It is never too late to make the right decision. Only fifty years after our city leaders opted out of the heart of our community and moved our government to North First Street—they’re back! Well, they are nearly back. A big move is underway and a new era is dawning. The problem is packing up a half century of files, reports, and compacting some largely unlamented errors in judgment and moving them a couple of miles to their new home on East Santa Clara Street. It is high time that it happened.
There are many who think that the disgrace of broken dreams and abandoned promises that downtown San Jose became was largely the result of two factors: the headlong rush to suburbanization, led by some careless Council members and greedy developers, and the fact that the Orwellian world of drug dealers and mentally impaired individuals mixing with the neighborhoods and small businesses of Downtown were a potentially lethal combination. Although this mixture was never seen as dangerous by the elites of City government on North First Street, there is much truth to both of these conclusions.
In the next weeks, I intend to tell the true story of the few who put the issue of a new City Hall on the front burner - former Council members Frank Fiscalini and David Pandori were two. The small group that pushed the ballot initiative to victory ought to get a tip of the hat. Critical to the group was the key staff person in the effort, Joe Guerra. It is also pertinent to point out the many that just stood on the sidelines and watched - always anxious to avoid any fight to redress old wrongs. We should thank the former group and note the latter.
All the happenings of the Al Ruffo lawsuit and the Cisco affair are worthy of mention, but did not diminish the basic sense of having the government center in the center of the city. Enough for now.
On the current crisis we should be prudent. Let’s all wait for the total facts on the Grand Jury report. Ron Gonzales deserves a chance to respond to the serious charges. With a BART election and a City election in the near future, it is imperative not to rush to judgment. There is much at stake and a fair analysis is paramount.
This latest crisis means a lot more than my retrospective on San Jose history. You’ll get it nevertheless. But remember, history is also what we compose each and every day. Stay tuned.
Tom,
You’re right on as usual. When you were a mere child, you saw City Hall move out of Downtown and the development of Valley Fair, two blows that, imho, Downtown has never really recovered from. At least moving the City Hall back is a step in the right direction.
When you were my Mayor, you saw the Council victimized by shortsighted and biased Grand Jury reports that later were proved to be flawed. For some reason that I’ve never understood, Grand Jury reports take on the aura of Holy Scripture and the press invariable will have a field day with them.
I think Ron deserves a fair hearing and should not be tarred with this kind of brush.
Though the issue has yet to get a proper airing, the first whiffs of Garbagegate are emitting a Tony Soprano-like aroma. In fact, the stench from the steaming pile is so powerful that it cleared even the muddled thought processes of the Mercury’s Scott Herhold, whose column today correctly identifies the mayor’s office as the source of the big stink.
Surprise payments and forgotten meetings are symptomatic of mayors who’ve been playing in the dark with union bosses. Small wonder so many phone records sleep with the fishes: how in hell would Mayor Ron ever explain all those calls to Uncle June, Big Pussy, and Pauly Walnuts?
Traveling J-
You are right that Gonzales deserves a fair hearing and that Grand Jury reports should not be accepted as the last word. However, given this administration’s record for credibility and the rather weak explanations he’s offered I think he’s got a long way to go if he wants to regain the public’s trust. He may escape a DA investigation, but the public is another matter.
The larger question that no one seems to want to ask: Could Gonzales seriously ever run for statewide office? I doubt it. The opposition would have a field day.
You know that I am not an apologist for the pols, but I hope that you remember that the move from Downtown was caused by a very damaged City Hall (termites, etc) that needed replacement.
The Holmes caused Macy deal was really compounded by the Mercury-Herald’s abandonment of West Santa Clara St with its move to the Coyote Creek. Without their employees, the DeAnza went down hill, Miller’s and the other restaurants in the area lost out. And more importantly, the Merc lost touch with the reality of San Jose!
Keep after ‘em, Tom!
Jerry
Jerry, I agree that the Merc never should have left downtown, but they bailed long after the decline had begun. Still, they would have made a statement by finding/building new digs downtown instead of heading out to Elmwood Heights. My feeling about City Hall bailing on downtown is mixed. I don’t think the 1958 building would have been a good fit downtown and I don’t think there’s any reason to believe that they would have changed the architecture on it if they had chosen to build it downtown. Today it would be a sore thumb and an inefficient use of the downtown land it sat on. Maybe Alan Hess would disagree. But I think we’re lucky it ended up by 1st & Hedding instead. I appreciate 50’s architecture but the current City Hall does nothing for me and certainly lacks the presence required of the primary civic building for a city with a population of nearly 1 million. Now we have a super-modern structure that while it has its architectural flaws is suited for a downtown location. The old City Hall that was replaced back in the late 50’s was apparently already crumbling and I have read mostly that there was no love lost when that building was knocked down. I’m sure if it were saved it could have served another purpose just like the neighboring post office/library/musuem has managed to do, but clearly this town had outgrown it as a practical City Hall even by 1958 and back then the term “historic preservation” was lost in the shadow of the promise of “urban renewal.” The deal is done now and the new building is coming to life inside. Let’s hope it sparks the surrounding area outside to do likewise.
