SoFA (South First Area) is an arts, cultural, and entertainment district of
Downtown San Jose
Downtown San Jose is the central business district of San Jose, California, San Jose, California, United States. Downtown is one of the largest tech Business cluster, clusters in Silicon Valley, as well as the cultural and political center of Sa ...
,
California
California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
. Home to numerous cultural institutions, art galleries, and theatre companies, including the
Institute of Contemporary Art San José, the
San José Opera, and the
Silicon Valley Symphony, SoFA bills itself as "
Silicon Valley
Silicon Valley is a region in Northern California that is a global center for high technology and innovation. Located in the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area, it corresponds roughly to the geographical area of the Santa Clara Valley ...
's Creative District".
History
The commercial street had been a major retail district of San Jose in the late 1800s and early part of the 20th century, but by the 1970s had fallen into decline along with much of downtown San Jose as the city expanded and retail moved to suburban shopping centers.
By the late 1970s, it had become a red light district overrun with adult movie theaters and street prostitution. The adult businesses were zoned out in the late 1980s under an initiative spearheaded by then-downtown councilwoman
Susan Hammer
Susan Walker Hammer (December 21, 1938 – March 7, 2020) was an American politician and member of the Democratic Party, who served as the mayor of San Jose, California, from 1991 to 1999. She was voted best local politician six times. P ...
. Nightclubs began opening and the district became known as SoFA during that period.
In 2011, Arts Place, a consortium of 11 large foundations, granted $500,000 to a SoFA Initiative proposed by the 1stAct nonprofit to turn Parque de los Pobladores into an “urban plaza” and an "outdoor living room" for SoFA. The project removed the park’s mature trees and expanded the park’s footprint with a concrete plaza.
Culture
SoFA is home to the historic California Theater, Symphony Silicon Valley, Cinequest film festival, San Jose Stage Company, City Lights Theater Company, Movimiento de Arte y Cultura Latino Americana (MACLA), the Original Joe’s restaurant, and the free weekly newspaper Metro Silicon Valley.
The district is home to art galleries and museums such as Anno Domini, the Institute of Contemporary Art San José (ICA), and the San Jose Museum of Quilts & Textiles, WORKS/San José, Anno Domini Gallery, as well as creative design firms such as Decca Design, Liquid Agency, and Whipsaw.
SoFA is the site of several city festivals and events, including South First Fridays, the SoFA Street Fair, the Zero1 Biennial, Subzero, C2SV and SoFA Sundays.
There are a number of gyms and fitness options including Studio Climbing, Downtown Yoga Shala and Heroes Martial Arts (Brazilian Jiu Jitsu)
Nightclubs include Mama Kin (Cafe Stritch), The Ritz, Agenda, Backbar SoFA, Aura, Cafe Frascati, Haberdasher, the Fountainhead and Continental Lounge.
Notable institutions
*
Anno Domini Gallery
*
Institute of Contemporary Art San José (ICA)
*
Movimiento de Arte y Cultura Latino Americana (MACLA)
*
San Jose Museum of Quilts & Textiles
The San Jose Museum of Quilts & Textiles is an art museum in Downtown San Jose, California, USA. Founded in 1977, the museum is the first in the United States devoted solely to quilts and textiles as an art form. Holdings include a permanent coll ...
*
San José Opera
*
Silicon Valley Symphony
*
WORKS/San José
Geography
Its location centered on three blocks of South 1st Street, from Reed St. to San Carlos St. The area was named by local business people after the
San Jose Redevelopment Agency The San Jose Redevelopment Agency (SJRA, officially the Redevelopment Agency for the City of San José) was a redevelopment agency in the government of San Jose, California. It was created in 1956 and grew into the second-largest tax increment fina ...
unsuccessfully named it the “Market Gateway” district.
Parks
*
Parque de los Pobladores
References
External links
SoFA District website
{{Neighborhoods of San Jose
Culture of San Jose, California
Neighborhoods in San Jose, California