5025 x 3363 px | 42,5 x 28,5 cm | 16,8 x 11,2 inches | 300dpi
Data acquisizione:
23 marzo 2008
Altre informazioni:
Santa Clara County was once part of Spain, and then part of Mexico. Prior to California being admitted to the union, our local court was held in Juzgado (a combined court, mayor and jail building) from about 1805 to 1850. The Juzgado was located at what is now the intersection of Market and Post Streets in downtown San Jose. The adobe building was inadequate for the increased community usage and was destroyed in July 1850. Later, after the formation of Santa Clara County on April 25, 1851, a number of buildings served as courthouses. San Jose was the location of California's first state capital. This honor remained with San Jose for only two years, 1849 to 1851. Initial Senate sessions had to be held in a private residence because the statehouse building wasn't ready; local hotel facilities were considered inadequate, and an unusually rainy winter caused flooding, making downtown streets impassable. The loss of the capital may not have been seen by all San Jose residents as a great loss, as the behavior of the legislators themselves earned the 1849 session the title "The legislature of One Thousand Drinks." In 1851 the legislators decided to move to Vallejo. But the desire to lure the legislators back with a building truly worthy of being the State Capitol provided some of the motivation behind the design of the current courthouse. Additional motivation included a better location than the previous courthouse, a larger facility, and a brick construction.
