Groovin’ through the decades

San Jose, CA by the decade
A vintage, color postcard of the old San Jose Municipal Airport.
A 1960s postcard of the old San Jose Municipal Airport shows the new Terminal C in the background. | Photo via History San José
Since our founding in 1777, San Jose has changed quite a bit. And with each year in our city’s history, comes the entry of cool inventions, major pop culture moments, or large developments.

In this new ongoing series, we’re turning back the clock and looking at San Jose through the decades — starting with the sweet 1960s.

📈 Population: 204,000
🗳️ Mayors: Louis Solari (1958–1960), Paul Moore (1960–1962), Robert Welch (1962–1964), Joseph L. Pace (1964–1967), Ron James (1967-1971)

1960 — Then-Senator John F. Kennedy speaks at a presidential campaign rally at the Civic Auditorium parking lot — now the San Jose Civic — on Nov. 2.

A black and white photo of Happy Hollow Park & Zoo's Danny the Dragon ride in the 1960s.

The iconic Danny the Dragon train in the first decade of Happy Hollow’s opening.

Photo via History San José


1961 — Happy Hollow Park & Zoo opens its gates on March 27. The same year, IBM developed the “Shoebox,” one of the earliest speech recognition technologies, at its laboratory in San Jose. 🗣️

1962 — The iconic, neon Western Appliance store sign is installed on W. San Carlos Street.

1964 — Century 21 Theater opens in November, and is one of the first ever domed cinemas. 🎥

1965 — Terminal C at the old San Jose Municipal Airport is completed to handle passenger projections of 500,000 by 1967 — in reality, traffic hits one million by 1968. The Rolling Stones also play at the Civic Auditorium in December.

1966 — Anton Nijmeh and his family open up Falafel’s Drive-In, taking over from former burger spot, Snow White Drive-In. 🧆

Olympic skater Peggy Fleming standing in front of an American flag.

Olympic skater Peggy Fleming at the Tapestry and Talent festival held in Downtown.

Photo via History San José


1968 — Alviso residents vote to become incorporated with the City of San Jose, nearly 100 years after being an independent city. San Jose-born + raised Olympic skater Peggy Fleming also wins gold at her first Winter Games. ⛸️

1969 — The Northern California Folk-Rock Festival is held at the Santa Clara County Fairgrounds in May + featured Jimi Hendrix, Jefferson Airplane, The Steve Miller Band, and more. 🎸

Did you enjoy this decade roundup? Let us know what other time periods you’d like us to explore in San Jose’s history. 🕰️
Use the links below to share this local history with friends + family.

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Today
  • Open Mic Night | Tues., Sept. 13 | 7 p.m. | Mama Kin, 374 S. First St. | Free entry | An open invitation to take the stage + do your thing. 🎤
  • Tequila Tuesdays | Tues., Sept. 13 | 8 p.m.-12 a.m. | Five Points, 169 W. Santa Clara St. | Free entry | Enjoy $3 tacos + 50% off of all tequila.
Wednesday
Thursday
  • El Grito | Thurs., Sept. 15 | 4 p.m. | San Jose City Hall, 200 E. Santa Clara St. | Free entry | The United Lowrider Council commemorates Mexican Independence Day with a flag raising, live music, food trucks, and a lowrider showcase. 🇲🇽
  • CityDance San José: K-Pop | Thurs., Sept. 15 | 6-9 p.m. | Circle of Palms, 127 S. Market St. | Free | Learn upbeat choreography to hit K-pop songs. 🎶
  • NTLive: Straight Line Crazy | Thurs., Sept. 15 | 7 p.m. | Hammer Theatre Center, 101 Paseo de San Antonio | $20 | Ralph Fiennes plays a master manipulator in this filmed theater production exploring politics and power in New York City. 🎭
Friday
  • Electric Feels: Indie Rock + Indie Dance Party | Fri., Sept. 16 | 9 p.m. | The Ritz, 400 S. First St. | $15 | It’s time to cut loose… 🎶
  • Paint Night @ The Zoo | Fri., Sept. 16 | 6:30-8:30 p.m. | Happy Hollow Park & Zoo, 1300 Senter Rd. | $29.70 for members; $33 for non-members | Enjoy an after-hours, animal paint class with food, mocktails, music, and more. 🖌️
We have a monthly guide filled with events + activities you can plan for in advance. Click the button below to bookmark ideas for upcoming date nights, family outings, and time with friends.

