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Cruisin’ into the 1950s

A black and white photo of crowds walking the streets of downtown San Jose.

Downtown San Jose streets were bustling in the 1950s. | Photo via History San José

Let’s rock ‘n’ roll back in time to the days of sock hops, soda fountains, and poodle skirts.

We’re back with another decade of San Jose’s history, and this time, we’re traveling to the 1950s.

📈 Population: 95,280
🗳️ Mayors: Fred Watson (1948-1950), Clark L. Bradley (1950-1952), Parker Hathaway (1952-1954), George Starbird (1954-1956), Robert Doerr (1956-1958), Louis Solari (1958-1960).

1950 — James Lick High School opened its doors. Now-closed El Rancho Drive-In Theater opened on Almaden Road.

1951 — An F2 tornado ripped through the Bay Area, causing damage in SF, Sunnyvale, and San Jose. The Old Fire Station One opened on Market + St. James streets.

1952 — César Chávez became a part of the Community Service Organization, spearheaded in east San Jose. The Alviso flood displaced hundreds of families.

A black and white photo of downtown San Jose with the Bank of Italy + Hart's in the background. — Can you see some of the downtown landmarks that still stand today?
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Photo via History San José

1953 — Crowds of ~70,000 came to DTSJ for the “Dollars From the Sky” event where 500 ping pong balls containing a combined $640 were dropped from a helicopter. Eggo frozen waffles, made by San Jose brothers Tony, Sam, and Frank Dorsa, were introduced in supermarkets across the US.

1954 — Milpitas was established as incorporated city.

1955 — Ford Motors moved its assembly plant from Richmond to Milpitas, where the Great Mall now sits. Tom Smothers of the Smothers Brothers enrolled at the then-San Jose State College.

A black and white photo of the first Valley Fair Mall sign. — Valley Fair sure looks a lot different now.
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Photo via History San José

1956 — Valley Fair Mall was built. Luis Molina became first San Jose boxer to make the Olympic team. Original Joe’s opened.

1957 — San Jose Peace & Justice Center was founded. San Jose State College turned 100 years old. San Jose City Hall was relocated from Plaza Park to North First and Mission streets.

1958 — The then-Giorgio’s Pizza House opened on Foxworthy Avenue.

1959 — Former CA Governor Edmund Gerald “Pat” Brown visited Lou’s Village while he was in office. Mildred Overfelt donated the site of Overfelt Gardens to San Jose.

Asked

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Events

Wednesday, May 24

Axe Throwing and Throwback Game Night | Wednesday, May 24 | 4:30-7 p.m. | Axe-Men Axe Throwing, 14 S. Second St., San Jose | $65-$75 | Throw some axes, then walk around the corner to play pinball — with drinks + hors d’oeuvres included.
Shapel Lacey | Wednesday, May 24 | 8 p.m. | San Jose Improv, 62 S. Second St., San Jose | $20 | This LA-based comic regularly performed for comedians such as Bill Burr, Hannibal Buress, and Brendan Schaub, and is now headlining clubs across the country.

Thursday, May 25

Gordon Biersch Night Market | Thursday, May 25 | 5-9 p.m. | Gordon Biersch Brewery, 357 E. Taylor St., San Jose | Free | Every Thursday night, enjoy food trucks, craft brews, local craft vendors, live entertainment, and luchador battles.
Westerner | Thursday, May 25 | 7 p.m. | The Ritz, 400 S. First St., San Jose | $15 | Dance to the tunes of this indie rock band that fuses nu-disco with synth pop.
Irene Tu | Thursday, May 25 | 8 p.m. | San Jose Improv, 62 S. Second St., San Jose | $20 | This comedian, actor, and writer has appeared at comedy festivals such as SF Sketchfest, the Portland Queer Comedy Festival, and Comedy Central’s Clusterfest.
ART 101 | (art)ificial: Computer Poetry | Thursday, May 25 | 5-7 p.m. | San Jose Museum of Art, 110 S. Market St., San Jose | $10-$15 | Led by studio arts educator Julian Zamora, this workshop will teach you how to write compelling poetry and AI principles in intellectual property.

Friday, May 26

History Happy Hour: The 1933 Brooke Hart Kidnapping and Murder | Friday, May 26 | 5:30 p.m. | Ainsley House, 300 Grant St., Campbell | $15 | Judge Bernal of the Superior Court of Santa Clara County will lead a presentation on a murder case involving one of the most respected and wealthiest families of 1930s-era San Jose.
Carlos Ballarta: En Español | Friday, May 26 | 7:30 p.m. | San Jose Improv, 62 S. Second St., San Jose | $30 | Este comediante y actor nacido en la Ciudad de México se convirtió en el favorito de los fanáticos con su debut en Comedy Central Latinoamérica en 2014, y desde entonces ha estado de gira por México, América Latina, Estados Unidos, Canadá y Europa.
Game On! | Friday, May 26 | 8 p.m. | San Jose Center for the Performing Arts, 255 S. Almaden Blvd., San Jose | $44 | Symphony San Jose performs music from “World of Warcraft,” “Guild Wars 2,” “Assassin’s Creed,” set to videos.

