Naglee Park, San Jose, CA

Naglee Park is the grand old neighborhood just east of downtown and San Jose State, and it wears its history openly. It was created in 1902 by subdividing the estate and vineyard of Brigadier General Henry Morris Naglee, a Civil War officer, San Francisco banker and pioneering valley winemaker, nearly two decades after his death, and most of its homes went up in the early 1900s, some as displaced residents moved south after the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. The houses are why people slow down on these streets. Craftsman bungalows sit beside Spanish Revival and Tudor homes on flat, shaded blocks, and as a city historic conservation area the neighborhood sees far more restorations than teardowns. A few of the bigger houses were split into apartments long ago, and the blocks closest to 11th Street hold more rentals than the interior. William Street Park follows Coyote Creek along the south side. It's where dogs get walked and picnic blankets come out, and the Campus Community Association uses it for Bark in the Park along with its Fourth of July and Christmas gatherings. Food and coffee are a short walk away. Vegetarian House on East Santa Clara Street, at the northern edge, runs a fully plant-based menu with gluten-free and nut-free choices. A.M. Craft on East San Carlos Street is the coffee stop people bring up, rotating beans from roasters in California and abroad and pouring drip flights so you can taste a few side by side. Farther west, downtown opens up, with Nirvana Soul on South First Street for another cup. Daily life here happens on foot. Martin Luther King Jr. Library and downtown offices are all walkable, and I-280 runs along the southern edge for anything that needs a freeway. This is one of the city's premier historic-home pockets and priced accordingly. For buyers who want period architecture, a protected streetscape and a walk to downtown and campus, Naglee Park is the address, and the restored porches and leaded glass are the proof.