History Park at Kelley Park

San Jose Light Tower half-height replica. Note trolley in lower right corner for scale.

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 (decade). 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.

Exhibits

Period exhibits include a doctor's office, a dentist's office (complete with an old foot-pedal-powered drill), fruit barn (packing shed), 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, a post office 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. It also includes a collection of fruit picker wooden "box ends" from the families and companies of fruit growers from the Valley's history.

Other attractions include:

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.

References

Coordinates: 37°19′14″N 121°51′28″W / 37.32056°N 121.85778°W / 37.32056; -121.85778

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