Book Talk: Schiele Subdivision and Alameda Park

Authors Krista Van Laan and Kay Gutknecht will give a presentation of their new book Schiele Subdivision and Alameda Park: History, Architecture, and Preservation in a San Jose Neighborhood. The residents of this neighborhood have been seeking historical designation for eighteen years. You’ll learn something of the history of the Schiele Subdivision/Alameda Park neighborhood and hear the stories behind the book’s research. The presentation includes many pictures of the architecture—from Victorian to Period Revival—that comprises this neighborhood, with stories of the architects and builders who created its distinctive character.

Attendees are in for a double treat: the talk takes place in the beautiful Biggs Cardosa building at 865 The Alameda. Once a Packard dealership, the building was designed in 1929 by local master architects Wolfe & Higgins. When the current owners acquired the building, its ornate exterior had been stripped. The building, meticulously restored in 2009 and with much of its interior intact, is a masterpiece of restoration and preservation.