san josé high school, located on 24th street just north of santa clara, is the second oldest public high school in california and was founded in 1863. the artwork pattern references the school by blending drawings of historic and current school architecture, the school mascot (bulldog), and the “big bone game” into a comic-like narrative.

the “big bone game” is the annual football game between san jose high school and abraham lincoln high school, held since 1943. the trophy, in the shape of a bone, references the trophy of the first game, which was a large steer leg.

additional features of the windscreen design are the “school hymn”, the names and graduation years of notable alumni, and graduation hats and diplomas tossed into the air.

pattern design with jose pimienta; information provided by barbara peddy at the san jose high bulldog foundation, heritage room, and danny and helen garza

the area surrounding the shelter is called “five wounds”. it is characterized by one of the largest portuguese american populations in the nation with its identity deeply rooted in portuguese culture. crocheting is a traditional portuguese art form, and is still practiced within the community. members of a crochet group meet regularly at the portuguese organization for social services and opportunities (“posso”), at santa clara & 23^rd st to practice their craft.

the station patterns incorporate crochet laces by members of the crochet group, referencing items related to the holy ghost festa (ihs crowns and doves), a large annual community celebration. the holy ghost festas tradition was brought to california by azorean immigrants in the late 1800s.

images and items provided by the posso portuguese organization for social services and posso crochet group

the shelter’s patterns have been inspired by vietnamese, portuguese, and mexican games played in the ethnically mixed neighborhood surrounding the station.

the vietnamese dice game båu cua is played in the streets during the tet – the vietnamese new year- celebration at the grand century mall at 1111 story road. we observed a card game called sueca at the portuguese organization for social services and opportunities (“posso”), and were fascinated by the score card of the game. lotería is a bingo-style game played by the mexican american community. it is not only intriguing because of the cards’ beautiful artwork, but also because of the poetic and witty comments that are traditionally announced by the game’s caller.

information about tet provided by mai truong; images of loteria cards used with permission of don clemente juego de loteria: ™/© 2014 martha maria sanchez quiroz under license to don clemente. all rights reserved. the words and designs of all playing cards are registered trademarks and copyrights of martha maria sanchez quiroz and licensed to don clemente. all rights reserved.

the patterns at this shelter were inspired by the many dairies – often owned by portuguese americans- which flourished in san jose in the 1930s. amongst them was “american dairy” which had its creamery at 17th st & santa clara until it closed in 1960. the building was known by its water tank, which was shaped like a milk bottle and illuminated at night. in 1929, the dairy distributed 2,750 gallons of milk on a daily basis and was especially revered for its ice cream. today, one of the last remnants of the dairy industry in the area is “treat ice cream co.”, located at santa clara & 19th st.

the windscreen pattern is a collage composed of a historic photograph of the american dairy, artifacts related to the industry and the dairy’s sign that was part of its building. historic ice cream doilies adorn the ceiling; and the pavers are embossed with milk bottle seals and caps from a number of san jose’s historic dairies.

information provided by history san josé