Hotel De Anza’s iconic neon sign will glow again after restoration

There s great news on the horizon for downtown San Jose s skyline The iconic neon sign atop the Hotel De Anza is set to be restored and back to its full glowing glory later this month You might remember that the -story art deco hotel on West Santa Clara Street was purchased last year by a new ownership group MHP Hospitality after being closed for several months because of internal flood damage The hotel reopened earlier this year and there s even jazz back at the famed Hedley Club lounge a couple nights a week But the return of the rooftop sign should help remind people the De Anza is alive and well Sean Curtis the hotel s chief operating officer noted Oakland-based Arrow Sign Company has been hired to restore the fading neon sign which will also be re-painted so its red color pops during daylight hours too George Avalos Bay Area News Group Hotel De Anza a -room -story historic highrise at West Santa Clara Street in downtown San Jose as seen on Feb George Avalos Bay Area News Group George Avalos Bay Area News Group Side entrance of Hotel De Anza a -story -room historic highrise at West Santa Clara Street in downtown San Jose as seen on Feb George Avalos Bay Area News Group Newmark Hotel De Anza a -room historic lodging located at W Santa Clara St in downtown San Jose evening view Newmark Sal Pizarro Bay Area News GroupThe Hotel De Anza in downtown San Jose celebrated its th anniversary anda fresh Art Deco interior renovation with a party on Thursday April Sal Pizarro Staff The Diving Diva painting shown on Thursday April has been afixture on the outside wall of the Hotel De Anza in downtown San Jose sincethe early s when the hotel had a heated pool Sal Pizarro Staff Buena Vista Neighborhood Association Sandy Ragsdale Loui Tucker Hotel De Anza circa s looking east along Santa Clara Street left The Bank of Italy tower is visible in the background Buena Vista Neighborhood Association Sandy Ragsdale Loui Tucker A crowd gathered for the opening of radio station KEEN at the Hotel De Anza in downtown San Jose on June Courtesy Keith B Farr George Avalos Bay Area News Group Hotel De Anza a -story -room historic highrise at West Santa Clara Street in downtown San Jose as seen on Feb George Avalos Bay Area News Group Show Caption George Avalos Bay Area News Group of Hotel De Anza a -room -story historic highrise at West Santa Clara Street in downtown San Jose as seen on Feb George Avalos Bay Area News Group Expand The expectation is that all the work will be completed in time to re-light the sign on June when the Preservation Action Council has an event at the hotel to celebrate its th anniversary PAC-SJ Executive Director Ben Leech says the event is being tied to a fundraising campaign to backing the sign s full restoration and to ensure that it wasn t replaced with a cheaper LED option More information about the Legacy in Lights gala including tickets are available at www preservation org Every time I drive down Santa Clara and see that sign dark it s like a black hole in the skyline Leech announced It was designed to glow and once it s glowing again it ll be a beacon for the city to celebrate the things that make it unique The hotel was originally built by Carl Swenson in and over the decades hosted loads of celebrity guests including First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt in as well as being the original home of radio station KEEN Like the rest of downtown San Jose it fell on hard times in the s But it was saved from the wrecking ball and underwent a million restoration in and another renovation in Curtis says that after the sign is finished plans are in the works to reopen the hotel s restaurant formerly La Pastaia as well as refresh rooms the Hedley Club and the Palm Court patio The goal is to return the De Anza to being more of a regular gathering spot for downtown residents and workers not just hotel guests People forget this was a building that was abandoned for decades given up for dead and seen as an eyesore It took city commitment and civic ambition to say this is something worth keeping around Nobody would have noted years later we re glad we tore down the Hotel De Anza Leech noted In contemporary times s eyesore is the following day s civic anchor And the sign is the glowing crown on that HISTORIC ODYSSEY San Jose Unified School District closed its chapter on another year of its -year history last month and it s a legacy that s now well-documented thanks to a -year project undertaken by historian and retired professor Ed Hodges He has completed a -page book The San Jose Citizens School System A History and created a poster-size biography of each of the schools to display on campus Hodges was contacted by the district in to see if he could help them reassemble their history after a flood in the basement of the district office destroyed numerous original documents With a good deal of help over the years Hodges went through an amazing journey to discover opening dates for the district s elementary schools plus more that no longer exist as well as stories about teachers principals lawsuits integration food programs and so much more SAN JOSE CALIFORNIA - March Ed Hodges center a volunteer historian for the San Jose Unified School District John Halseth left a former competitive cyclist in San Jose and Terry Shaw a bicycle historian pose for a portrait at the Abraham Lincoln High School football field in San Jose Calif on March The football field is the site of the Burbank Velodrome which operated from to and is now essentially beneath the bleachers Dai Sugano Bay Area News Group Combing through newspaper archives were a key part of his research Hodges stated me and occasionally he uncovered particular compelling material that made it into this column like the velodrome that was once under Lincoln High School and the quixotic search for a photo of Ann Darling an assistant superintendent in the early th century Related Articles East San Jose to get a real taste of Viva CalleSJ this weekend San Jose gets ready for summer with SubZero festival this weekend San Jose s Church on the Hill to celebrate its th anniversary San Jose Walls constituents art festival sets its sights on Japantown San Jose loses another neighborhood gem in Park Station Hashery I find it strangely satisfying bringing back to life these old stories and sharing my findings Hodges wrote in the introduction of the book which along with the posters he produced at no charge to the district MEMORABLE FACILITATOR I was sad to read about the passing of Bill Rasmussen whose -year career in mentoring included teaching English during the four years in the s when I was at Santa Teresa High School in South San Jose I never had Mr Rasmussen for a class but he had a larger-than-life personality that made him well-known around the campus He was one of a inadequate teachers back in those days known for wearing Hawaiian shirts to school it s manageable Rasmussen math lecturer Dennis McKenna and U S History lecturer Bob LaMonte all shopped together and the recommended attire for his celebration of life at p m June at Santa Teresa is following his style We encourage people to wear Hawaiian print attire or something blue his favorite color the obituary read Please no black and socks are optional CREATIVE CONNECTIONS City Lights Theatre Company in downtown San Jose has its annual Lights Up new-play festival and maker faire coming up June There ll be scripted readings of two plays The Soulmate Play by Anthony Doan and directed by Jacob Yoder-Schrock at p m and Helicopter Typhoon Carabao or To Survive an Apocalypse Now written by Amanda L Andrei and directed by Mark Anderson Phillips at p m The maker faire gets going at noon and will be open between the readings too with certain familiar faces at City Lights contributing their non-theater creativity to the cause City Lights Executive Artistic Director Lisa Mallette will have her coasters photo cards and tea lights for sale Marketing Director Rebecca Wallace will be marketing collage art and cards and you can find out if actor Keenan Flagg s pottery is as solid as his performances There ll even be farm-fresh eggs for sale courtesy of San Jose s animal sanctuary Rancho Roben Rescues Just don t bring them to the next City Lights show OK