• Lincoln Avenue Historic Business District
• North Willow Glen Conservation Area
• Roberto-Suñol Adobe Site
• Los Gatos Creek Trail

Willow Glen takes its name from the marshy wetland between the Guadalupe River and Los Gatos Creek that was abundant in willows and cattails — a landscape unusual among the dryer orchards and grasslands of the broader Santa Clara Valley. The neighborhood began in the mid-nineteenth century as part of Rancho de los Coches and Rancho San Juan Bautista, Mexican land grants adjacent to the San José pueblo. Don Antonio Suñol, who owned Rancho de los Coches and built the Roberto-Suñol Adobe, is considered the community's founder. Willow Glen Elementary School was established in 1863 on land donated by Ira Cottle, and the main commercial street — originally named Willow Glen Road — was renamed Lincoln Avenue in 1865 following the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln.

Willow Glen remained an unincorporated community through the early twentieth century, incorporating as an independent city in 1927 in order to prevent the Southern Pacific Railroad from re-routing its trunk line through the neighborhood. In 1936, Willow Glen residents voted to be annexed by San José, primarily to access the city's sewer system — ending nine years of independence. The North Willow Glen Conservation Area, recognized by the City of San José, contains a concentration of Craftsman, Neoclassical, Queen Anne, and Mission Revival homes built between 1885 and 1955 that document the neighborhood's architectural evolution. The Christmas tree tradition, begun in 1950 when Robert and Arlene Cimino placed a single small tree on their front lawn, has since expanded to more than 200 streets across the greater San José area.

MY-NHD's Willow Glen tee is for those who know San José's most charming neighborhood — a town that twice chose its own path, and both times built something lasting.