San Jose

Population : (2006) 929,936

San Jose (IPA: /ˌsænhoʊˈzeɪ/) is the third-largest city in California, and the tenth-largest in the United States. It is the county seat of Santa Clara County. San Jose is located in Silicon Valley, at the south end of San Francisco Bay. Once a small farming city, San Jose became a magnet for suburban newcomers in new housing developments between the 1960s and the 1990s, and is now the largest city in Northern California. The official United States Census Bureau population estimate for July 1, 2006 is 929,936.

Originally known as El Pueblo de San José de Guadalupe, San Jose was founded on November 29, 1777 as the first town in the Spanish colony of Nueva California, which later became Alta California. The city served as a farming community to support Spanish military installations at San Francisco and Monterey. When California gained statehood in 1850, San Jose served as its first capital. After more than 150 years as an agricultural center, increased demand for housing from soldiers and other veterans returning from World War II, as well as aggressive expansion during the 1950s and 1960s, led San Jose to become a bedroom community for Silicon Valley. Growth in the 1970s attracted more businesses to the city. In the late 1980s, after four decades of heavy development and population growth, San Jose surpassed San Francisco in population to become the third most populous city in California. By the 1990s, San Jose's location within the booming local technology industry earned the city the nickname Capital of Silicon Valley.

http://img515.imageshack.us/img515/8843/sanjose1sw3.jpg

http://img374.imageshack.us/img374/2896/sanjose2te9.jpg

http://img374.imageshack.us/img374/5043/sanjose3zb1.jpg

http://img515.imageshack.us/img515/7940/sanjose4ck6.jpg

http://img295.imageshack.us/img295/802/sanjose5il7.jpg

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http://www.wedohosting.com/images/regional/san_jose_hosting_hosting_san_jose_linux.jpg

4/10

Yuk , :puke:

http://smiles.zy.cz/139.gif http://smiles.zy.cz/588.gif http://smiles.zy.cz/633.gif
5/10

Besides the mountains...I don't see anything scraping the sky...2.5/10

5/10
Where are the scrapers??

Where are the scrapers??

They are 50 Miles Northwest in San Francisco. San Jose is part of the San Francisco Metro Area.

5.5/10 ! :)

San Jose has a quiet downtown mainly because of the light rail construction years ago that forced businesses out. Hopefully with the new opening of joint library with the City and SJSU along with the new civic center that is under construction, the downtown will once begin to active again.

As for skyline, I give 6.5/10. Most of the buildings are within three blocks only (West from Market Street to East at 1st then 2nd, South from San Carlos Ave to North at Santa Clara Ave), which contribute to a small skyline.

a 6.5 is extremely generous for this city. I give it a 2. There isn't much of a skyline.

4/10


For a city like San Jose, it could be better.

boxes, low, innovating and little ugly buildings, very artificial
city. 1/10

maximum 15 plants!!!!!!!:bash:

5.5/10 for at least having a skyline

AAAARRGGHHHHHH!!!!!

Dude, even Coronel Fabriciano 100k (small city in Minas Gerais - Brasil) has a better skyline

Small and boring... 4/10

i was expecting a nice skyline

gross
4/10

This city is essentially the capital of Silicon Valley. Its the largest city in Silicon Valley. Its actually larger than San Fran. However, while San Fran is home to many financial and corporate institutions that are housed in big skyscrapers, San Jose is home to many high-tech companies, which tend to build "campus-style" headquarters, rather than skyscrapers.

Hard to belive this is California.

This is so sad. San jose has SOOOO much potential. Its such a rich city...but i guess all the money goes to the people living in the burb style housing.

The mountains doesn't count in the skyline, do they? :) In that case, it would have got some quite good point. But it doesn't, so 5/10

6

Not much of a skyline, too short but at least is well focused. Much better than what I expected- being a newer area dominated by IT industries that tend to develop campus style developments, I was surprised to see a defined central area.

Thanks for the excellent overhead pic Eric Wong, gives a good perspective.

I lived in San Jose for 3 years, and for a city of close to 900,000 the skyline is horrible. Even though it will continue to grow, and is already the largest city in the bay area, it will always be in the shadow of San Francisco. I'll be generous and give it 3/10

4/10

Overgrown suburb.

4/10.....booooorrriiing

its not... that bad. 6.5

3.5.

3/10. Although San Jose is in the Bay Area, they should at least have more buildings, and at least 3 new ones to bypass the tallest at 280 feet. Boring! Even Oakland has taller skyscrapers than these midgets that tower SJ!
Another fact to consider: 280 feet is sadly the height limit allowed by the FAA. Mineta Airport needs to relocate in another part of the city; that airport is what is keeping SJ from having a skyline AT ALL! Let alone the mountain views.

