Delmas Park Neighborhood

General History

The Delmas Park area was settled in the 1850s and is named for Antoine Delmas, the leader of the "French Gardener" community on the west bank of the Guadalupe River.  During the early days of San Jose, French horticulturalists were brought here to plant the apricots, grapes, and prunes that made Santa Clara Valley the "Valley of the Heart's Delight" in the days before silicon.  Delmas built a municipal rose garden in the 1860s in the area now bordered by Delmas Avenue, San Fernando Street, and Los Gatos Creek.  This French heritage is reflected in local street names such as Delmas, Auzerais, and Lorraine.

Steve Bjerklie wrote in Metro weekly, "The first "noble" grape varietals--cabernet sauvignon, pinot noir, primitivo (now called zinfandel)--were brought to Santa Clara County by Pierre Pellier, who founded what eventually became Mirassou Vineyards in 1854, and by horticulturists Charles LeFranc [who took control of the Almaden winery from his father-in-law in 1857], Louis Provost, and Antoine Delmas.  By 1858 Delmas owned 350,000 vines of some 105 varieties, and his wine took first prize at the state fair in 1859.  Delmas also grew fruit trees and ornamental plants, and contributed greatly to the Santa Clara Valley's reputation as the "Garden Spot of the World," although he is perhaps best remembered, and cursed, nowadays as the man who introduced to California the Helix aspersa, our all-too-common garden snail."

April Halberstad wrote about Delmas Park and other nearby neighborhoods:

• One of the earliest emigrant groups in San Jose were people from northern Italy.  Another major influence on the neighborhood was Notre Dame, established in 1851 and occupying 14 acres on Santa Clara Street (including the area around the current SAP Center).  The nuns were from Belgium and the schools they ran at this site attracted students from around the Pacific Rim.  Their boarding students came from as far away as Japan.
• There was a chapel at the school, and French immigrants in the neighborhood could go to daily mass at the school.  Since there were no automobiles, devout Catholics wanted to live within walking distance of this important resource.
• The neighborhood also featured LaMolle House, a wonderful restaurant, and the LaMolle Grill, a couple of French bakeries, and the French language newspaper.
• This group of immigrants was not strictly French or Italian.  A . P. Gianinni, who is claimed by the Italians, had parents who owned the "Swiss Hotel".  At the time, there was no country we know today as Italy; there were simply a large group of people who came from the area we now know as Provence.
• After Notre Dame, the next largest community influence was the church that was built on South River Street in 1905.  Shaped like a basilica, Holy Family offered services in the Italian language.  It was the heart of the Italian community until after World War II.  It was torn down in the 1970s to make room for the Guadalupe Freeway.
• So we have a predominantly French influence from 1851 to about 1900, replaced by the northern Italians after that time.  The southern Italians, i.e. Sicilians, had their own church on 12th Street near Backesto Park.