Alviso, San Jose, California

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Alviso is a small community in Santa Clara County, California. It is located approximately 1.5 miles south of Drawbridge, at the north end of San Jose where it meets the southern end of the San Francisco Bay.

The Guadalupe River and Coyote Creek both end at Alviso, emptying into the Bay through the Alviso Slough. In 1983, Alviso was victim to severe flooding caused by El Niño.

Alviso was first settled in the 1700s. The city was incorporated on March 4, 1852, and ceased to exist when it was annexed by the city of San Jose on March 12, 1968, following a 189 to 180 vote in favor of annexation. The city's final census was in 1960 when it recorded a population of 1,174. [1].

Originally, Alviso was a boating and shipping port, the primary transportation link for the city of San Jose. That usage declined with the growth in railroad transportation between San Francisco and San Jose.

Today, shipping and industry have left Alviso, leaving it mostly as a small residential neighborhood. Digital video recorder company TiVo is based in the community as well as Foundry Networks. Many salt evaporation ponds formerly owned by Cargill in the neighborhood are being converted to wetlands as part of the Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge.