Preserving and Enhancing Access to Santa Clara Valley's Built Environment Archive at History San Jose

FAIN: PG-233685-16

History San Jose (San Jose, CA 95112-2599)
Catherine Mills (Project Director: May 2015 to September 2017)

The purchase of preservation supplies and environmental monitoring equipment, for History San Jose, a historical site centered on the Pueblo San Jose first established by Spanish missionaries and explorers in northern California in 1777.   History San Jose encompasses 32 historic structures at three different locations.  Among its collections are 500,000 artifacts mostly documenting Native American life and the history of Spanish and Mexican rule.  Holdings also include 50,000 photographs; more than 5,000 linear feet of municipal records, architectural drawings, and oral histories; and 1,400 maps from the 18th century.  In addition to rehousing some of the historic maps and drawings, the project would also support a workshop for museum staff on the handling and preservation of archival materials.

As part of our mission, History San Jose (HSJ) provides public access to historical materials regarding the evolving San Jose and Santa Clara Valley area. This grant will support enhanced environmental monitoring in HSJ's primary collection storage areas by adding data loggers. The grant will allow us to purchase map folders and blotting paper in order to flatten and house approx. 27 cu. ft. of oversized rolled maps, architectural drawings, and large-format ephemera, as part of a larger initiative to rehouse more than 2700 maps and architectural drawings. Materials from this collection will enhance HSJ's exhibit programs, both physical and online. Humanities scholars will benefit from materials that illuminate sociological issues such as redevelopment, housing, and urban sprawl; the impact of economic, demographic, and technological changes on the land; and the relationship between our many immigrant groups and the Valley's culture and historical geography.