Cathedral Basilica of St. Joseph

The Cathedral Basilica of St. Joseph stands at the south end of Plaza de César Chávez in downtown San Jose. It is the mother church of the Diocese of San Jose and one of the city's most recognisable landmarks — a French Baroque Revival building with twin towers and an ornate interior featuring restored stained glass and gilded decoration.

The church stands on the site of California's first Catholic parish, established in 1803, and its survival through multiple disasters (the current building is the fifth on the site) gives it an almost defiant quality. The interior is worth a look; it was substantially renovated in the 1990s after earthquake damage. The plaza in front is the social heart of downtown, flanked by the Tech Interactive and the Museum of Art.

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The current Cathedral Basilica of St. Joseph is actually the fifth church on this site — each of the first four was destroyed, by earthquake, fire, or both. The present building, completed in 1885, survived the 1906 earthquake that flattened much of San Francisco, though it needed extensive reinforcement after the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake shook the region again.