress Administration (WPA)

Started:
1937

Completed:
1937

Quality of Information:
Good

Marked:
Unknown

Site Survival:
Extant

Description

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) began to pursue improvements at San Jose’s St. James Park in 1937. While the two-square block city park had long been central to public and political life in the city, project leaders hoped that the New Deal initiative would make it “more attractive than ever.”

Specific improvements such as “revamping” the park’s landscape and constructing an underground sprinkler system were estimated to cost $35,000. Another $150,000 were initially penciled in for the construction of new facilities and more general improvements in and around the park, but only restrooms were built. It appears.  

An historical evaluation of St. James Park was produced in 2015. “By the 1930s,” the report states, “due to the impacts of the Depression, the park began to be a draw to the indigent. The grounds were also the site of union rallies and other events of community importance. The concept of a new Civic Center was explored for the surrounding properties in 1931, but only a new…post office was built. Another project of the federal Works Progress Administration brought men’s and women’s restrooms to the north and south ends of the park during this period, and the 1885 fountain was removed. The restrooms were removed in the 1950s.”

While restrooms were built during the New Deal have since been removed from the park, the landscape of the park itself continues to embody efforts undertaken by the WPA.

Source notes

“San Jose to Beautify Park System,” Parks & Recreation. April 1937.

City of San Jose, “Historical Evaluation: St. James Fountain,” January 16, 2016. https://www.sanjoseca.gov/home/showdocument?id=9563

 

Site originally submitted by Gray Brechin on June 2, 2022.

Location Info


N 2nd St.
San Jose, CA 95112

Coordinates: 37.33860, -121.89144

Contribute to this Site

We welcome contributions of additional information on any New Deal site.

Submit More Information or Photographs for this New Deal Site

Join the Conversation

Please note:

  • We are not involved in the management of New Deal sites and have no information about visits, hours or rentals.
  • This page shows all the information we have for this site; if you have new information or photos to share, click the button above.

Your email address will not be published, shared, or sold.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Contribute to this Site

We welcome contributions of additional information on any New Deal project site.

Submit More Information or Photographs for this New Deal Site

Join the Conversation

Please note:

  • We are not involved in the management of New Deal sites and have no information about visits, hours or rentals.
  • This page shows all the information we have for this site; if you have new information or photos to share, click the button above.

Your email address will not be published, shared, or sold.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.