Saint James

St. James Park is a historic urban park in downtown San Jose, California, originally laid out in 1848 as St. James Square. Development of the site began in the 1860s, after Trinity Episcopal Church was built. Landscape gardener William O'Donnell designed the square, planting hundreds of trees to provide shade, which was a rarity in the downtown area at the time. Although oral tradition names Frederick Law Olmsted as a co-designer, his formal involvement has never been confirmed. The name changed in the 1880s, when a central fountain topped with a female figure was installed and the surrounding fence was removed. In the following years, formal pathways were laid out and rows of palm trees were planted, setting the park apart from the adjacent commercial streets.

The park has been the setting for important historical events and is home to several memorials. A bronze statue of President William McKinley, unveiled in 1903, commemorates his visit to the city and stands on a granite pedestal. Other monuments honor Henry Morris Naglee and Robert F. Kennedy, who gave a speech here in 1968 before he was assassinated. The park's history also includes dark chapters, however, among them the lynching of two men in 1933 and an incident in 1918 in which a man was tied to a cannon at the foot of the McKinley monument. In the 1930s, the park was renovated as part of WPA projects, during which the old fountain was torn down and a new post office was built.

Today, the park is split in two by the extension of North Second Street, completed in 1955. A new fountain modeled on the historic original was built in the western half between 1988 and 1990, but it is currently not in operation. The St. James Square Historic District, which includes the park and nine surrounding buildings, was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1979. The park is served by the light rail and is now a popular gathering place, also frequented by the city's homeless population.