history park

Came across this place by accident....what a find! Easy parking, no admittance fee, beautiful sights and no crowds. There was nothing special going on that day, so we almost had the place to ourselves. The docents were all friendly and knowledgable and the candy store/cafe provided sandwiches for a perfect picnic. We'll be back!

There is some thing for everyone. A children's petting zoo with dozens of animals. Demonstrations by zoo keepers; snake handling as an example. Lots of local animals; coyotes, etc. The there is the Japanese pond with dozens and dozens of Oriental multi-colored carp. And last but not least, acres of San Jose history, including the first San Jose street light.

While looking for things to do in San Jose, I came across a car show for model T and A cars here at History Park....it's off Phelan Avenue. It is like walking into history, houses have been relocated here to show history and a lot of folks dress in period clothing. Steam cars were also there as well as a few cars older than the A or T era...A nice candy and ice cream shoppe, bike museum, train/trolly museum, and a local restaurant (Peggy Sue's) cooking hamburgers, hotdogs, nachos....and so on. It was a lot of fun! I only wished they had tap beer available...it was so very hot and I just kept thinking that a cold beer would taste great! (The event is a dry event) Worth seeing again!!

In my mind History Park is a unique place to have visited. I have come here for car shows, to view art and photography exhibits, and to tour the different museums and displays on the campus. The employees, docents and hosts have always been approachable and knowledgeable. Parking is adequate and there is a nominal fee most of the time.

This is a historical park in Kelly Park in downtown San Jose. I visited on a quiet summer day in August. They were however setting up for an evening event there. The small museums are mostly open on the week-ends so I just walked through the area looking at the historic buildings. On the week-ends the free trolley is also in operation which is fun children to ride.The small museums are about the different cultural groups who live in San Jose. For example, there are various museums such as the Chinese American Historical Museum, Viet Museum, Portugeese Museum, and the Hellenic (Greek) Heritage Museum. There is also various historical buildings such as Pacific Hotel, printing office, blacksmith shop, historical homes, and more.I have been to the park a few times. The most fun I had here was when I went on a work party where there was a catered picnic. The amount of time to see the park depends on when you come to see it; i.e. there is more going on ion the week-ends and the purpose of visit.

It seems they save historic buildings in San Jose by moving them to the History Park. There was quite a mix of different architecture and eras. The town was quite empty when we visited, but sometimes they have big events here. It was interesting to look at the old buildings, but it's better on a weekend when they are open and manned by volunteers. All in all, worth a short visit.

It has great history on San Jose past. Valley Of The Heart's Delight is very much represented with the displayed artifacts, structures and wonderful docents. Give it a visit

Sometimes this place can be a bit of a ghost town, but the buildings they have there are pretty neat. You won't spend a lot of time here, but can combine it with a visit to the Japanese Tea Garden. Both are worth a visit if you like taking pictures and doing tourist type things. You can bring your kids, there aren't a lot of these places left anymore.

We had family visiting from Canada and wanted to do some walking. I looked up History Park and we headed there. WHAT A FUN PLACE. Imagine a small, quiet, historical town frozen in time. It had an electric trolley that worked took you around, it had a restoration / museum area with other trolley cars, houses representing different cultures, a row of migrant worker houses, etc.Low key, relaxed, fun. It gave me the impression of what Walt Disney might have created when he said he wanted a nice, friendly place where a family could walk and have a picnic.The volunteers who ran the trolley, worked the turn of the century print shop and soda/candy shop, acted as docents, etc. were all friendly and informative. What a nice place, and it was free and no charge for parking. THANK YOU, History Park.

Hard to find the entrance but once we did park in the correct lot we loved it. Rode the trolley and saw the trolley museum and visited the print shop. We also had time to see the Portuguese building. Wish we would have had more time because my kids loved it. The volunteers are fabulous!

Love going there with the kids. Quiet peaceful and not crowded park.A lot of interesting things to see. Always something new to learn. The kids favirite was the free trolley ride and the very interesting and helpful volunteres.

As stated in an another review, it's somewhat disappointing that the buildings are not open during the week. I walked around the History Park and it seemed it had a lot to offer but I was unable to visit anything, with the exception of the new Vietnamese museum, since all were closed.

After making arrangements for a group photo shoot to be held at the History Park of San Jose in CA, I was extremelypleased with all of the lovely settings. The group was the Bay Area Photographers and Models from Meetup. We photographerscouldn't get enough of the wonderful architecture and the pictures of themodel came out so well. It was peaceful there and it was a greatexperience!

I put this on my to-do list of places to visit in San Jose based on reviews here. I didn't realize until after I left the Japanese Friendship Garden that History Park is part of the larger Kelly Park. I moved my car (& my $10 day parking pass) to the lot right behind the History Park only to find that the entrance next to it was closed. I drove around to the other entrance only to find the parking lot was closed. I drove back to the other lot and walked up Senter to get into the park. Only to find that everything was closed except for the candy store (which didn't have much candy). Apparently everything, including the various ethnic musuems that I wanted to visit, is only open on the weekend. Well, at least I got some exercise. My rating is low only because this is something that should be open every day. I wasn't the only person that day who left disappointed. Other than paying for parking, the park is free to visit.

A really fascinating model for presenting local history. Each museum within the park is run by a different organization, so it's difficult to know which one is open when and where each one is. You sort of just have to walk around and get the feel of the place-- which is enjoyable and engaging for families with kids especially!They have tons of great weekend events, and their school programs for kids are booked a full year in advance!This is a place every San Jose resident should check out at least once. It's free during the week, and there's a minimal admission fee over the weekend... So you have no excuse!