Berryessa, San Jose
The Berryessa District or North Valley in the North San Jose region of San Jose, California is located in the northeast portion of the city, between Coyote Creek and the Diablo Range foothills. The name comes from a member of the prominent Basque–Spanish Berreyesa family: Nicolas Berreyesa, a Californio settler who was granted Rancho Milpitas in 1834.
Berryessa | |
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Neighborhood of San Jose | |
Top: Amgen Tour of California 2012 Bottom: Berryessa/North San José station | |
Nickname(s): North Valley | |
Berryessa Location within San Jose and Silicon Valley | |
Coordinates: 37.386329°N 121.86051°W | |
Country | United States |
State | California |
County | Santa Clara |
City | San Jose |
The name North Valley is sometimes used by locals to refer to Berryessa.[1] Informal use of the term sometimes also includes parts of Milpitas and Alviso to mean the northern portion of the Santa Clara Valley.
History
In the late 19th century, Berryessa was a small farming community well known across California for its high-quality fruit. Hostetter Road, Capitol Avenue, Piedmont Road, and Lundy Avenue were formerly surrounded by apricot and prune orchards, whereas today this area is distinguished as a fast-growing bedroom community of San Jose, served by VTA light rail and (in 2019[2]), an extension of the Bay Area's BART system.
Geography
The district borders Milpitas along Landess Avenue to the north and the Alum Rock neighborhood of East San Jose along Mabury Road to the south. The residential neighborhood is part of the Fourth City Council District, along with Alviso, and was represented by Chuck Reed prior to his election as Mayor of San Jose. The district representative is now Lan Diep.
The J. F. Flickinger Fruit Packing Company, one of the largest fruit packing companies in the Santa Clara Valley, was located around present-day Hostetter Road. In the 1960s and 1970s, however, the orchards were developed into suburban residential neighborhoods and businesses. Tiny remnants of these lands remain today, including the Orlando Farm till 2013 when it too was developed into housing on Capitol Avenue and the Mattos' apricot orchard off Piedmont Road.[3]
Education
Berryessa Union School District operates public schools. Schools in Berryessa include:
High schools
Middle schools
- Morrill Middle School
- Piedmont Middle School
- Sierramont Middle School
Elementary schools
- Brooktree Elementary School
- Cherrywood Elementary School
- Laneview Elementary School
- Majestic Way Elementary School
- Noble Elementary School
- Northwood Elementary School
- Ruskin Elementary School
- Summerdale Elementary School
- Toyon Elementary School
- Vinci Park Elementary School
Saint Victor Catholic School and Milpitas Christian School[4] (founded in Milpitas but now located in Berryessa) are the only private schools in the area.
San José Public Library operates the Berryessa Branch Library and the Educational Park Branch Library.[5]
Art & Wine festival
The annual Berryessa Art & Wine festival is one of the most well known local events in the area and has been a yearly tradition for over 40 years. The current festival, typically held in May, includes 120-150 artist booths, 14 food booths (all run by non-profit groups from the Berryessa area), a Community Row area with booths from a variety of service groups and non-profits offering information to the festival goers, a Business Row with representatives from the Berryessa community and other local San Jose Businesses, a stage area with entertainment by local amateur entertainers as well as professional entertainment and booths from several local radio stations. The festival is held on the grounds of Penitencia Creek Park.
Notable residents
The following list of people either grew up in Berryessa or are current residents of the area:
- Rex Walters - former NBA player and Head basketball coach at USF
- Chris Manak, aka Peanut Butter Wolf - DJ and Music producer
- Chuck Reed - former Mayor of San Jose
See also
- Creeks
- Parks
- Penitencia Creek Park
- Alum Rock Park
- Boccardo Look Trail
- Cataldi Park
- Berryessa Creek Park
- Light rail stations
- Berryessa (VTA)
- Cropley (VTA)
- Hostetter (VTA)
- Penitencia Creek (VTA)
- BART station
- Berryessa/North San Jose station
References
- "San Jose". McCormack's Guides. Retrieved 2008-02-27.
- "VTA's BART Silicon Valley Extension". Retrieved 10 April 2019.
- "Berryessa". santaclararesearch.net. Retrieved 2008-02-03.
- https://www.milpitaschristian.org/ Milpitas Christian School
- "Berryessa Branch Library Archived March 16, 2010, at the Wayback Machine." San José Public Library. Retrieved on March 27, 2010.
External links
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