Feature Details

Name: Commemoration of the Founding of the Pueblo San Jose de Guadalupe

Description: The founding of the Pueblo San José de Guadalupe on November 29, 1777 established San José as California’s first civil community, supplying necessary agricultural products for the presidios and missions of San Francisco and Monterey. This project honors a pioneer settlement and its founders and the beginnings of a continuous migration of people who have come to this region from north, south, east, and west. The migration is represented through four columns placed at each point of the compass. Each triangle shaped column has cast relief images on the outside walls and a tile mural on the inner face. Polished granite slabs top each of the columns with a descriptive title for the art on the face of the column. A tile floor map depicts the trek of the original settlers from the Sonora desert to what is today the city of San José.