Protecting our Heritage

An inventory of San José's historical and architectural heritage first appeared in 1975. Then in 1977, a comprehensive survey was made of the City's downtown area, including the Central Business District, to identify historically and architecturally significant buildings. The year-long study identified some 1,800 buildings, 300 of which were eventually to comprise the official survey of historic places within the City. Ultimately, many of the buildings were designated as City Landmarks.

Subsequently, it was realized that methods were needed to classify the resources identified in the previous study, but not included as official City Landmarks. In addition, the resources should be shown on maps for appropriate City use. This process of reclassification and mapping was completed in 1979 and 1980. In 1981, the Historic Landmarks Commission decided to make this initial work more comprehensive by including citywide resources identified in other surveys, such as the Santa Clara County Heritage Resource Inventory.

The San José Historic Resources Inventory (HRI) was established by the City Council in 1986 under Resolution #58957. The HRI is a resource document of identified and listed historic properties used for conducting review of planning entitlement requests under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), and is also used as a resource document for the potential designation of City Landmarks and Historic Districts.

Both the Historic Landmarks Commission and Historic Preservation Officer are authorized to maintain the HRI, and under the City's Historic Preservation Ordinance the Historic Preservation Officer is responsible for its maintenance.

In 2000, the Planning Division undertook a historic resources inventory data conversion and reconciliation project, moving it from a word processing document to a database and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) mapping platform. This process resulted in the addition of well over 500 properties to the Inventory. Since that time, numerous historic surveys have been conducted of targeted neighborhoods (e.g., Reed, Martha Gardens, etc.), adding many more properties to the Inventory.

Today, San José's Historic Resources Inventory contains nearly 4,000 properties, and is the result of contributions by many people over many years. However, the inventory does not include all of the City's fine historical and architectural resources, as many structures have never been surveyed. Still, the Inventory has successfully documented and helped to preserve many valuable historical assets that San José can be proud of.

Use the map below or see the Fullscreen Historic Resources Inventory map.

 

Property classifications within the HRI are varied according to whether the property has been listed at the local, state, or national level. The classifications are defined below. 

NATIONAL LEVEL

(Consult with the National Park Service for Criteria and Eligibility)

NRD – National Register District
Designated and placed as a National Register of Historic Places as a district by the Keeper of the National Register.

NRS – National Register Site/Structure
Designated and placed on the National Register of Historic Places as an individual resource by the Keeper of the National Register.

ENRD – Eligible for National Register District
Found to be eligible for the National Register of Historic Places as a district through evaluation or survey work.

ENR – Eligible for National Register (Individually)
Found to be eligible for the National Register of Historic Places as an individual resource through evaluation or survey work.

STATE LEVEL

 (Consult with the California State Office of Historic Preservation for Criteria and Eligibility)

SL- State Landmark
Designated and placed on the list of California Historical Landmarks by the Director of California State Parks.

CR – California Register Site/Structure
Designated and placed on the California Register of Historical Resources by the California Historical Resources Commission.

ECRD – Eligible for California Register District
Found to be eligible for the California Register of Historical Resources as a district through evaluation or survey work.

ECR – Eligible for California Register (Individually)
Found to be eligible for the California Register of Historical Resources as an individual resource through evaluation or survey work.

LOCAL/SAN JOSE

(Consult with the San Jose Planning Division for Criteria and Eligibility)

CLD – City Landmark District (Defined in the City of San Jose Historic Preservation Ordinance)
A historic district locally designated by the City Council as a City Landmark District under Municipal Code Section 13.48.

CLS – City Landmark Site/Structure (Defined in the City of San Jose Historic Preservation Ordinance)
An individual historic site or structure locally designated by the City Council as a City Landmark under Municipal Code Section 13.48.

CCL – Candidate City Landmark (Defined in the City of San Jose Historic Preservation Ordinance)
An individual site or structure found to be eligible for City Landmark status by meeting the criteria under Municipal Code Section 13.48 based on an evaluation or survey work.

CNS – City Conservation Area (Defined in the City of San Jose Historic Preservation Ordinance)
A historic area designated by the City Council as a Conservation Area under Municipal Code Section 13.48.

CS – Contributing Site/Structure (A Classification of the Historic Resources Inventory)
A site or structure that contributes to a theme, a geographical area, a property type, or to the historic fabric of the community and in some cases to a certain neighborhood.

NCS – Non-Contributing Site/Structure (A Classification of the Historic Resources Inventory)
A site or structure within a designated or eligible historic area that does not qualify as a Contributing Site/Structure.

SM – Structure of Merit (Defined in the San Jose 2040 General Plan)
An important historic property or feature of lesser significant, and that does not qualify as a City Landmark or for the California or National Registers but attempts should be made for preservation to the extent feasible under the 2040 General Plan goals and policies.

IS – Identified Site/Structure (A Classification of the Historic Resources Inventory)
A potential historic property that could qualify under one or more of the classifications above pending further evaluation and survey work.