Plaza de César Chávez

Plaza de César Chávez is a small, 2.2 acre (9,000 m²) park in Downtown San Jose, California, USA, named after César Chávez (originally "The Plaza", then "Pueblo Plaza") in 1993. It is surrounded by South Market Street, across which is The Tech Museum of Innovation, the San Jose Museum of Art, the Circle of Palms Plaza and the Fairmont San Jose Hotel. At the south end is a statue of the "Plumed Serpent" Quetzalcoatl.

At different times of the year it hosts live music, cultural festivals, arts and crafts fairs, food shows, the official city Christmas tree, water fountains, and open-air theater. There are free concerts in the park every Thursday during summer, the San Jose Jazz Festival has its main stage in the park, and every winter from Thanksgiving until New Year's it hosts "Christmas in the Park".

The Plaza was established when San José moved from its original location on the bank of the Guadalupe River to the current downtown location in 1797 and has been in use ever since, making it the oldest public open space in California.

The present-day park was the site of California's capitol from 1849 to 1851, a period during which the California Republic gained American statehood; hence, the site contained California's first state capitol. From 1889 to 1958, San Jose's city hall occupied the center of the park [http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/special_packages/cityhall/12325228.htm] before the local government moved northward to North First and Mission Streets.