San Jose Convention Center facts for kids
Quick facts for kids San Jose McEneryConvention Center |
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Main entrance on West San Carlos Street, 2014
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| Address | 150 West San Carlos Street |
| Location | San Jose, California |
| Coordinates | 37°19′43″N 121°53′20″W / 37.32861°N 121.88889°W |
| Operator | Team San Jose |
| Architect |
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| Opened | 1989 |
| Expanded | October 10, 2013 |
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Former names
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San Jose Convention Center (1989–1991) |
| Enclosed space | |
| • Total space | Main hall: 550,000 sq ft (51,000 m2) South Hall: 80,000 sq ft (7,400 m2) |
| • Exhibit hall floor | Main hall: 165,000 sq ft (15,300 m2) South Hall: 80,000 sq ft (7,400 m2) |
| Public transit access |  Convention Center |
The San Jose McEnery Convention Center is a very large building in San Jose, California. It is often called the San Jose Convention Center. This huge place is where many big meetings, shows, and events happen. It is the biggest convention center in an area called Silicon Valley. The center is named after Tom McEnery, who used to be the mayor of San Jose.
The San Jose Convention Center first opened in 1989. It took the place of an older convention hall. Later, a new part called the South Hall was added in 2005. The main building was also updated and made bigger in 2013. A group called Team San Jose helps manage the convention center and other event places nearby.
Many important technology meetings, like Facebook F8 and Apple Worldwide Developers Conference, are held in the main hall. The South Hall has been used for things like auto shows and political events.
Contents
What's Inside the Convention Center?
The convention center is very large, covering about 550,000 square feet. This includes 165,000 square feet for exhibits, which is like a huge open space for displays. It also has 31 meeting rooms and big areas for banquets, where about 5,000 people can eat together.
You can enter the building from West San Carlos Street, Almaden Boulevard, and South Market Street. Two big hotels, the San Jose Hilton and Marriott, are connected to the convention center. There's a long hallway that connects the three entrances. It's called the "Parkway" on the first floor and the "Concourse" on the second floor.
Art and Design Features
The main entrance on West San Carlos Street has some cool art. A large tile mural by Lin Utzon (made in 1988) covers part of the building around the entrance. This mural looks like birds flying and is made of over 8,000 red, white, and black porcelain tiles.
In front of the entrance, there's an interactive sculpture called Idea Tree. It was created by a South Korean architect named Soo-in Yang. Inside the lobby, you can see a bronze and steel sculpture from 1993 called Winged Guardian by Stephen De Staebler.
The South Hall
The South Hall is a special building made of metal and fabric. It adds another 80,000 square feet of space for exhibits. This means the whole center has a total of 245,000 square feet for shows. The South Hall can hold over 11,000 people. It was built in 2005 as a temporary structure. Even though it was meant to be temporary, the city keeps it because it helps bring big events to the convention center.
Getting There
The convention center is easy to reach by car. It's close to major roads like California State Route 87 and Interstate 280. There's also a parking garage connected to the center.
You can also get there by public transport. The Convention Center VTA light rail station is right in front of the main entrance. This station is served by two different light rail lines. It's also just two stops away from the San Jose Diridon station, which connects to many other types of transport. Buses and a free shuttle from San José State University also stop near the convention center. There's even a bike-sharing station nearby.
History of the Convention Center
San Jose has had places for big events for a long time. The first main event center was the Horticultural Hall, which opened in 1886. Later, the Civic Auditorium became the city's main venue in 1933.
In 1957, people in San Jose voted to build a new, modern convention center. This led to the opening of the Jay McCabe Convention Hall in 1964.
After a bigger convention center opened in Anaheim in 1967, San Jose leaders wanted an even better one. They planned a large new convention hall. In 1977, a new San Jose Convention Center opened. It was a part of the Civic Auditorium.
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The current San Jose Convention Center, which is the second one, was approved by Mayor Tom McEnery in 1983. It was part of a big city improvement project. This new center was designed by several architecture firms and cost a lot of money to build. It opened in 1989. In 1991, it was renamed the San Jose McEnery Convention Center to honor the former mayor.
When it first opened, the new convention center didn't attract as many events as hoped. Many businesses in Silicon Valley chose the larger Moscone Center in San Francisco instead. To fix this, local hotels agreed to a tax increase in 2009 to help pay for updates and expansion. On October 10, 2013, the convention center finished a $130 million project. This project added 125,000 square feet of new space.
Events Held Here
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The convention center hosts hundreds of events every year. Some popular annual events include:
- Silicon Valley International Auto Show (January)
- Furcon (January)
- Silicon Valley Comic Con (March or August)
- Facebook F8 (April or May)
- Big Wow! ComicFest (May)
- FanimeCon (Memorial Day weekend in May)
- Apple Worldwide Developers Conference (May or June)
- Crunchyroll Expo (late August or early September)
Other notable events that have taken place at the convention center include:
- The World Science Fiction Convention in 2002 and 2018.
- The Game Developers Conference in 2004 and 2006.
- WrestleMania Axxess for WWE's WrestleMania 31 in 2015.
- A political rally for Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign.
- TwitchCon in 2018.
- The NHL Fan Fair for the 2019 National Hockey League All-Star Game.
Images for kids
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Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg speaking at Facebook F8 in 2018.
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Game Developers Conference.
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Idea Tree, an interactive sculpture by South Korean artist Soo-in Yang.
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The front of the north entrance on San Carlos Street has a tile mural by Danish artist Lin Utzon. It is made of over 8,000 porcelain tiles.
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Convention Center station of the VTA Light Rail.
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An aerial view towards the West Valley.
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