San Jose

San Jose became in 1850 the first incorporated city in the US State of California, and served as its first state capital. With a population close to one million, San Jose is the most populous city in Northern California, third in the state (after Los Angeles and San Diego), and tenth in the US. The city of San Jose stretches from the San Francisco Bay up to Mount Hamilton (4,372 feet). San Jose comprises large natural parks and rural lands that contrast with its developed urban areas. The most prosperous (in terms of per capita income) and the safest of the large US cities, San Jose is an important business center as the self-proclaimed "Capital of the Silicon Valley". Although not known as a tourist destination until recently (with the exception of the strange Winchester House), San Jose has enjoyed an urban renaissance from the 1990s with a pleasant downtown area, and new buildings such as the Tech Museum, City Hall, new San Jose Repertory Theatre, HP Pavilion, Fairmont Hotel, and Adobe Systems headquarters.

I have made my home in San Jose since 2003, so this series of pictures will be regularly updated.