San José


San José

(sän hōsā`), city (1989 pop. 287,535), central Costa Rica, capital and largest city of Costa Rica. San José is the economic, political, and social center of Costa Rica, dominating the Central Valley and the nearby towns, AlajuelaAlajuela
, city (1995 est. pop. 48,645), capital of Alajuela prov., central Costa Rica. In the Central Valley, it is a leading commercial center for the sugar and livestock industries as well as being a summer resort. It was the capital of Costa Rica for a short time in the 1830s.
..... Click the link for more information.
, CartagoCartago
, city (1995 est. pop. 31,413), central Costa Rica, capital of Cartago prov. The raising of livestock and the production of coffee are its main industries. Cartago was founded in 1563.
..... Click the link for more information.
, and HerediaHeredia,
city (1995 est. pop. 29,200), capital of Heredia prov., central Costa Rica. On the central plateau, it is a center of the coffee and cattle industries and, with its colonial architecture, a tourist attraction. Heredia was founded in the 1570s and is the seat of the National Univ.
..... Click the link for more information.
. During colonial times, the main industry of the region was tobacco raising; by the mid-19th cent., the city had become the center of a coffee-producing area. It is the national distribution point for imports. San José was founded (c.1738) at the beginning of the westward expansion from Cartago; with independence from Spain (1821), it became the center of the country's liberal element and, in 1823, the capital. A modern city, with parks and fine public buildings, including the elaborate National Theater, it has a mixture of Spanish and North American architecture, with many houses set back to have lawns and gardens fronting the street. San José is a stop for international airlines, the hub of the highway system, and the center of the Pacific and Caribbean railroads. It has several universities.

San José,

town (1994 est. pop. 14,170), SW Guatemala, on the Pacific Ocean. It is a rail terminus and a major Pacific port of Guatemala.

San Jose

(sănəzā`, săn hōzā`), city (1990 pop. 782,248), seat of Santa Clara co., W central Calif.; founded 1777, inc. 1850. Along with San Francisco and Oakland the city comprises the fourth largest metropolitan area in the United States. San Jose lies in a rich fruit-growing area and has wineries and many food-processing industries. Computers; electronic and electrical equipment; machinery; metal, rubber, plastic, and paper products; medical, communications, and transportation equipment; and chemicals are among its manufactures. Aerospace and commercial-supply industries are nearby, as is the Silicon ValleySilicon Valley,
an industrial region, approximately 20 mi (32 km) long, in the Santa Clara Valley between Palo Alto and San Jose, mainly in Santa Clara and San Mateo counties, W central Calif., where many computer manufacturing and design companies are located.
..... Click the link for more information.
 high-technology center. Industrial production developed significantly after World War II and growth has since been rapid. However, San Jose was affected by the decline in high-technology production at the end of the 20th cent. The first state legislature (1849) met there, and San Jose was the state capital from 1849 to 1851.

Among the city's parks are Alum Rock Park, with mineral springs; Kelley Park, with a zoo and a Japanese garden and tea house; and Rosicrucian Park, with its Egyptian museum and planetarium. The Tech Museum of Innovation and the city's repertory theater are located in striking new buildings, and the sprawling, bizarrely constructed Winchester Mystery House is also noteworthy. San Jose State Univ., The National Hispanic Univ., Lincoln Law School of San Jose, and a campus of Golden Gate Univ. are in San Jose. The National Hockey League's Sharks play there. To the north lies Mission San Jose de Guadalupe (1797) and to the west is Mission Santa Clara de Asís (1777).


San José

(sän hōsā`) or

San José de Mayo

(thā, mä`yō), city (1996 pop. 33,351), capital of San José dept., S Uruguay, on the San José River. It is a commercial center for a large dairy and livestock region. The city was founded in 1783 by settlers from Spain, and was Uruguay's provisional capital in 1825–26. San José is noted for its architecture. Landmarks include a monument to Uruguayan patriots.

San Jose

 

a city in the western USA, in the state of California. Population, 535,000 (1974; more than 1 million including suburbs). San Jose is an important railroad junction on the line to San Francisco. It is an industrial center, in which more than 145,000 people are employed. It has electronics and aerospace industries. San Jose is known for canning fruits and vegetables and for wine-making. Its machine-building industry produces equipment for, among others, the food and oil-refining industries. San Jose was founded in 1777.


San José

 

the capital of Costa Rica and the country’s industrial and cultural center; situated at an elevation of 1,165 m, on the Pan American Highway. Population, 400,000 (1974, including suburbs).

San José has a subequatorial climate. The average temperature in January is 18.5°C, and in July, 20.8°C. Annual precipitation is 1,850 mm; the rainy season extends from May through November. There are frequent earthquakes; the volcanoes of Poás, Irazú, and Turrialba are north of the city. San José is linked by rail to the port of Puntarenas on the Pacific and the port of Limón on the Caribbean. El Coco Airport is located 24 km from the city.

San José has food-processing, tobacco, textile, and metal-working industries. It is the center of a coffee-growing region. The city is the home of the University of Costa Rica, the National Library, the National Museum, the Gallery of the Faculty of Fine Arts, the National Theater (plays, operas, ballets), and the Harlequin Theater.

San José was founded in 1737–38 by Spanish conquistadores. In the mid-18th century, as tobacco plantations sprang up in the area, the city emerged as a center of tobacco production. San José became the capital of the republic of Costa Rica in 1823, after an eruption of Irazú almost completely destroyed Cartago, the original capital.


San José

 

a city in southern Guatemala, in the department of Escuintla. Population, 10,100 (1973). San José is linked by railroad with Guatemala City. Its port, on the Pacific Ocean, handled approximately 600,000 tons of cargo in 1970. Coffee, sugar, hides, and fine woods are exported.

San Jose

a city in W central California: a leading world centre of the fruit drying and canning industry. Pop.: 898 349 (2003 est.)