As I was running the San Jose Shamrock Run last Saturday morning through downtown San Jose, I found myself thinking of Frank Taylor, the former longtime head of the city’s redevelopment agency who died this month at age 87.
The 5K run was almost a Frank Taylor Legacy Tour, with green-shirted runners rushing past some of the agency’s big successes — the once-Fairmont-now-Signia hotel, the Tech Interactive, Plaza de Cesar Chavez, the McEnery Convention Center and the refurbished Hotel De Anza.
And let’s not forget the palm trees. At Taylor’s direction, the redevelopment agency planted hundreds of California Fan and Mexican Fan palms throughout downtown San Jose. I asked former San Jose Mayor Tom McEnery, a close friend of Taylor’s, why he was so hooked on the tall trees.
“He just thought they were a beautiful thing,” McEnery said. “Places where people go on vacation have a lot of palm trees, so he thought why not have that as one of the pieces that marks San Jose? I like ‘em.”
Whether or not you like the ubiquitous palms or blame redevelopment for wiping out historic neighborhoods, businesses or buildings — the demolition of the Mid-Century Modern Pestana building at First and San Carlos streets in 1999 still stings since the lot it occupied is still vacant — you can’t deny that Taylor’s positive impacts downtown have stood the test of time and are anything but cookie-cutter.
The word “visionary” gets thrown around a lot. But Taylor had a vision for downtown, and you can still see it.
Places like the Tech, the Children’s Discovery Museum, SAP Center and the Signia are among the structures people conjure when they picture downtown San Jose. The fountains in Plaza de Cesar Chavez, the elaborate manhole covers with the city seal and even stone pavers on the First and Second streets transit mall all have held up pretty well.
It’s hard to say which — if any — of downtown’s more recent structures will stand out in 20 or 30 years.
“He really believed who he was working for was the next generation,” McEnery said. “He just believed people should have a certain pride in their city.”
CINEQUESTING: The Cinequest film festival is wrapping up its 35th edition this weekend, but there are a lot of big events left before the curtain falls at the California Theatre on Sunday night.
Friday night’s spotlight event is the Silent Cinema screening of “Nosferatu,” the 1922 vampire classic from German expressionist F.W. Murnau, which was remade last year. It’s hard to say what’ll be more bone-chilling — the appearance of Max Schreck as the titular neck-biter or Dennis James’ live soundtrack coming from the California Theatre’s Mighty Wurlitzer organ.
“X-Files” star Gillian Anderson will be in the house Saturday night to receive the Maverick Spirit Award following the screening of her new movie, “The Salt Path,” which co-stars “White Lotus” actor Jason Isaacs. I’m scheduled to do the on-stage interview with Anderson, assuming I can keep my fanboy tendencies in check around the legendary Dana Scully.
And then you’ve got Sunday’s closing night, with a screening of “The Friend” with Bill Murray and Naomi Watts — neither is expected to attend — followed by a closing night party at The Farmer’s Union and Olla Cocina in San Pedro Square.
By the way, did you hear the Pedro Pascal made a surprise appearance Wednesday night at the Oakland screening of “Freaky Tales,” the new movie he stars in with rapper Too Short and the late Angus Cloud? What a great treat for that audience, though he could also have stopped by Cinequest last Thursday night when the movie was shown at the California as a late add to the Cinequest schedule.
Anyway, don’t be like Pedro and miss your Cinequest chance. Check out the schedule and ticket info at www.cinequest.org.
HAVING FUN WITH HISTORY: The third annual Women’s Heritage Day at History Park in San Jose on Saturday is promising to be quite a celebration — and you definitely don’t need to be a woman to enjoy it.
There will be cultural dance performances, courtesy of Mosaic America; a showcase of local authors, including Maribel Martinez, VC Tang, Cassie Kiefer and Elizabeth Kile and a woman-owned lowrider show with more than 60 cars on display. It’s also a great chance to check out “¡MONSTRAS! Female Legends of Latin America,” a new exhibition at the recently reopened Pasetta House exploring the myths and origins around 10 Latin American female monsters.
The celebration at Kelley Park, 1650 Senter Road, runs noon to 4 p.m., and you can get more information at www.historysanjose.org.