The YMCA of Silicon Valley and Santa Clara County

San Jose, Historic Resource Evaluation [HRE], 2019

The YMCA of Silicon Valley and Santa Clara County is located at 1717 The Alameda in San Jose’s College Park District, and is comprised of an administration building built in 1929 in a Spanish Eclectic style of architecture, and a main recreation facility built in phases between 1959 and 1969 in a Mid-Century Modern style of architecture, with later alterations in 2000 in a Modern style. Brewster Historic Preservation was hired by the YMCA of Silicon Valley and Santa Clara County to evaluate the potential historical significance of all the buildings and structures on the property in anticipation of a proposed project that would demolish the administration building and replace it with a children’s playground, while retaining and remodeling the interior of the main YMCA facility to enhance accessibility and to upgrade existing interior spaces. After an extensive historical research and site survey effort, Brewster Historic Preservation recommended that none of the buildings which comprised the property met the minimum requirements for listing in the California Register of Historical Resources or the City of San Jose’s Historic Landmark criteria, primarily due to a lack of historic and architectural merit, as well as a high degree of compromised integrity. The HRE effort began in October 2019 and was completed by December 2019.