Page 101 - 2015 Travel Guide to California

SANTA CLARA CVB; ERIC BRODER VAN DYKE/SHUTTERSTOCK. OPPOSITE: SANTA CLARA CVB.
MISSION Santa Clara de Asis,
right; Santa Clara Convention
Center, below; Snoopy and
Friends dance in front of the
double-decked carousel at
California’s Great America,
bottom right.
national Swim Center, and Santa Clara Uni-
versity hosts NCAA Division 1 athletic
competitions year-round.
A visit to Santa Clara wouldn’t be com-
plete without a look into the high tech
giants of Silicon Valley. At the Intel
Museum at corporate headquarters, visi-
tors have the chance to see how computer
chips are made in an automated chip fac-
tory and how the engineers of the valley
shaped and changed society.
Some of the valley’s best shopping is
found at Santa Clara’s Westfield Valley Fair
mall, which is across the street from the
high-end Santana Row shopping district.
Santa Clara draws thousands for popular
events such as its annual Art and Wine Fes-
tival in September, Pacific International
Quilt Festival in October, and the spine-tin-
gling Halloween Haunt in October.
Mission Santa Clara de Asis
& Santa Clara University
Santa Clara has a long history that’s
closely tied with that of California. The
fertile valley that became known as Santa
Clara Valley and more recently, Silicon
Valley, was inhabited by the Ohlone when
Spain began colonizing California. Fran-
ciscan missionaries established 21
missions that stretched from San Diego
to Sonoma, choosing a spot in the valley
in 1777 for their eighth mission. They
named it Mission Santa Clara de Asis
after Saint Clare.
Visitors are welcome to visit the Mis-
sion Church and adjacent Mission Gardens
located on the beautiful campus of Santa
Clara University. Founded in 1851, Santa
Clara University is the oldest college in Cal-
ifornia. The current Mission Church was
built in 1925 after a fire destroyed the pre-
vious 19th-century building. However,
statues, paintings, liturgical objects, one
bell and the flavor of the Spanish-style
architecture remain.
Also on the Santa Clara University
campus is the de Saisset Art Museum,
whose most significant feature is a Cali-
fornia history collection. Artifacts that
trace Santa Clara history include a corner-
stone uncovered in an archeological
excavation and 18th-century woodwork and
art. The museum also houses European art
from the Renaissance to the 19th century,
including prints by Durer and Piranesi;
modern works by Chagall, Matisse and
Picasso; and prints by San Francisco Bay
Area artists Arneson, Diebenkorn, Neri,
Thiebaud and others.
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