Page 91 - 2017 Travel Guide to California

valley that became known as Santa Clara
Valley and more recently, Silicon Valley,
was inhabited by the Ohlone when Spain
began colonizing California. Franciscan
missionaries chose a spot in the valley in
1777 for their eighth California mission.
They named it Mission Santa Clara de Asis
after Saint Clare.
Visitors are welcome to visit the Mission
Church and adjacent Mission Gardens on
the beautiful campus of Santa Clara Univer-
sity. Founded in 1851, the university is the
oldest college in California. The current
SANTA CLARA CVB. OPPOSITE: BRANDON ZEMAN/CREATIVE COMMONS/FLICKR; SANTA CLARA CVB
Great America at Santa Clara Square:
Il Fornaio, Opa, Puesto and Fleming’s
Steakhouse. Elsewhere in the city, sports
fans will find plenty to cheer outside Levi’s
Stadium. The city hosts major swim meets
at the George F. Haines International Swim
Center, and Santa Clara University holds
NCAA Division 1 athletic competitions
year-round.
A visit to Santa Clara wouldn’t be com-
plete without a look into the innovative
high tech giants of Silicon Valley. At the Intel
Museum at corporate headquarters, visitors
see how computer chips are made in an
automated chip factory and how the valley’s
engineers shaped and changed society.
Some of Silicon 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 also draws visitors to its Triton
Museum of Art with an emphasis on Bay Area
artists and popular events, including an
annual Art and Wine Festival in September,
Pacific International Quilt Festival and spine-
tingling Halloween Haunt in October, and
holiday favorite WinterFest in December.
Mission Santa Clara de Asis &
Santa Clara University
Santa Clara has a long history that’s closely
tied with that of California. The fertile
SANTA CLARA UNIVERSITY, below; taking a tour of the Intel Museum, bottom.
Mission Church was built in 1925 after a fire
destroyed the previous 19th-century
building. 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 cornerstone
uncovered in an archaeological excavation.
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.
There are several other historic sites in
Santa Clara that have been transformed into
museums, including the South Bay Histor-
ical Society in an 1863 train station, the
Santa Clara Historic Museum in the
Headen-Inman House and the Harris-Lass
House Museum, an 1860s home that was
the city’s last farm.
For trip planning, see santaclara.org.
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