Tom:
I think your measured comments about our mayor are right on target. Let’s see how this plays out.
Mercury News single handedly caused the demise of downtown San Jose. They moved to knight Ridder St. which is out in the middle of nowhere. Mercury News always says bad things about downtown. Forinstance, “Downtown is struggling or the struggling core area.” They are critical of the downtown whenever they talk about it. Nowadays, Mercury News doesn’t even talk about downtown, and they haven’t for the last few years, atleast in the big way. The Mercury is very detrimental to downtown. They never boast that downtown is vibrant or healthy. They never take pride in our downtown. They neglect downtown as we speak today. They’re the enemy of downtown. In the meantime, we are correcting all our mistakes we’ve made in the past, and Mercury News is continuing the mistakes. To correct the mistakes, the Mercury must talk positively about downtown and say downtown is vibrant and exciting which is very true today. They(Mercury) must move to a newly planned highrise in downtown just like the city’s moving the new city hall downtown. If Merury doesn’t, they won’t serve the community at all. We would need a new daily newspaper that would benefit the city! The Mercury would be impediment to the community and the city.
But Paul, of course the Merc supports downtown. Their parent company’s name is perched atop one of downtown’s taller and more modern buildings, so they think we all believe that they’re supportiing the downtown. Don’t we?
And isn’t today the day they’re launching their new look with more of a focus on local news? I won’t see today’s Merc until I get home from work but I’m sure like everyone else it’s all I can think about today!
I’d be happy if they’d just get rid of the Fry’s ad off the back page of the front section. That is about the tackiest thing they’ve done in a long time.
And hey Tom, I agree that we need to cut Gonzo some slack right now, but geez, I sure like Finfan’s take on this.
Hey Tony Ridder
What an idea! Couldn’t we get the mercury or knight ridder into the sorbrato building?
Doesn’t seem that any of our tech companies are in a position to take the building. But shouldn’t / couldn’t a national publisher that was founded here build a bigger presence?
And make up for years of downtown and San Jose bashing.
Sure, give Gonzo a chance, just like he gives everyone else who dares disagree with him. The GJ report is one of the better wrtten reports, which is why Gonzo and his hatchet-man Guerra are attacking it. They have done very little to deny to actual events outlined in the report, because the report is accurate. Many people inside CH knew about this backroom gift of public funds. Staff did what they could but were steamrolled by Gonzo and Guerra. The Council, as is so often the case, stuck their heads in the sand and didn’t ask the important questioins. Chavez is badly wounded by this and her defense of this disgrace only makes it worse.
As for the new CH—how can you ignore the deception that has taken place when we were told this would house all of the city employees? That is clearly not the case. The building is very ugly when approaching from the east and not much better from the west. The “front” looks like a mistake. Shouldn’t the dome of a civic building be on top, not stuck next to it like some afterthought?
Vision is great and kudos to those who have it, but when it is packaged in deceit and contempt, those responsible should be held accountable.
Everyone here seems to disagree but I think the new city hall is looking really fine. I wasn’t sure Maier was the guy but while I will reserve judgement until the final finishes are applied, it could be a real winner. It could easily be the best looking municipal building in the bay area. And congrats to those who pushed for the dome. I predict it will become a real symbol for SJ.
I commute through downtown most days and the skyline is pretty sad actually. The adobe buildings are pretty good for silicon valley corporate, the river park tower is sadly missing its twin, the new sobrato building is pretty cheezy. The original fairmont and the office building are boring but pretty nice but the fairmont annex looks like an unfinished mess. The gold building…ugh. The old Bank of America building could add something but it needs lots of work. The rest is so boring or awful that it isn’t worth mentioning.
Oh one more OK: the new Marriott. Too bad it is matched on the other side by the awful Hilton.
The concept of moving City Hall is not a bad one, but the way this one was done, as usual, leaves a bad taste.
This has really turned into a monument to egos and not the civic building it should and could have been. If the braintrust was really interested in providing a new and improved civic center at a reasonable cost they would have located in the still vacant Sobrato building. The location provides better parking accomodations, access to an already present light rail, and close proximity to downtown, and would have cost about HALF what the domed wonder will cost. Good planning.
The best thing about the garbage fiasco is that RG has kissed his public career good-by and we won’t have to put up with him once he departs his crumbling mayoral throne.
