Trolley Barn

History Park is officially re-opened with the following guidelines: Face Masks must be worn in the Park and inside all buildings. Buildings: limited to 10 people inside at any one time.... Public restrooms inside the Pacific Hotel are open to the public.

Are you a Storyteller? Gardener? Trolley Enthusiast? Do you enjoy engaging in conversation with strangers? If so attend our Volunteer Open House on May 20th @ History Park anytime between 11 am and 1 pm. Or you can simply apply online at historysanjose.org/volunteer

An approximate half scale replica is located at History Park

Today is Transit Driver Appreciation Day. Thanks to our History Park CTRC volunteers who have been running the vintage trolleys in the park for decades! #tdad

TROLLEY and CARS on University Avenue. Palo Alto. 1913.

The Trolley Barn, Trolley and other indoor facilities inside History Park continue to be closed due to COVID-19. History Park is open Monday-Friday 8am-4pm for walk thru visitors (public restrooms are closed).

South First Street. San Jose. 1905. Between San Fernando and San Antonio Streets.

The Trolley Barn and Trolley continue to be closed due to COVID-19 public health orders. History Park is open for walk thru visitors (public restrooms are closed).

Alum Rock Park Railroads. San Jose. Story of the Steam Trains. Folks who had a horse and carriage at their disposal could set out for Alum Rock Park via beaute...ous, state-of-the-art, tree-lined Alum Rock Avenue by 1875. Building a seven-mile-long "shady avenue" from downtown to the east foothills was truly burdensome for a young city which had few paved streets itself. Street-building in the 1870's cost on average $1.50 per linear foot which would bring the expense of creating seven miles of road to a figure in the realm of $55,000. San Joseans had to bear a special tax for four years to pay for the road. Average Joe, the city-dweller, didn’t own a horse, however, and was dependent on the streetcars, trolley lines and railroads to get himself and his family where they wanted to go. It was only natural that a rail line would be extended to the park to accommodate Mr. and Mrs. Joe and the kids, but it took several tries before the first train puffed into the park. The same geologic formations that create the rugged beauty of the canyon proved to be challenging in laying down the first narrow-gauge (three feet) rails. Two tunnels had to be constructed through the steep hills, bridges had to be built, and rock had to be blasted away in order to make a near-level roadbed. By the time the Alum Rock Railway Company had a viable route into the park in 1896, several men were bankrupt or, at the very least, mighty disillusioned by their unsuccessful efforts. Because steam locomotives were noisy and dirty, downtown dwellers did not want the Alum Rock Park line to start in their neighborhood (this illustrates that NIMBY is not a 20th-century concept.) Instead, the western terminus was established at the end of the horsecar line on Santa Clara Street at McLaughlin Avenue. An interesting note: the steam dummy locomotives were disguised to look like ordinary streetcars so as not to frighten the horses! Riders paid 25 cents for an excursion through the lightly settled ranchlands along Alum Rock Avenue to what today is Kirk Avenue where the tracks took a left-hand jog. At McKee Road, the tracks turned right and ran for a short distance to the Pala Rosa olive groves where they took a northerly course to Penitencia Creek and then turned right for the final leg through the park’s lower entrance. Before the train pulled into the terminal at the intersection of Penitencia Creek Road and Alum Rock Avenue (about where the Rustic Lands picnic area is today) kids had great sport while traveling through the olive groves on the bobbing, swaying cars. They would reach out the open windows and pull olives off the trees. Fresh-from-the-tree olives are not the taste treat one might think. As a matter of fact, until they’re cured, olives are incredibly bitter. Many a time even grown-ups couldn’t resist the temptation of inviting unsuspecting Eastern visitors to pick and taste a ripe olive just to see the wry faces they made! This early little train usually consisted of just three components: a small locomotive, one passenger car, and a flat car. The train was so lightweight that on its arrival at the entrance of the park, men would load rocks on the flat car to help hold the passenger car on the tracks when it crossed the bridge over Penitencia Creek. Even with this ballast, sometimes a car would slip off the tracks and dangle over the chasm. Fortunately, none ever dropped all the way to the creek bed and there were no serious injuries yet. There were frequent minor mishaps which sometimes led to hours-long delays. It was not unusual for holes to be burnt in passengers’ clothing by flying cinders and it was the expectation that everyone would be covered in soot when they arrived at their picnic. But, what the heck, the train ride just added one more exciting dimension to a wonderful day at the World Renowned Alum Rock Park and Reservation!