Events calendar here

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Finance

7 secrets comfortable retirees know about hiring a financial advisor

Smart retirees know a thing or two — and you should, too. | Photo by SmartAsset

Research suggests people who work with a financial advisor could end up with about 15% more money to spend in retirement.¹Read: A lot of margaritas.

That’s because they know the seven secrets to hiring a financial advisor, like never hiring the first advisor you meet. (Rookie mistake.)

The ultimate tip? Answer a few questions in this free, five-minute quiz to match with vetted financial advisors serving your area who can help optimize a retirement plan for you.*

5 more must-know secrets

1“Journal of Retirement Study Winter” (2020)”. The projections or other information regarding the likelihood of various investment outcomes are hypothetical in nature, do not reflect actual investment results, and are not guarantees of your future results. Please follow the link to see the methodologies employed in the Journal of Retirement study.

News Notes

Announced

The NFL announced that Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara will host Super Bowl LX in 2026. This will be the second time the venue has hosted the big game since its 2014 debut, and the third time that the Super Bowl has come to the Bay Area. (NFL)

Health

The Santa Clara County Office of Education (SCCOE) was recently granted $1 million to hire and train more mental health professionals across high-need schools. The funding comes from a national grant program under the Safer Communities Act, and SCCOE hopes to start training programs by the end of this year. (San José Spotlight)

Development

A residential project consisting of 32 townhomes + 345 apartments recently secured a loan that could help kick-start construction. The site is located at the corner of North Capitol + Penitencia Creek roads — the construction timeline has not been announced. (The Mercury News)

Sports

Among the big names at the 2023 PGA Championship in Rochester, New York, was San Jose native Justin Suh. Though he didn’t clinch the final prize, he impressed during his first full season on the PGA Tour — keeping his performance on par with veteran golfers. (The Mercury News)

Award

Silver Creek High School student Saket Pathak recently took home the first place prize at the West Regional Youth Entrepreneurship Challenge hosted by the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship. His winning pitch was InclusifyIQ, a mobile app that would offer DEI training to create inclusive workplaces. (PR Newswire)

Theater

Kavan Bhatia, a Bellarmine College Prepatory drama student, won a Rita Morena Award for best lead actor in the school’s “Little Shop of Horrors” production. Next month, Kavan will join winners from 48 programs across the country to perform in a talent showcase on a Broadway stage in New York. (The Mercury News)

ICYMI

In case you missed it, Vice President Kamala Harris visited the South Bay yesterday to speak with Applied Materials in Sunnyvale about its plans to create the world’s largest + most advanced semiconductor facility. SJSU athletes and her sorority sisters from Alpha Kappa Alpha greeted her at Moffett Field. (ABC 7 News)

Plan Ahead

O’Flaherty’s Irish Pub is hosting its annual O’Flaherty Golf Tournament on Saturday, June 24, 12 p.m., at Shoreline Golf Links in Mountain View. The registration fee is $150 per player — which includes range balls + lunch — and proceeds will benefit the Ray O’Flaherty Educational Scholarship Fund.

Community

🥦 Finding local produce + artisanal goods

The Ramos Farm frequents many farmers markets in the San Jose area. | Photo via @ramosfarms

Squeeze the day. In San Jose, there are tons of ways to support local business vendors — especially at our farmers markets. Check out these three markets that recently started back up for the season — and are open today. 🍊

Downtown San Jose Farmers’ Market | May 3-Nov. 15 | Wednesdays, 3-7 p.m.

Features: Special, seasonal events and small business vendors
Parking: Free 90-minute parking at Second and San Carlos ParkSJ garage
Space: Outdoors

Cambrian Park Farmers’ Market | May 3-Sept. 27 | Wednesdays, 4-8 p.m.

Features: ~20 farm and craft vendors, live musicians
Parking: On-site lot and street parking
Space: Outdoors

Santana Row Farmers’ Market | May 18-Sept. 27 | Wednesdays, 4-8 p.m.

Features: 20+ farm, artisan, and plant vendors
Parking: Free in nearby garages
Space: Outdoors

Do you know just how much revenue farmers markets and on-farm stores bring in across the US? Test your knowledge with this survey.

The Wrap

Today’s edition by:
Alyson

From the editor

Did you hear that Tully Dog Park is celebrating its ribbon cutting today? Grab your furry friend to see the renovated park. In addition, I want to call out the Raymond G. Gamma Dog Park I took my Westie to last week — it is in a great location with lots of space, enclosed areas for both large + small dogs, and a view of the planes coming into SJC.

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