Top 10 Historic Landmarks & Iconic Event Locations in San Jose, CA

As the cultural and historic heart of Silicon Valley and the largest city in Northern California, San Jose, CA is home to extraordinary Spanish colonial history, Victorian architecture, lush gardens, and world-renowned sanctuaries.

Having filmed San Jose & Silicon Valley Graduations, School Plays, Memorial Services & Milestone Events across Santa Clara County since 1985, our team at CA&C Video Productions has had the privilege of working in and around many of the South Bay's most treasured locations. Here are the Top 10 Historic Landmarks in San Jose—including several iconic venues for community celebrations, ceremonies, and filming.

1. The Peralta Adobe (Historic Downtown San Jose)

Built in 1797, the Peralta Adobe is the oldest surviving building in San Jose. In 1776, Manuel González and his family arrived in California with the Spanish Anza Party and helped found El Pueblo de San José de Guadalupe—California's first civil settlement—in 1777. After González passed away in 1804, the adobe passed in 1808 to Sergeant Luís María Peralta, for whom the landmark is named. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places and preserved as part of the Peralta Adobe–Fallon House Historic Site, it remains a living window into San Jose's earliest days.

2. The Winchester Mystery House

One of California's most famous architectural landmarks, the Winchester Mystery House was the personal residence of Sarah Winchester, widow of rifle industrialist William Wirt Winchester. Built beginning in 1886 with continuous construction until her passing in September 1922, this sprawling Queen Anne Style Victorian mansion is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and features 160 rooms, intricate stained glass, and manicured Victorian gardens along Winchester Boulevard.

3. The San Jose Municipal Rose Garden

Founded in 1927 in the historic Rose Garden neighborhood, the San Jose Municipal Rose Garden spans 5.5 acres with more than 3,500 rose bushes representing over 180 varieties. Once crowned "America's Best Rose Garden," its vibrant blooms, central fountain, and redwood backdrop make it one of San Jose's most beloved outdoor settings for high school and college graduation portraits, family milestone videos, and outdoor wedding photography.

4. The Oddfellows Building (Downtown San Jose)

Built in 1883 at the corner of Santa Clara and Third Streets, the three-story Oddfellows Building showcases classic 1880s Italianate commercial architecture in the heart of downtown San Jose, reflecting the city's late-19th-century civic growth.

5. San Jose Diridon Station

Opened in 1935 in the Italian Renaissance Revival style at 65 Cahill Street, Diridon Station (named in honor of Santa Clara County Supervisor Rod Diridon) serves as the central transit gateway connecting Silicon Valley with the East Bay, San Francisco Peninsula, and Central Coast.

6. Alum Rock Park

Founded in 1872 in the East San Jose foothills, Alum Rock Park is one of California's oldest municipal parks. Spanning 720 acres with 13 miles of scenic trails, mineral springs, stone bridges, and panoramic views of the Santa Clara Valley, it is a favorite natural retreat for South Bay families and outdoor filming.

7. Cathedral Basilica of St. Joseph

Originally established as the first pueblo church in 1803, the current Cathedral Basilica of St. Joseph in downtown San Jose was dedicated in 1876, consecrated as a cathedral in 1990, and elevated to a Minor Basilica by the Vatican in 1997.

  • Event & Memorial Filming Note: With its breathtaking stained-glass windows, soaring dome, and historic Odell organ, the Cathedral Basilica of St. Joseph is one of the South Bay's most revered sanctuaries for traditional Catholic funeral masses, memorial services, and weddings—where discreet perimeter cameras and wireless soundboard audio are essential to capturing the ceremony respectfully.

8. The Bayside Cannery (Historic Alviso)

Before the 1906 earthquake, this waterfront site in San Jose's historic Alviso district operated as the Precita Canning Company. Taken over by Thomas Foon Chew ("The Asparagus King"), the Bayside Cannery grew into the third-largest fruit and vegetable cannery in the world, pioneering modern agricultural processing in the Santa Clara Valley before the Silicon Valley tech era.

9. The Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum

Located in San Jose's Rose Garden district, the Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum welcomes over 100,000 visitors—including more than 26,000 Bay Area school students—each year. Founded by H. Spencer Lewis and expanded into its Moroccan-Egyptian Revival complex in 1966, it houses the largest collection of authentic ancient Egyptian artifacts in western North America, surrounded by tranquil peace gardens and lotus columns.

10. The Hayes Mansion (Edenvale)

Designed by architect George Page in 1903 for Mary Chynoweth Hayes and her sons (publishers of the San Jose Mercury), the 41,000-square-foot Mediterranean Revival Hayes Mansion has hosted three U.S. Presidents and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

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