History Park at Kelley Park
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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. 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.
Period exhibits include a doctor's office, a dentist's office (complete with an old foot-pedal-powered drill), fruit barn, 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, 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.
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, the Portuguese Historical Museum, the Ng Shing Gung Temple, and a post office.
The "Trolley Barn" 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.
On March 13, 2005 another newly renovated building was opened to the public, housing the Leonard and David McKay Gallery, containing a collection of paintings of people, buildings, and landscapes from in and around San Jose.
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.
[edit] References
- Volunteers at History Park
- History San Jose Website