I expected a lot better for San Jose. For some reason I remember seeing photos or video clips that made it look better. Based on these pictures, 4/10. :(

Very low-rise. I doubt it even has a single building listed on Emporis (and Emporis starts at 35m).

2/10

I've heard of the city but it definately sucks from the top. Crap! Refuse to vote.

sad for a city its size, they need to start buildin some highrises

Actually there are 43 highrises listed on emporis for San Jo, but I agree, the skyline sucks

Its just a suburbia. I guess we can consider San Jose to be another Bay suburb to San Francisco.

hEY PEOPLE!

I've never visited San Jose, California
I'm currently residing in San Francisco
from Texas..

Damn I will say that i was thrilled with the San Francisco
Skyline, but I would like to know more about the skyline
AziaBoyz or somebody.. can you guys put more pictures
I mean i could imagine it's a suburban city, but in Google.com
in image searches it suxs when it comes to looking up downtown pics..
Please!
thanks!
Erniee

I feel your pain San Jose! Although San Diego got off a little better with 500ft...still I gave it a 5.5, for an attempt to do something.

The pics aren't showing for me, but I've been there a bunch of times and I give it a 5/10

cant see any pics , DAMN !!!!

http://www.acerelocation.com/images/cities/SAN_JOSE2.jpg

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/3/38/AlumRockViewSiliconValley_w.jpg

http://www.wedohosting.com/images/regional/san_jose_hosting_hosting_san_jose_linux.jpg

7/10- not much of a skyline, but i like it :)

as someone said before, it's an overgrown suburb. i feel sick.

3/10

5/10

6/10

10 outer 10.

The definition of mediocrity. From personal experience during the business day, at night, and on the weekends, the street life in the CBD is no better than the skyline.

3/10

A bigger city than Baltimore on paper, but really just an overgrown suburb, with suburban buildings. 3.5

nothin to see.
3.0

Yuck 3/10

3.5/10

Considering that San Jose is now America's 10th largest city, the skyline is unacceptable. 3/10

not that impressive, althought that third pic isn't to bad, so 6/10, because i'm in a good mood ;)

For a city that has recently broken into US top 10 cities I expected much more

3.5/10

There`s no skyline at all......

4.5, extra points for the childhood memories that came back to me when I saw the picture of the Tech Museum of Innovation (the orange building with a purple dome), back when I was a kid I used to love hanging out there and checking out all the neat exhibits. And the greenery in the area really was quite attractive.

And come on guys, the skyline sucks because...there's an airport nearby. I remember how we used to dirve to the airport and we would usually see a low-flying plane (usually Southwest Airlines) heading towards the airport, which BTW is not too far away.

Call it a biased opinion from a guy who grew up there, but I'm just giving everyone the reason why the tallest building there is...either the Hilton or the one with the Adobe logo.

Ahhh... the memories.

a bit too colourfully, 5.5

5.5/10

http://i2.tinypic.com/sos3k9.jpg
http://i2.tinypic.com/sos5z8.jpg
http://i2.tinypic.com/sos6le.jpg

6/10, Im biased :)

5/10.....it is really small, but it has some potential....

7.9/10.. I've been there many times and I know people there, it's a fun city

Its just a suburbia. I guess we can consider San Jose to be another Bay suburb to San Francisco.
San Jose is NOT a suburb of San Fran.. San Jose forms part of the San Francisco-San Jose-Oakland Metropolitan area. It is the only metro area in the USA that that has 3 major cities in it, as opposed to all the other metro areas which have only one major core city and outlying suburbs surrounding it.

The definition of mediocrity. From personal experience during the business day, at night, and on the weekends, the street life in the CBD is no better than the skyline.

3/10
San Jose has a vibrant night life nowadays. In the past it was pretty mediocre, but in the past 1 or 2 years many different clubs, bars, and restaurants have sprung up and revitalized the formerly dead night life in San Jose. If you're ever in town, head downtown on a weekend evening and check it out for yourself.

Considering that San Jose is now America's 10th largest city, the skyline is unacceptable. 3/10
You are absolutely right, but as of recently there are many projects proposed and underway. Im sure one day San Jose will have a better skyline..after all, there is no city in the world that started out with an awesome skyline, it takes time. People also have to consider that even though San Jose is Cali's oldest city (and site of the 1st state capital), it is a relatively new city in the sense that not too long ago, much of the city was orchards. Think of San Jose as a late bloomer.LOL

I like the farenheight ultra lounge there.

They are 50 Miles Northwest in San Francisco. San Jose is part of the San Francisco Metro Area.
Once again, San Jose FORMS part of the San Francisco-San Jose-Oakland Metropolitan Area. It is NOT a suburb of San Francisco. Look it up.

