Plaza de Cesar Chavez San Jose

The Plaza de Cesar Chavez is a public park and path in downtown San Jose, California, complete with landscaping, fountains and sculptures. The park is two blocks long, about half a block wide (it separates two one-way sections of the same street), and about two acres. It is between the San Jose Museum of Art, the Cathedral of Saint Joseph and the San Jose Convention Center.

The Park's history dates back to the founding of San Jose, where it (under a slightly different form, of course) was a public square for the original Spanish colonial mission. Over the years, the location changed and different features and surrounding buildings were added or taken away, but the core of the park has been there for over two centuries, and might be California's oldest public park, depending on definitions. It was renamed after labor leader Cesar Chavez in 1993. Since it is right next to the convention center and several hotels, it is also an obvious tourist attraction.

In general, I don't like "obvious tourist attractions". Like many young people, I want to see the "authentic" side of a city. But I have to admit when I first walked into downtown San Jose and walked around this perfectly landscaped oval of land with its palm trees, perfect weather, fountains, and people dancing and chatting and strolling, I was quite charmed with what seemed like a little slice of utopia.