Mayfair is a neighborhood of San Jose, California, located in the Alum Rock district of East San Jose. It is one of San Jose's most historic Chicano/Mexican-American districts and noted for being a center of the Chicano Movement and grassroots activists like Californian civil rights leader César Chávez.[1]

Mayfair
Mayfair is located in San Jose, California
Mayfair
Mayfair
Coordinates: 37°21′06″N 121°50′36″W / 37.351686°N 121.843315°W / 37.351686; -121.843315 (Mayfair)
CountryUnited States
StateCalifornia
CitySan Jose
Area codeArea code 408

History

edit
 
Mexican Heritage Plaza.

Mayfair has been a working-class, Chicano/Mexican-American neighborhood since its foundation in the early 1900s.[2]

Mayfair is best known for its historical association with Californian civil rights activist César Chávez, who lived in the neighborhood in the 1950s and began his career as a grassroots activist at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church in Mayfair.[1]

In the 1960s and 70's, Mayfair became a hub of the Chicano Movement and continues to serve as a center of Chicano art and culture.[2]

In 2008, the Garden of Strength art installation, by artist Fernanda D'Agostino, was installed at the Mayfair Community Center. Divided into three individual art pieces, called Bienvenidos, Garden of Life, and The Three Sisters', the art installation was inspired by the diversity and the rich cultural history of the Mayfair area and by the spirit of growth embodied in the Mayfair Community Garden adjacent to the site.[3]

Geography

edit
 
Shops on Alum Rock Ave.

Mayfair is located within East San Jose. It is east of Little Portugal, which it borders at King Road. The Sinclair Freeway (CA-680) forms Mayfair's eastern and southern border, separating it from the King & Story neighborhood to the south and from the Alum Rock district to the east.

Culture

edit
 
Corazón y Espíritu de Mayfair mural by Precita Eyes Muralists.

Mayfair is an important center for Chicano art and Chicano/Mexican-American culture. It hosts the Mexican Heritage Plaza, a notable cultural center and school of Chicano/Mexican arts.

The neighborhood hosts the Mayferia (portmanteau of "Mayfair" and "feria", Spanish for fair), a celebration of the community and greater East San Jose's Chicano/Mexican heritage.[4]

Education

edit

Mayfair is served by the Alum Rock Union School District, which operates:

Parks and plazas

edit
 
Mayfair Community Gardens.

Landmarks

edit
 
Mayfair Community Center.
edit

References

edit
  1. ^ a b Visit San José - Neighborhoods: Mayfair
  2. ^ a b Somos Mayfair: About Mayfair
  3. ^ "San Jose, CA". SanJoseCA. City of San Jose. Retrieved April 2, 2019.
  4. ^ San Jose Mercury News Pizarro: Mayferia Celebrates East San Jose Neighborhood
  5. ^ Visit San José - César Chávez Memorial Walkway
edit