I do agree that the downtown area was allready in decline. My objection to the Merc leaving DT is that they lost contact with the public. The only way to rectify this would be to find office space DT for the all of the editorial side and make sure that they go to the office. No more of this working from home. And, no food service in the new digs. Make them go out to the many resturants so that the people can get at them!
Jerry
Hoi, you said something I’ve been holding back on for quite a while. Everyone seems to be gushing over the Sobrato building but I just don’t get it. I agree it’s cheezy, ho-hum and uninspired which is fairly typical of the rest of the “high rise” buildings downtown. The desperation of Councils past & present to have any sort of development downtown is apparent by the lack of any sort of striking or daring architecture there. They were desperate for the Holiday Inn, which turned its back on San Carlos St. They were desperate for the Hilton, which looks like a high rise Costco, and this behavior continued with Sobrato. Throwing on a curved glass front is hardly what I’d call inspiring architecture. The flush windows on the side are reminiscent of a correctional facility. And then Hammer, dedicated to the destruction of dowtown, let a nice example of 60’s architecture be destroyed when the Security Bank building at 1st & San Carlos was knocked down. I’ve said it before—we need a Disney concert hall type thing here. Something bold, daring and striking that demands your attention. As for the new CH, I agree with Adam that the back side of it that faces east is pretty ugly and looks unfinished. But the dome definitely seems like it’s going to become a symbol for SJ. In a good way.
you’ve guessed it. The dt skyline is a smallville disaster with no character once so ever! The city needs to build a bunch of 19 stories or taller buildings thoughout downtown with distinguishing features. The skyline now is smaller Peoria.
… forget a new City Hall, how about a new Mayor!!
Ah, if only lots of tall buildings were all it took to be a real city. I guess we wouldn’t even need leadership. If we only had a bunch of tall buildings then I guess it wouldn’t matter that we have a lying Mayor and a clueless Council. Must be nice to live in Fantasyland.
I grew up in the downtown that had the Mercury-Herald on Santa Clara St. and Almaden. I remember the Victorian City Hall. And, this new City Hall will be a real landmark regardless of all the discouraging words from detractors.
In a few years we will forget the controversy and just maybe start to view it with the pride we should have. In 20 years, it will be a building held in respect.
Sure, we should listen to see what all the facts and listen to Gonzales’s response but don’t you think that when there is incident after incident where people are alleging improprieties that maybe something is up? The problem is that not many people seem to care about what the truth is and what type of man is running our city.
Did you say “the new Sobrato building is pretty cheezy”? Are you serious?
Bob Kieve
Yo, J-Mac
Those times you post these things accurate? You got a sleep disorder, or what?
Love the content!
John Michael O’Connor
The hell with this guy Gonzo. He’s had enough chances and this garbage is only tip of iceburg. He has run over anyone who disaggrees and this is the same deal with the garbage. He should be a golf course marshall he knows the courses around here so well. Who pays for all his golf? Someone should look into that. There is no way he’s paying to play CordValle at 250.oo a round.
Payer, tall buildings are only part of the recipe, but an important one when you’re dealing with an identity crisis. I don’t think anybody here is trying to say that a bunch of skyscrapers are the solution to all of this town’s problems.
I AM NOT A CROOK- RICHARD NIXON
I HAVE NOTHING TO HIDE- RON GONZALES
Jerry – you talk about the Mercury not being downtown which I agree is bad. How about the new editor living in Dublin or somewhere like that. Does that make any sense either?
Did you say “the new Sobrato building is pretty cheezy”? Are you serious?
Yes, as Mark said, the windows look like a correctional facility giving the view east particular ugliness and the curved glass ornament facing west is uninspired post-modern gingerbread. The new Marriott is only a fair building and it is perfection in comparison.
The two best buildings downtown are not high-rise. Anybody willing to make a guess as to what they are?
A clue, one is by a best-selling design theorist and architect whose practice is in the Bay Area.
Bob,
There he said it again, the Sobrato building is cheezy, and I again am saying I agree. Cheezy, uninspired and most certainly unworthy of all the gushing that goes on over it on this blog. With the height limitations we’ve got here, we need to make up for it with striking architecture. Sobrato’s building is a yawner.
Yo, Mark T:
I disagree with you that The Sobrato Building is a yawner; but I would think you have to admit it’s the best looking building in San Ho right now.
Since it has far better freeway access than The Taj Gonzal (or the Ron Mahal as I hear some city workers refer to it as), is set up as an office building rather than a shrine, it seems to me it would work better than The Taj Gonzal. So if you disagree with my assessment, please name me a building in San Ho you think looks superior to The Sobrrato Building.
