The Tamesis
While the world is exploring the wonders of the South Bay, I grew up there, volunteering at the Children’s Discovery Museum, singing with the school choir at Santa Clara University, frequenting the Great America theme park with my season pass, enjoying Santana Row, the country’s first mixed-use community before it became the industry standard, and sampling the area’s growing selection of delicious Asian cuisine. (All-time favorites: Family-run Khanh’s Garden in Campbell for Vietnamese food, and more recently, Ju Sang Jang in Santa Clara for Korean barbecue.)
Over time, I’ve watched the South Bay transform from a companion to San Francisco to a major destination in its own right. Here are nine of my favorite spots that make my hometown so unique.
525 South Winchester Avenue, San Jose
Photo: Albert Lam/Courtesy of Visit San Jose
Sarah Winchester, the widow of Winchester Repeating Arms, devastated by the loss of her infant daughter and husband, bought an eight-room farmhouse and frantically began building it in 1886. When she died in 1922, the farmhouse was still under construction, leaving behind a 24,000-square-foot mansion with 160 rooms, 10,000 windows, 2,000 doors, 52 dormers, and 47 stairs. Despite its massive size, this bizarre maze has visitors wondering if she was instructed by a psychic or ghost to continue building it—after all, there are some stairs that lead to just about anywhere. For a spookier experience, flashlight tours are available on select dates in February, including Friday the 13th.
1401 North Shoreline Boulevard, Mountain View
Photo: Getty Images