VIETNAMESE MUSEUM. History Park, 1650 Senter Rd. San Jose. A museum focusing on the experience of Vietnamese Americans and their journey from Vietnam to the Uni...ted States. The Museum is dedicated to the Vietnamese refugees Boat People and Republic of Viet Nam. This is the first Vietnamese Museum of its kind in the world, a project of IRCC (Immigrant Resettlement and Cutural Center) since 1976. The Museum is located in Greenwald House. The Greenawalt House is an Italianate style farmhouse built in 1877 at the west side of Almaden Expressway on a site just north of U.S. Highway 85. It was moved to History Park in 1991. The Viet Museum's collections focus on three periods: 1950 1975: The Republic of Vietnam and the War in the name of Freedom; 1975 1996: The Boat People and the quest for Freedom; 1975 2007: Vietnamese Americans today and the building of Liberty. Little Saigon -- Nowhere outside of Vietnam will you find a community with this concentration of Vietnamese immigrants. Located around Story and Tully roads, this neighborhood features Vietnamese shopping, cuisine and the Viet Museum, opening a window into this fascinating and ancient culture. (photo was taken on the museum's opening day, August 25, 2007).

ELECTRIC TOWER. Market and Santa Clara Streets. San Jose. Ceremonial first lighting of Tower. December 13, 6:30 Tuesday evening 1881.. One thousand San Joseans ...in attendance. 1881-1915 -- On December 3, 1915, gale force winds unleashed a terrible fury on San Jose. Sixty-knot winds slammed into the tower . . and it buckled in the middle. At 11:55 a.m., the 15-ton tower which had provided light, ducks, and merriment to hard working, God fearing San Joseans . . jack-knifed, and crashed to the street in a tortured knot of pipe and metal. When the tower was constructed in 1881 the process of galvanization (a coating of zinc to prevent rust) was unknown. The tower joints had rusted and crystallized . . and were no match for forces set in motion once the tower began to sway The last reminder of San Jose's electric light tower was the Tower Saloon, demolished around 1960. The Mercury News (1959) anticipates the wanton destruction of this historical tavern, "The tired old Tower Saloon will be torn down. That'll mean the end of an era in San Jose and a bright new future for once-shabby Market Street." The destruction of The Tower Saloon was a travesty. It would have stood a proud monument to the Light Tower, and a beacon of relief for thirsty downtown souls. In 1884 San Jose had 2,200 voters and 108 saloons. The Tower Saloon took its name from the tower and was one of several watering holes with customers who imbibed enough courage to attempt climbing the tower on a regular basis.

The Trolley Barn and Trolley continue to remain closed in compliance with city, county and state orders regarding sheltering in place and COVID-19. History Park has reopened to walk thru visitors. All buildings (including public restrooms) remained closed.

Santa Clara Street, Electric Tower in distance. San Jose.

The Trolley Barn and History Park continue to remain closed in compliance with city, county and state orders regarding sheltering in place and COVID-19. We hope to be able to see everyone soon.

As the shelter in place order in Santa Clara County has been extended History Park and the Trolley Barn continues to be closed unfortunately. May everyone be safe.

In compliance with the COVID-19 shelter in place order; History Park and Trolley Barn continue to be closed, at least thru May 3. Please check back for updates.

photo courtesy of Michael Stone - Seen in Canada!

EFFECTIVE immediately Trolley Barn and Trolley will not be open or operating as a precaution to the corona virus. History Park will remain open during normal business hours for visitors to walk through, but all houses will be closed to walk through traffic. Currently, we are scheduled to be closed thru 3/31. Please check back for updates. Thank you.

**NEW HOURS, effective immediately: History Park, Trolley Barn & Trolley opens at 12:00. Schedule for February & March 2020 subject to change; for last minute schedule check, please call us at 408-293-BARN (2276) All Sat/Sun; normal operating hours.

San Jose Railroad Streetcar. The 40-passenger trolley had been built in 1912 and later converted to one-person operation by removing the rear step in the back e...ntrance. In 1938 the last streetcar line in the county was abandoned as buses replaced streetcars. In 1888 an electrified railway powered by an underground third rail replaced the horse-drawn trolleys along The Alameda. Equipment malfunctions and insufficient generating capacity often brought the new railway to a halt, as did pedestrians, who stuck their metal-tipped umbrellas into the slot carrying the third rail in order to see the sparks fly. Within two years the underground electric system had been torn out and replaced with one using overhead power lines.