JohnMichael O’Connor
I actually like the Sobrato Building. It has some character. My one worry is that it’ll become what the old Transamerica/Occidental Life insurance was back when I was working for them (25 years ago)—they’d bet that downtown was going to grow into the tenderloin, grabbed some land and built their building; downtown went the other direction. Not too bad, as long as you went out one side of the building and not the other…
To blame the Merc leaving downtown for its fall is silly. It was dead before they left, although the corpse was perhaps twitching still. The # of people that worked there isn’t close to a critical mass to support a downtown retail or restaurant scene. Bringing city hall back (ignoring the politics of the building—since it sounds like from reading some of the commentors that’s a lot saner path here) will definitely help. but not enough, either. If adobe builds it’s final tower because of the Macromedia merger, and you move city hall downtown AND you find someone to fill Sobrato, then you’ll likely ramp up the lunch trade a fair amount, and still have a ghost town at night and on weekends. whoopee.
WE need ot fill those buildings, and build a couple more. We need to find ways to convince folks to come downtown at night and get in the habit of coming downtown—that’s how you build a solid restaurant trade. Retail? it’ll follow the people, not lead, unless you can convince anchor stores to start the process.
The battle for downtown was really lost in 1948, when Macys bought land for Valley Fair instead of buying a building downtown. Then, as the downtown deparment stores winked out, one by one, so did san jose’s retail. Without destination stores, it’s hopeless. It really is too bad the camera expansion ended up in Campbell (but not surprising)—it could have been part of the solution. It’s even worse that people who claim to care about downtown are whining about the color of the Sobrato building and not trying ot figure out why Escovedo’s place failed, and how to make places like that succeed downtown, because that’s how you draw people downtown in the evening, and teach them to come downtown as a habit—entertainment venues and events.
But it’s more fun to call the mayor names, I guess.
Downtown San Jose died as a retail district when Valley Fair was built. It has a bit of a revival as a dining and entertainment district until Santana Row finished off that dream. Where do we go from here?
Santana Row didn’t finish off the dream. It merely kept Santa Clara or Sunnyvale from reaping the benefit of the “downtown or out of town” mentality San Jose had for years. Turning down santana row wouldn’t have moved Santana Row downtown, it would have moved it into some other city’s tax base.
Downtown san jose has a lot of potential. Here’s my thought on this:
http://chuqui.typepad.com/teal_sunglasses/2005/06/san_jose_inside.html
We can learn a lot from Portland… And should have long ago.
Anybody still reading down this far?
It’s classic how there’s been plans to urbanize north San Jose, allowing it to be more urbanized, and effectively mixing industrial, commercial and residential zones. If that isn’t a clear sign that the city has given up on downtown, I’m not sure what is.
Why not just convert Moffett Field into Mineta SJC? Then we can get our beautiful 60-70 story buildings to complement our major league baseball field. I’m sure Mountain View can handle it. Whatever happened to the Boston Properties development which was supposed to happen, anyway?
I’m going to guess Hoi is referring to the Center for Performing Arts and maybe St. Joseph’s Basilica. For my money’s worth, it doesn’t get much better than the Fairmont Annex and that little house Iguana’s is in, architecturally, that is.
“allowing it to be more [dense]”
Like me!
Speaking of downtown wastelands, had dinner with an old friend of mine tonight. talked a bit about the supreme court decision on eminent domain and on urban renewal issues and stuff.
And he reminded me that Gonzalez used to be involved in Sunnyvale politics—home of the Sunnyvale Town Center, that bastion of civic shopping, if you can find it behind that disaster of a parking lot.
And he asked me if I knew who the swing vote was on the decision to put the parking structure in the front instead of in the back, where Pac Bell would have had to relocate some of their phone cables….
They’re still trying to dig out from that fiasco, too.
Yes, Gonzales was heavily involved in Sunnyvale as he served two (2) terms as Sunnyvale mayor as well as the City Council from 1979 to about 1988. He was also a County Supervisor for the area from 1988-1996.
http://pblmm.k12.ca.us/projects/discrimination/NativeAmerican/MexicanAmerican/rong.html
You know he got elected Mayor in 1988 – largely with his campaign promise to bring BART to San Jose.
—eugene
Yeah,
The new San Jose City Hall has the architectural equivalent of any other office building. It is just plain boring looking. There is nothing unique about it to provoke a sense of civic pride in it. Just a sad looking governmental building that looks good in Fresno or any other minor city.
why is it that just because the town hall offices moved, that they felt like the old building could be destroyed. Just because it was a ‘earthquake hazard’ and costly. Yes I do understand the 1950s economy. But if they had money for all those other expensive projects in San Jose, why not spend it on the jewel in the crown. Its like chopping down a tree just because a the only bird there moved out; then planting a new ugly cactus close by. The city hall could have been updated with all that money. If not, the building could have easily been converted to a museum. Its not like the building has the word ‘town hall’ written all over it to the maximum. Its called “reusing space”. They should try it some time.