Puzzles
Word games made from downtown San Jose’s plaza, streets, parks, theaters and history. The word search changes every day.
Word search
Today’s word search
Find every word in the grid. Drag across the letters, or tap the first and last. Stuck? A hint lights up where a word starts. A new grid every day.
Find these words:
- Plaza
- Palms
- State Seal
- Capitol
- Quetzalcoatl
- Fountain
- SoFA
- South First
- Anno Domini
- MACLA
- Pobladores
- SubZERO
- St. James
- McKinley
- Trinity
- Unitarian
- Courthouse
- Carillon
- Light Tower
- Owen
- Arc Lamp
- Candlepower
- Moonlight
- Eiffel
Anagram
Local anagrams
Unscramble names you will find around Downtown San Jose. Stuck? Read the hint.
- San Jose’s oldest building, from 1797
- The 1855 home across from the adobe
- Marks the site of the first state capitol
- Laid out as a square in 1848
- Downtown’s oldest district, now full of restaurants
- Three blocks of South First Street
- Crowned by a 31-foot arch
- Astride Santa Clara and Market from 1881 to 1915
- San José State’s oldest building
- The statue of Smith and Carlos
- The Shark Tank
- The station at 65 Cahill Street
Word scramble
Quote scramble
Unscramble the words and the quote completes itself.
Lighted at night it presented a beautiful spectacle.
Quiz
How well do you know Downtown San Jose?
12 questions on downtown’s history, landmarks, streets and festivals.
In what year was El Pueblo de San José de Guadalupe founded?
- 1797
- 1850
- 1769
- 1777
Why did the pueblo move to the area around today’s downtown plaza in 1797?
- An earthquake
- A fire
- A gold strike
- Flooding
What is the oldest building in San Jose?
- Trinity Cathedral
- The Fallon House
- The Peralta Adobe
- Tower Hall
What number does the Peralta Adobe hold among San Jose’s historic landmarks?
- 1
- 7
- 100
- 461
What nickname did California’s first Legislature, meeting in San Jose, earn?
- The Legislature of a Thousand Drinks
- The Tent Congress
- The Adobe Assembly
- The Mud Session
In what month and year did the first Legislature meet in San Jose?
- December 1849
- July 1846
- March 1850
- September 1850
What marks the site of California’s first state capitol today?
- The Paseo de San Antonio
- St. James Park
- The Light Tower
- The Circle of Palms
To which town did the state capital move after San Jose?
- Monterey
- Vallejo
- Sacramento
- Benicia
Who raised the American flag over the pueblo in July 1846?
- John C. Frémont
- Josiah Belden
- Luís María Peralta
- Thomas Fallon
Which newspaper publisher championed the 1881 electric light tower?
- James Lick
- T. S. Montgomery
- Charles Herrold
- J. J. Owen
Which intersection did the electric light tower straddle?
- Santa Clara and Market
- Second and St. John
- First and San Carlos
- Almaden and Julian
Which famous landmark did San Jose accuse, in a mock trial, of copying its light tower?
- The Eiffel Tower
- Big Ben
- The Washington Monument
- The Statue of Liberty
