San Jose - Before and After

Here's a terrific collection of San Jose (California) before-and-after photos sponsored by the Buena Vista Neighborhood Association.

http://www.bvnasj.org/SanJose19752006.htm

These images show plainly how fundamentally San Jose has changed in the past three decades. Dusty, gritty streets are now lined with trees, and low, flat buildings are augmented (if not replaced) by towering glass structures. Once known as possessing a downtown best ignored after dark, San Jose is becoming a destination worthy of its size and historical significance.

Certainly the city continues to suffer from a range of urban ills, and I don't necessarily agree that new buildings necessarily represent an improvement over old ones. But no one can study these pictures and not be impressed with the breadth of the changes that have swept through this city.

(Images gathered and photographed by Gerald J. Greenleaf)