SJ is pretty suburban, but the downtown is not. The skyline sucks due to the FAA imposed hight limit but there at least 10 buildings planned in the next couple of years that will be 150+ feet. It won't be a tall skyline but it should be an interesting one. Size isn't everything! :)

Check this link for the official planned developments:

http://www.sanjoseca.gov/planning/dev_review/HighRise.pdf

Oh, i gave it a 6/10 on account of the building colors.

Lastly: Officially, it's the "San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland Bay Area."

Zzzzz.... 5.5/10

Lastly: Officially, it's the "San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland Bay Area."

You are so right, thank you!

Give San Jose a break. It can't build any higher even if it wanted to. There's an airport nearby. I'm sure if that airport wasn't there, San Jose would have a really nice skyline.


Scroll ------------------------>
http://www.ianfuller.com/Panorama/DowntownSanJose2.jpg

4.0 - The city may be interesting, but the skyline is not.

That panorama shows perfectly why the skyline is somewhat boring and downtown isn't the "walkable" area people want it to be: too many empty lots, in this case serving as surface parking lots. Ewwww. One day, one day...

*Although that pic does leave out some of the more interesting modern almost-skyscrapers down near Almaden and Santa Clara...hmmmm

San Jose is fckin awesome!

6/10. It's FLAT.

been here.. looks alright.
NO VERY FLAT

8/10

This place is just a DISGRACE to american cities.

Zzzzz.... 5.5/10Santa Rosa isn't at all any better.

SJ is pretty suburban, but the downtown is not. The skyline sucks due to the FAA imposed hight limit but there at least 10 buildings planned in the next couple of years that will be 150+ feet. It won't be a tall skyline but it should be an interesting one. Size isn't everything! :)

Check this link for the official planned developments:

http://www.sanjoseca.gov/planning/dev_review/HighRise.pdf

Oh, i gave it a 6/10 on account of the building colors.

Lastly: Officially, it's the "San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland Bay Area."That's right, my mistake. :)

San Jose is fckin awesome!Yes it is!!!

San Jose is fckin awesome!Yes it is!!! :cheers:

This place is just a DISGRACE to american cities.Why is it a disgrace dickhead?

Why is it a disgrace dickhead?
Just look at its pathetic skyline! And its suppose to be the America's 10th biggest city for god sake.

Yes it is!!! :cheers:
Its ok to admit that your city's skyline is crap, i know you are from there, so quite understandable for you to pretend that its actually awesome.

7/10

Great way to find the worst fucking pic possible.

7/10

4/10

Nothing but a bunch on mid to low rise buildings -- 4.5/10

mmmh.... mmmmh.... not sufficient. Sorry for San Jose -> 4/10

Makes phoneix look good.

some better pictures

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/3/3f/SJPan.jpg

the endless sprawl
http://www-scf.usc.edu/~boz/Pictures/DSC01325.JPG

You can see the tiny skyline way off in the distance
http://pic.templetons.com/brad/pano/midpano/sv-heli.jpg

http://pic.templetons.com/brad/pano/midpano/silval01-mod.jpg

if you look hard enough you can see all 3 bay area skylines in this one
http://pic.templetons.com/brad/pano/midpano/mtbello50.jpg

more sprawl
http://pic.templetons.com/brad/pano/midpano/quimbypan.jpg

http://pic.templetons.com/brad/pano/midpano/sjhilton.jpg

http://pic.templetons.com/cgi-bin/imget?f=brad/pano/midpano/sj-winter-storm.jpg

6/10...

Very disappointing for the 10th largest city of the US, with over 900k. But, it has a excuse because of that airport nearby. It however, IMO, has an opportunity to build nice mid-rises all over the city.

With land so scarce, I think that San Jose will have a better skyline in the future.

For a city with 900k people, San Jose is dismal in its skyline. Not to say that it isn't a great city, it's fantastic. It is just a perfect example of the fault of having too much land. The focus on suburban sprawl in an affluent city and the prevalence of automobiles allow for the city to grow out instead of up, especially in a city like San Jose, with vast amounts of buildable land. As a result, horizontal development occurs. In reality, traveling to San Jose is very, very comfortable and enjoyable, it just lacks the "city feel"

"6"

It looked more impressive in person, but not much of a skyline for a city this size. All the buildings look generic and aren't tall. Looks like it could be anywhere in the world, there's no real defining touch that says "San Jose."

