| Circle of Palms Plaza | |
| Location: | San Jose, California |
| Area: | 2.3-acre (9,000 m²) |
| Site of California's First State Capital | |
| Designation1: | California |
| Designation1 Offname: | Site of California's First State Capital |
| Designation1 Number: | 461 |
| Designation1 Date: | August 30, 1950 |
The Circle of Palms Plaza is located in downtown San Jose, California. It is composed of a ring of palm trees encircling a California State Seal, and designates the California Historical Marker 461, the site of California's first state capital from 1849 to 1851.
When California became part of the US in 1850, San Jose was the oldest civilian settlement dating back to its establishment in 1777, and selected the first official state capital of California.[1] [2] A two-story adobe hotel built around 1830 became the first state capitol and hosted the first legislative sessions in 1850 and 1851.[3] The capitol site is designated as California Historical Marker 461. From 1866 to 1887, the Market Street Chinatown occupied the entire block. The settlement was the center of Chinese-American life in the Santa Clara Valley, until it was destroyed by arson. The site was redeveloped into a plaza in the 1980s.
The Circle of Palms Plaza is a ring of palm trees encircling a California State Seal, located between the Fairmont San Jose Hotel, the KQED building (Silicon Valley Financial Center) and the San Jose Museum of Art.[4] [5] The concrete around the state seal contains quotes from the 1849 state constitutional convention in Monterey where San Jose was chosen as the capital.
Each Winter, the San Jose Downtown Association sets up an outdoor ice rink called "San Jose Downtown Ice" at the Circle of Palms.[6]
On August 30, 1950, the State Historic Preservation Office designated the site of California's first state capital as a California historical landmark #461. A description on the commemorative plaque reads: " Directly opposite this tablet was located the first State Capitol Building, in which California's first Legislature assembled in December 1849. San Jose was the seat of government from 1849 to 1851."[7]