San José State & City Hall
Downtown’s eastern edge belongs to San José State, on Washington Square since 1871, and to City Hall, which brought the city’s government back downtown in 2005.
Discover San José State & City Hall
San José State traces its founding to 1857, has been on Washington Square since 1871 and is the founding campus of the California State University. Tower Hall, built in 1910, is the oldest building on campus. (Wikipedia, Wikipedia)
On the lawn beside Tower Hall stands Victory Salute, Rigo 23’s 2005 statue of Tommie Smith and John Carlos raising their fists at the 1968 Olympics, with an empty place on the podium where visitors can stand. (Wikipedia, San José State)
The Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Library, shared by the city and the university since 2003, holds the Ira F. Brilliant Center for Beethoven Studies on its fifth floor. (Wikipedia, Wikipedia)
Across San Fernando Street, Richard Meier’s City Hall opened in 2005 with an 18-story tower and a 110-foot glass rotunda, named in 2024 for Mayor Janet Gray Hayes. (Wikipedia)
The directory is being filled in — check back soon.
Downtown San Jose magic: Plazas, palms and the pueblo that started it all
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