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MORE SEPTEMBER EVENTS

Weather
  • 73º | Partly cloudy | 7% chance of rain
Community
  • La Raza Historical Society will celebrate Mexican Independence Day on Fri., Sept. 16 by honoring five locals who have made in impact on the Latino community. The event will begin at 6:30 p.m. in the Mexican Heritage Plaza — tickets start at $125. 🇲🇽 (The Mercury News)
Closing
  • Rich Santoro, also known as the “Bulb Guy,” has decided to close his popular backyard garden to visitors — after almost 40 years of welcoming guests. Rich is now looking forward to spending more time with his family. 🌷 (The Mercury News)
Edu
  • San José State University was recently ranked No. 4 in top public schools of the West region, three spots higher than last year. The U.S. News and World Report also gave the school high marks for campus diversity + accommodations for veterans. 🏆
Read
  • Local author Elizabeth Kile’s first book, “Haunted San Jose” was released yesterday + discusses historical accounts of 30+ hauntings within our city. If you liked our recent snippet on the Quimby Road Jogger, we recommend this read. 👻
Traffic
  • The San Jose Department of Transportation will host a meeting next Mon., Sept. 19 at 6 p.m. to explain upgrades + safety improvements coming to Quimby Rd., between Capitol Expy. and Ruby Ave. Register for the Zoom call ahead of time. 🚦
Plan Ahead
  • The Levitt Pavilion will host a free fall concert series that will occur every Sunday through the month of October. The first performance will be from afrobeat band Antibalas on Sun., Oct. 3 at 3 p.m. in St. James Park. 🎶
Environment
  • Mineta Airport has upgraded to San José Clean Energy’s TotalGreen service — which provides 100% renewable, emission-free energy to all the city-owned buildings at the airport. This move is part of the city’s goal to be carbon neutral by 2030. ♻️ (Aviation Pros)
Tech
  • The SAP Center + the Tech CU Arena will soon get an upgraded security system, thanks to a recent partnership with Patriot One Technologies. AI-powered screening will speed up the entry process, while also detecting prohibited items. (Globe Newswire)
Learn
  • Calling all news junkies. Get the stories you need to know to understand today’s world with Newser, whose newsletters compile all the headlines that you’ll want to discuss over dinner with friends. Bonus: Every story is designed to be read in 90 seconds or less. Subscribe.*
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Business

A note from our CEO 🤝
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CEO Ryan Johnston with City Editors and Branded Content Studio Editors during the 2022 6AM City company retreat in Nashville, TN. | Photo by Ash Photography
Good morning, SJ — new voice here. My name is Ryan Johnston and I am the CEO of 6AM City, the parent company and publisher of SJtoday. First, thank you for waking up with us every morning and looking to our City Editors, Nicole and Alyson, to help you start your day and get excited about everything SJ has to offer.

We launched SJtoday on Feb. 1, 2022 and we couldn’t be more thrilled at how this city has taken to us. We now wake up with 57,143 readers and reach 3,667 people via social media — a big step up from day one.

We built this product based on both reader and advertiser demand. Readers like you were looking for a quick and convenient way to find everything in one place — focused on all things positive and written in a way that is digestible — and (in an effort to keep our product 100% free to readers) we work with advertisers who want to connect with readers like you.

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THE WRAP
Today’s issue was written by Alyson.

Editor’s pick: Hey Sharks fans, did you know that you could request a Sharkie-gram delivery? Maybe I’m out of the loop here, but you can request Sharkie to come to your seats in the Tank + deliver limited-edition Sharks memorabilia to you. I don’t know about you all, but that sounds like a good surprise for a date... 🦈

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