A plaque set into the pavement near Fairmont Plaza marks the site of San Jose's Market Street Chinatown, destroyed by an arson fire in 1887. The neighbourhood was one of five Chinatowns to have existed in San Jose at various points in the nineteenth century, all of them eventually displaced by anti-Chinese politics and urban renewal. The marker is small and easy to walk past.
The Chinese Historical and Cultural Project, which lobbied for the plaque, has also recreated a small interpretive exhibit in nearby buildings. Stand on the corner, read the inscription, and you have a quick window into a chapter of California history that downtown San Jose has otherwise paved over. Combine the visit with a walk through the rest of the Downtown Historic District.