Historic City Hall, San Jose, California

City officials met in this historic City Hall from the city's incorporation in 1850 until the 1950s, when a modern City Hall was built at Civic Center to the north.

Note the  tower to the left. The San Jose electric light tower, also known as Owen's Electric Tower, after its creation and chief booster, was constructed in 1881 at an intersection in downtown San Jose, as a "high light" or moonlight tower to light the city using ac lights. A pioneer use of electricity for municipal lighting, it was later strung with incandescent bulbs and was destroyed in a storm in December, 1915. A half-size replicas stands today at History Park at Kelly Park.