I've seen mention here several times of the FAA building height limitations on downtown San Jose. I live in downtown, so I'm familiar with the air traffic and just how low the planes fly over downtown. For those viewing San Jose via pix for the first time... a little visual to explain how the CBD is directly in the flight path. (Oh, what I wouldn't give to go back in time and "talk" with the people who decided to put the first landing strip right there...)
http://i16.tinypic.com/2lvg214.jpg
http://i12.tinypic.com/2hgzpqh.jpg
http://i18.tinypic.com/4gyy6pf.jpg
http://i13.tinypic.com/3ys12lc.jpg

I also just had to post updated (or should I say complete) pictures of the San Jose CBD. The original pictures posted in this thread have dropped off. Below is an aerial of downtown today and below that downtown in a few years once all the proposed (and all but one approved I believe) construction is complete. Three of the new towers are already under contstruction. Several more break ground in the coming months with several more after that... and several more after that. The construction train is full spead ahead for downtown the next 5+ years!
http://i16.tinypic.com/3ygxw87.jpg
http://i18.tinypic.com/47skn0x.jpg
** Thank you 1stACT for this information. www.1stact.org

5.5/10

boring 6/10

boring skyline 4/10

boring skyline 4/10

I second this, a solid 4 indeed

I see more highway than skyline

much cleaner city
i think its not that bad

That sucks about the height restriction. I feel sorry for you guys...

5/10.

That sucks about the height restriction. I feel sorry for you guys...

5/10.

Well SF isn't very far away from here.

6.5/10

6/10

dissapointing for the third largest city in California (after LA and san diego). But it looks very clean.7/10

Crappy skyline...Honolulu has less than half the population than San Jose yet Honolulu ranked 4th for most skyscrapers in the U.S., right under New York, Chicago and Los Angeles... I think U.S. cities need to step up!

If the city didn't have almost a million people, I think scores would be a bit higher...

As it is, though, I give it a 5.5 because I'm biased. I like that most of the buildings are new and crisp.

Once again, San Jose FORMS part of the San Francisco-San Jose-Oakland Metropolitan Area. It is NOT a suburb of San Francisco. Look it up.
Technically, the U.S. census refers to the bay area as the, San Jose-San Fransisco-Oakland metro area, the order of cities was changed after San Jose past S.F. in the number of jobs, it had past S.F around a decade ago in population. It will probaly break a million within the city limits in three years, the suburban look will slowly disapear as a green belt was established around the city, it has really nowhere to go but up, even if it's to a max height (downtown) of 300 feet. (FAA reg):)

for those who live in the Bay Area and visit this thread. This city does not have the title even for the tallest building between San Francisco and Los Angeles. That title is held by the Metro Center Tower in Foster City, a peninsula city. Yes, I am deeply saddened by this.

Bah, I almost wish I didn't see this thread. The good news is that the skyline will improve greatly in the future. Below is a link to a Google map that shows how many projects are in the works, along with some photos if you click on the blocks. Also SJ is pretty much out of room, so there is nowhere to build but up.

http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&msid=107189668838923089280.000001127d6ff03df2c11&ll=37.332802,-121.886015&spn=0.011312,0.028667&t=h&z=16&om=1

5/10

5.5/10 :|

5.5 not much tall building, though i really like the ambiance!

for those who live in the Bay Area and visit this thread. This city does not have the title even for the tallest building between San Francisco and Los Angeles. That title is held by the Metro Center Tower in Foster City, a peninsula city. Yes, I am deeply saddened by this.

Yea, go FC!

:)

7/10

7/10

7/10

7/10

San Jose is clean, safe and pretty wealthy...but the downtown area lacks the "urban look"....(taller buildings and more urban dwellers.) Damn airport..!:ohno: 4/10

7/10 right now.....in 5 years, it'll be 10/10. you guys shouldn't be so hard on san jose. it's an up-and-coming city that's doing great things!

It looks like a latin city!!! but nice tho....
10/10

6/10

7/10

08

7/10

6,5/10

6/10.

6/10

7. Regards.

6/10

7.5/10

6/10

Can they just finally get rid of that airport so they can build something? 5.5

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3559/3771027923_2680490c0d_b_d.jpg

8/10

5/10

6.5/10

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3408/3309496178_697355a282_o_d.jpg
http://www.flickr.com/photos/38037974@N00/

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1071/5125408986_844277b44a_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/49394874@N08/5125408986/)
San Jose Skyline Panoramic (http://www.flickr.com/photos/49394874@N08/5125408986/) by SkylineScenes (http://www.flickr.com/people/49394874@N08/), on Flickr

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4051/4323434534_b6592286ba_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/dj326ca/4323434534/)
Downtown San Jose Skyline (http://www.flickr.com/photos/dj326ca/4323434534/) by dj326CA (http://www.flickr.com/people/dj326ca/), on Flickr

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3432/3773498004_eaed4897c9_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/ozzie2645/3773498004/)
San Jose, CA night skyline (http://www.flickr.com/photos/ozzie2645/3773498004/) by Ozzie2645 (http://www.flickr.com/people/ozzie2645/), on Flickr

6/10

6.5/10. The architecture is good, but the skyline itself lacks height.

4/10

7/10

8/10

and I thought Phoenix skyline was pathetic lol

6.5/10