Alum Rock, San Jose

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Alum Rock (Template:IPAc-en) is a district of San Jose, California, located in East San Jose. Formerly an independent town, it has been a neighborhood of San Jose since the 1950s,<ref>City of San José - Vision for the Alum Rock Corridor</ref> though some portions are still unincorporated as a census-designated place.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Alum Rock is one of San Jose's most notable and historic Chicano/Mexican-American districts.<ref>San José Spotlight - Lechuga: San Jose’s Alum Rock area needs cultural designation</ref><ref>San José Spotlight - The price of growth: Alum Rock businesses at risk of displacement</ref> It is home to Alum Rock Park, the oldest municipal park in California and one of the largest in the country.

History

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Calvary Cemetery was founded in 1852.

Alum Rock was named after a rock formerly thought to be composed of alum in nearby Alum Rock Park.<ref name=gudde>Template:Cite book</ref>

In the 19th century and early 20th century Alum Rock was mostly fruit orchard land. During the 1940s and 1950s, developers began building housing and formed the community of Alum Rock. During that time, Alum Rock Avenue and a passenger railroad passed through the town on the way to Alum Rock Park.

In the 1980s and 1990s, the neighborhood became older and increasingly populated with Latino immigrants as "white flight" affected the area of East San Jose. Today, Alum Rock remains a distinct community separated from the rest of San Jose.

Geography

Alum Rock is a vast district of East San Jose, made up of numerous smaller neighborhoods.<ref name="GR1">Template:Cite web</ref> Neighborhoods include Little Portugal, Little Saigon, Mayfair, King & Story, East Foothills, Alum Rock Village, Mount Pleasant, among others.

Alum Rock is located north of the Evergreen district, south of the Berryessa district, and east of Downtown San Jose. Alum Rock is bound by the Diablo Range to the east, Coyote Creek to the west, Mabury Road to the north and Ocala Avenue to the south.

Demographics

The following demographic data is about the Alum Rock CDP, not the larger Alum Rock district of San Jose. Template:US Census population

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Mexican Heritage Plaza in Alum Rock's Mayfair neighborhood.

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The 2020 United States census reported that the CDP had a population of 12,042. The population density was Template:Convert. The racial makeup of the CDP was 16.7% White, 1.4% African American, 3.4% Native American, 19.0% Asian, 0.3% Pacific Islander, 43.3% from other races, and 15.8% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 67.1% of the population.<ref name=DP1>Template:Cite web</ref>

The census reported that 98.7% of the population lived in households, 0.4% lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 1.0% were institutionalized.<ref name=DP1/>

There were 2,922 households, out of which 47.1% included children under the age of 18, 53.1% were married-couple households, 7.2% were cohabiting couple households, 24.0% had a female householder with no partner present, and 15.7% had a male householder with no partner present. 14.1% of households were one person, and 5.8% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 4.07.<ref name=DP1/> There were 2,332 families (79.8% of all households).<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The age distribution was 23.4% under the age of 18, 10.3% aged 18 to 24, 29.1% aged 25 to 44, 25.5% aged 45 to 64, and 11.7% who were 65Template:Nbspyears of age or older. The median age was 35.8Template:Nbspyears. For every 100 females, there were 103.8 males.<ref name=DP1/>

There were 3,029 housing units at an average density of Template:Convert, of which 2,922 (96.5%) were occupied. Of these, 62.0% were owner-occupied, and 38.0% were occupied by renters.<ref name=DP1/>

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Mt. St. Joseph Monastery is a Carmelite novitiate.

In 2023, the US Census Bureau estimated that 45.3% of the population were foreign-born. Of all people aged 5 or older, 27.3% spoke only English at home, 54.6% spoke Spanish, 1.9% spoke other Indo-European languages, 16.0% spoke Asian or Pacific Islander languages, and 0.2% spoke other languages. Of those aged 25 or older, 66.8% were high school graduates and 19.8% had a bachelor's degree.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The median household income was $111,976, and the per capita income was $34,255. About 5.1% of families and 8.7% of the population were below the poverty line.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Government

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The Dr. Roberto Cruz Alum Rock Branch of the San José Public Library

In the California State Legislature, Alum Rock is in Template:Representative, and in Template:Representative.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In the United States House of Representatives, Alum Rock is in Template:Representative.<ref>Template:Cite GovTrack</ref>

Regarding San Jose City Council, most of Alum Rock falls inside of District 5, represented by Magdalena Carrasco, though small portions are inside of District 7 and District 4.

Education

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James Lick High School

Alum Rock is served by the Alum Rock Union School District for elementary and middle school, while high schools are served by the East Side Union High School District.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Schools in Alum Rock include: Template:Sort list

Parks and plazas

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Delano Manongs Park

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The Chinese Cultural Garden memorial hall at Overfelt Gardens

Parks in the Alum Rock district include:

Alum Rock Park
Cimarrón Park
Delano Manongs Park
Emma Prusch Farm Park
Overfelt Gardens (including the Chinese Cultural Garden)
Mayfair Park
Plata Arroyo Park
Zolezzi Park

Transportation

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Alum Rock Transit Center

The Alum Rock Transit Center is an important transit center for East San Jose, operated by the Valley Transportation Authority. It is serviced by bus and light rail.

VTA light rail stations along Capitol Expressway within Alum Rock:

Penitencia Creek station is located right at the border of Alum Rock and Berryessa.

The Eastridge Expansion of the VTA light rail plans the construction of another light rail station at Story Road and Capitol Expressway.

Both the Bayshore Freeway (US-101) and the Sinclair Freeway (I-680) pass through Alum Rock.