Local Landmarks & Heritage
Local Landmarks & Heritage
- Winchester Mystery House (California Historical Landmark, National Register)
- Santana Row
- Frank M. Santana Park
- Westfield Valley Fair
Neighborhood History
Neighborhood History
Winchester is a neighborhood in West San José that takes its name from Winchester Boulevard — the road that bisects the district — which in turn is named for Sarah Lockwood Pardee Winchester, the widow of firearms magnate William Wirt Winchester. In 1886, Sarah Winchester purchased a 45-acre ranch near San José on the advice of her doctor, who recommended the warmer California climate for her rheumatoid arthritis. Beginning that same year, she commenced an uninterrupted renovation and expansion of the original eight-room farmhouse that would continue for 36 years until her death on September 5, 1922 — growing the structure into a sprawling 160-room Victorian mansion covering six acres.
The Winchester Mystery House, as the property came to be known, is a California Historical Landmark, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and documented in the collections of History San José. It has drawn millions of visitors since opening to the public in June 1923. The National Park Service recognizes it as one of the most architecturally unusual structures in the United States, notable for its innovative Victorian craftsmanship, Tiffany stained glass, and deliberate design curiosities including staircases that lead to the ceiling and doors that open onto walls. The surrounding Winchester neighborhood, developed largely in the mid-twentieth century on former orchard land, is anchored by the landmark mansion and by Santana Row, the $450 million mixed-use development that opened on the site of the former Town and Country Village in 2002.
MY-NHD's Winchester tee is for those who know the neighborhood named for one of California's most enigmatic figures — and the house she never stopped building.
MY-NHD
Winchester - San Jose - Unisex Cotton Tee
Winchester - San Jose - Unisex Cotton Tee
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Winchester is named for Winchester Boulevard and Sarah Winchester, who bought a ranch here in 1886 and kept expanding its farmhouse until her death in 1922. The resulting Winchester Mystery House is a California Historical Landmark and on the National Register.
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