A Trip Down Memory…. Bank: Italian Heritage Month in San Jose

A Trip Down Memory.... Bank.

Things haven’t been quite the same at the California Room since the San Jose Public Library was gifted online San Jose Mercury News access in memory of Susan Renzel Carter.

Back in the day, newspaper research was limited to using clipping files, scrapbooks, or microfilm and microfiche. Finding articles in clipping files or scrapbooks usually took a mixture of time, skill, and luck. Even more so with microfilm and microfiche, but add in cat-like focus and a steady hand to the mix.

These old physical newspaper collections are still available at the California Room, just that now we have… the technology. Thus, the gift of Newsbank and the ability to search the San Jose Mercury News and Evening News Archives from 1884 to today is yours with an SJPL Library card.

Below is one of my fondest early memories using Newsbank at the California Room.

October is Italian Heritage Month

They Came from Trabia

One day, a determined researcher arrived at the California Room on a mission. They specifically recall an article about Trabians in San Jose, and how there were more Trabians in San Jose than in Trabia itself. Trabia, a small village about 20 miles East down the coast from Palermo on the island of Sicily, was reported by the San Jose Mercury News in 1958 to have a population of about 5,000 people. That article titled, "More Here Now Than In Sicily: Long Ago, Trabians Invaded S.J.--Most Have Prospered," boasts that, "Trabia is actually now more a part of the Santa Clara Valley than it is of Italy. The 8,000 transplanted Trabians in this area are more than the 5,000 present inhabitants of the town."

Newsbank is teeming with stories of San Jose history, all yours with your San Jose Public Library Card.

AP Giannini

AP Giannini was the founder of the Bank of Italy, which eventually grew to be the second largest bank in the country as Bank of America. Giannini was born at the Swiss Hotel in San Jose on May 6th, 1870, near the corner of Market Street and West Saint John Street.¹

San Jose’s Bank of Italy Building

Perhaps the most recognizable building in Downtown San Jose, the Bank of Italy building stands at the corner of First Street and Santa Clara Street. It was designed by architect Henry A. Minton. The building was completed in 1925 and opened in 1927. The Bank of Italy was founded in 1904 by Amadeo Giannini; it is known today as Bank of America.

The (Littlest) Little Italy

Just a short trek between San Pedro Square and the San Jose Sharks' SAP Center is San Jose's Little Italy. The Little Italy Museum and Cultural Center is surrounded by restaurants and Italian flag painted crosswalks. Kitty-corner from the Little Italy Museum and Cultural Center is the Littlest Little Italy restaurant group, which name I feel is the perfect description for the neighborhood and has a nice ring to it.