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Blogs: Local History

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Image: A neighbor surveys the damage following the explosion in San Jose's "Birdland" neighborhood on June 30, 1972. Photo from the July 1, 1972 issue of the San Jose Mercury News.

Looking Back: The Day My Neighbor's House Blew Up!

Ralph recalls an explosion that shook his neighborhood fifty years ago.

Ralph Pearce
07/25/2022 - 9:00 AM

Almaden Quicksilver

#PixinParks 2022 Almaden Quicksilver

Join SJPL Librarian, Brandy for an inside look into the Santa Clara County Park challenge #PixinParks.

Brandy Maldonado
07/18/2022 - 7:00 AM

SJ Story Map

SJ Story Map

The San José Story Map uses the power of stories to map San José in a new and different light.

SJWrites
07/09/2022 - 5:00 PM

Images from left: Ralph before the trip, having just returned, and in the Pittsburgh bus station.

Looking Back: A California Boy's Search for America (Part 3)

The third and final part of Ralph's 1978 journey across the U.S.

Ralph Pearce
06/20/2022 - 9:00 AM

Sanborn County Park, Saratoga to the Skyline Trail ©Brandy Maldonado

#PixinParks 2022 Sanborn County Park

Join SJPL Librarian, Brandy for an inside look into the Santa Clara County Park challenge #PixinParks.

Brandy Maldonado
06/13/2022 - 7:00 AM

Image: City of El Paso skyline in 2007. Photo in the public domain

Looking Back: A California Boy's Search for America (Part 2)

Ralph's 1978 journey continues from Gettysburg to El Paso, Texas.

Ralph Pearce
05/23/2022 - 9:00 AM

Image: Ralph puts on some travelling gear prior to his trip. Photo by Joyce Pearce

Looking Back: A California Boy's Search for America (Part 1)

Ralph looks back at his 1978 hitchhiking trip across the U.S.

Ralph Pearce
04/25/2022 - 9:00 AM

Image of Art Rodriguez working at his business #1 Disposal. Courtesy of Rodriguez Family.

Eastside Revelations - Art Rodriguez

The California Room is spotlighting East Side with a series of blogs featuring individuals, businesses, and community organizations with ties to the East Side.

Estella Inda
04/22/2022 - 2:27 PM

Image: The entrance to the first California Room at the old main library in 1974. Photo courtesy of the California Room

Looking Back: San Jose Public Library's California Room

Ralph looks back at the history of the California Room.

Ralph Pearce
03/28/2022 - 9:00 AM

Image: 150 Years of Libraries in San Jose Exhibit at the SJPL California Room

It’s Our 150th Anniversary… Or Is It?

A review of early San Jose Library efforts.

Michael Lara
02/19/2022 - 8:08 AM

Image: Pete Crisham and his market on the corner of Coe and Broadway Avenues in the mid-1970s. Photo courtesy of Elizabeth Giarratana.

Looking Back: A Market, a Trolley Car, and a Freight Train

Ralph looks back at a stretch of Coe Avenue in Willow Glen.

Ralph Pearce
02/18/2022 - 3:00 PM

Estella Inda in the forefront of the Lowrider Exhibit at King Library

Pathfinder Estella Inda: Fulfilling an Information Need About Lowrider Culture in San José

Did you know that San José was the Lowrider Cruising Capital in 1977. Learn more from Estella Inda, who has been sharing her research through the Library's East Side Exhibit.

Ila Langner
02/09/2022 - 10:00 PM