Hillbrook School — a Los Gatos-based institution that goes back 90 years but is just in its third year of high school — cut the ribbon on a new classroom building in downtown San Jose on Friday that is steeped in history.
The three-story brick-and-sandstone Moir building at 227 N. First St. is a real beauty from 1894, with a massive skylight that rains sunshine into its interior and charming bay windows. It was one of the original work-live buildings downtown, with tenants who lived on the upper floors running businesses out of the storefronts on the ground floor. It served as a hotel for most of its life and, most recently, housed the offices of the Robinson & Wood law firm.
I’m glad that instead of building something brand new — which it could have done pretty much anywhere — Hillbrook decided to bring its students to downtown San Jose and specifically to two historic but vacant buildings near St. James Park that required millions of dollars of renovation.
“That was a very intentional decision to have a school in downtown San Jose and have this idea of the city as a classroom,” Head of School Mark Silver said. “We have these two buildings, which represent 70,000 square feet, but we have a classroom that is an entire city.”
Having both that building and the old San Jose Armory on North Second Street transformed into classrooms, maker spaces, art studios and a gym should keep those spaces vibrant for decades to come. While they’ve been modernized inside, the exteriors have kept their classic charm.
“The historical character of the building has been updated but hasn’t been lost,” Silver said. “The idea of bringing a historical building back into use is one of the most green and sustainable things you can do. Our ability to take these two buildings and reenergize them is a huge benefit to the city, and it’s a huge benefit to us.”
Hillbrook’s already been a good neighbor, helping to host the National Night Out event for the residents in surrounding buildings this month and asking the relatively new Hobee’s restaurant on North Second Street to provide its student meals. Of course, there’s another historic structure — the dilapidated First Church of Christ Scientist — between Hillbrook’s two buildings. Wouldn’t it be great if the school found a way to make that part of its campus, too?
CELEBRATION BELLS: Meanwhile, Bellarmine College Prep had its own dedication event Wednesday for the Wade Academic Center, a 43,000 square-foot building with 21 classrooms, a courtyard and and administrative offices. While this is an entirely new campus building, Bellarmine — which celebrates its 175th anniversary in 2026 — still paid homage to the school’s history.
The Wade Academic Center at Bellarmine College Prep in San Jose was dedicated Aug. 20, 2025. (Sal Pizarro/Bay Area News Group)
It’s named after the Rev. Gerald Wade, Bellarmine’s former president and chancellor emeritus, and his parents, lifelong Santa Clara resident Clara Wade and Walter Wade, whose family had deep roots in Alviso.
And in a touching gesture, the school’s Class of 1983 raised money to dedicate a classroom in honor of Rev. Peter Pabst, the chancellor of Cristo Rey San Jose Jesuit High School. Pabst taught at Bellarmine in the mid-1970s and when he returned to campus from 1981 to ’83. They were among the hundreds of donors who contributed to the capital campaign, “Legacy, Inspiration, Innovation.”
An interior hallway in the Wade Academic Center at Bellarmine College Prep, which was dedicated Aug. 20, 2025, welcomes students in several languages. (Courtesy of Craig Cozart Photography)
To fit the new building on campus, Bellarmine could have gone the easy route and torn down everything in its way. But instead of demolishing the 109-year-old Berchmans Hall, the school moved it, with plans of repurposing it for for offices and a welcome center.
CHAMBER’S SMOKIN’ BBQ: There were more than 850 movers and shakers at the San Jose Chamber of Commerce’s annual barbecue Thursday evening at History Park in San Jose, but the sweltering temperature kept the moving and shaking to a minimum.
People flocked to grab a popsicle from Paleta Planeta, which normally serves up its artisan Mexican frozen treats from its storefront on Fourth and Santa Clara streets, and the booth staffed by downtown accounting firm PP&Co., which was pouring ice-cold Moscow Mules in light-up plastic cups shaped like a boot. (And for those not feeling the love for Moscow these days, they also had bourbon and tequila versions.)
As predicted, the Waymo self-driving car was a hit with the crowd, and — also as predicted — it did not move nor was a start date announced for San Jose service. But testing continues and sooner or later, we won’t have to drive ourselves around town.
PROVIDING A BOOST: Rigo Chacon, who was the longtime face of KGO-TV’s newscasts in the South Bay, founded his scholarship program Abrazos & Books in 1990 to help Santa Clara County students in need. But he says the program is going through its toughest fundraising period in its 35-year history, and he hasn’t been able to promote it as much as he’s recovering from major back surgery.
Chacon launched a GoFundMe last fall to raise $15,000 but it lost steam about six months ago with only about 40 percent of the goal raised. With the start of the school year, he’s hoping there are more generous folks out there with education on their minds. You can find out more about the campaign at www.gofundme.com/f/support-rigo-chacons-legacy-of-giving.