Events and Exhibits
Opening reception for Road Trip: The Birth of California Car Culture
Time: February 3, 2010, 6:30 to 8:30pm. Program begins at 7:00pm.
Location: The fifth floor of Martin Luther King Jr. Library, Special Collections Program Room.
Road Trip: The Birth of California Car Culture is based on three extraordinary photograph albums created by members of the Polhemus family between the years of 1906 and 1909, as they traveled in their new-fangled automobiles from their home base in San José to many local and regional destinations. A discussion of the rise of early car culture in San José, as well as the technological advances in photography of the era will be lead by Charlene Duval of the Sourisseau Academy for State and Local History. Additional speakers will include John Bertolotti, long-time antique car collector and Sarah Puckitt, Curator of Art and Photography at History San José. Audience participation is encouraged.
Road Trip: The Birth of California Car Culture
Hand stitched and lettered leather cover of one of the Polhemus family photo albums created by Jennie Ryder Polhemus c.1906-1915. Image courtesy of History San José.
History San José and the Sourisseau Academy for State and Local History are pleased to present Road Trip: The Birth of California Car Culture. Based on three extraordinary handmade photograph albums created by members of the Polhemus family shortly after the turn of the 20th century, the exhibition explores the early fascination with and impact of the automobile on San José and surrounding environs as seen through the eyes of one prominent family. Many of the more than 450 photographs included in the three albums document tours and excursions organized by the Santa Clara County Automobile Club between 1906 and 1909. More importantly, the photos hint at the sense of freedom and excitement generated by the first cars and the profound changes that would follow them into the heart of the modern era. The exhibition also includes early car parts and accessories, such as a wooden steering wheel known as “The Fat Man Steering Wheel,” gas lanterns, a turn-of-the-century speedometer, and full sets of the proper driving attire for ladies and gentlemen out on the road, on loan from a private collection. The exhibition will be on view through May 16, 2010 in the Special Collections foyer on the 5th floor of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Library at 150 E. San Fernando Street in downtown San José. Please check the library website for hours and directions: www.sjlibrary.org
George and Jennie Polhemus c.1909,with their Winton automobile. Image courtesy of the Edith C. Smith Collection, Sourisseau Academy for State and Local History, San Jose State University
George B. Polhemus, the local Winton Automobile dealer, was a founding member and the first president of the Santa Clara County Automobile Club, which was established in 1906. His wife Jennie Ryder Polhemus was the creator of the family photo albums, two of which now belong to History San José; the third is in the archives of the Sourisseau Academy for State and Local History. Scenic destinations for Polhemus family excursions as well as Auto Club tours included many points of local and regional interest such as the New Almaden Quicksilver Mines, the sumptuous Hotel Del Monte in Monterey, the famed Seventeen Mile Drive at Pebble Beach, Point Lobos and Gus Lion’s ranch near San Martin. One especially exciting and historic trip took the Club over the mountains to Santa Cruz in 1908 to see President Roosevelt’s Great White Fleet anchored off the coast in the Monterey Bay. The exhibition also includes photos of a more personal nature, including views of the Polhemus family home, which was located at the intersection of Stockton Avenue and Monterey Highway, and their ranch in Coyote, about ten miles south of San José.
Road Trip: The Birth of California Car Culture is the product of a collaboration between History San José and the Sourisseau Academy for State and Local History, San Jose State University. The original exhibition was curated by Sarah Puckitt and mounted at History San José in 2007. The current iteration at the MLK Library, sponsored by the Sourisseau Academy for State and Local History, was designed by Robin Treen.
HIDDEN HERITAGES: SIX AFRICAN AMERICAN FAMILIES, SAN JOSE 1860–1920
San José City Hall, Main Lobby, Tower Building
August 2009–April 2010
As the first and oldest city in California, San José’s history is long and rich, reflecting the diversity of cultures, traditions, innovations and contributions that are the legacy of its earliest settlers. In portraits pieced together from historical facts and public records, family recollections, artifacts, old photographs and artist’s renderings, six of San José’s pioneer black families are brought to life in Hidden Heritages: Six African American Families, San José 1860–1920. Collectively these pioneer narratives constitute a small piece of a larger picture, providing different perspectives on the story of San José, a unique community that was nearly as diverse then as it is now. Hidden Heritages: Six African American Families, San José 1860–1920 gives the citizens of San José a poignant glimpse into their collective past during a pivotal period in history.
Hidden Heritages: Six African American Families, San José 1860–1920 is the product of a far-reaching collaboration that has benefited from the passions, contributions and original research of local individuals and organizations. The Sourisseau Academy for State and Local History, the History Department at San José State University, the Garden City Women’s Club and Trinity Episcopal Cathedral were instrumental in providing key support and ongoing research. Local artists Mary Parks Washington and Joyce McEwen Crawford captured the essence of lives gone by in paintings that breath gentle life into history.
The McCall Family. By Joyce McEwen Crawford. 2009.Oil on canvas
Finally, it is the descendants of the families themselves who have been most generous in sharing their time, memories, and prized family archives; without them this fascinating window into the past would have remained closed.
Hidden Heritages: Six African American Families, San José 1860–1920 is part of the City Hall Exhibitions Program established to provide the temporary display of artwork and artifacts in San Jose City Hall. The purpose of the program is to enliven the City Hall, to celebrate the creative and diverse community of San Jose, and to engage the public. A project of the Public Art Program, San Jose Office of Cultural Affairs.