Art and Public Transit
Public transit isn’t just a climate friendly way to get around, but it’s also a great way to get connected to the art and culture of your community. Apart from being a big economic force in the county, art also brings us together and exposes us to new and different ways of thinking about the human experience. In polarized times, when our dominant form of transportation isolates us from our neighbors, both art and public transit play a role in fostering a sense of community.
Here in San Jose we have a lot of art and culture to explore, from world class museums to beautiful community murals. We’ve put together some hypothetical art tours to highlight how much of that at you can see with the help of our transit operators.
Murals
San Jose has long had many murals, and more are added every year. In fact, DTSJ alone has 125 murals! Keep an eye out while you travel for these public art works (and that’s easier to do when you’re sitting comfortably on a bus or train). The editors at SJToday have also put together some really great articles about murals in San Jose.
Museums
Santa Clara County has some incredible museums and galleries to visit. We’ve highlighted some below, along with the closest transit stops and routes.
San Jose Museum of Art
Located right in DTSJ at Plaza de Cesar Chavez, the Museum of Art is close to many routes. It’s just a short walk away from Santa Clara & 1st, which is serviced by bus lines 64A, 64B, 500, 522, 523, and even the Highway 17 Express (operated by SCTMD). It’s also close to the 1st & Santa Clara stop serviced by bus lines 68 and 568, and the Santa Clara Light Rail Station.
San Jose Museum of Quilts and Textiles
This wonderful and unique museum is at 520 S First St. It’s on the same block as the 1st & Reed and 2nd & William stops, both of which are serviced by the 66 and 68 bus routes.
de Saisset Museum
Nestled in the Santa Clara University campus, this museum has free admission for all. SCU is located a short distance away from the Santa Clara Transit Center, which is serviced by Caltrain, ACE, Amtrak, and VTA (and in the future, BART!). The bus lines at the transit center are 21, 22/522, 53, 59, and 60. This transit center also has some fun sculptures in it’s parking lot, so keep an eye out for them.
Transit Stations
You can also find beautiful art and history at our very own local transit stations!
San Jose Diridon Station is on the National Register of Historic Places for its Italian Renaissance Revival style. Apart from having gorgeous architecture, inside you can find transit art and memorabilia through the decades as the station has been used as a railway and commuter stop.
The Milpitas Transit Center has stained glass windows in its façade.; the work is “Ethos of Imagination” by BJ Katz & Chris Klein. The station also has a fun and colorful pedestrian bridge over the Montague Expressway. And the Berryessa Transit Center is home to “LIFE!”, a large sculpture by Larry Kirkland.
In the past, VTA has celebrated National Poetry Month by displaying poems inside its vehicles. More recently VTA has had an “Art in Motion” campaign to highlight artists around the county. Some vehicles today continue to display poems by students. So the next time you’re on a VTA vehicle, you may be fortunate enough to see poetry and illustrations from young SCC artists.
A Transit Art Tour
This (hypothetical, multi-modal) tour goes straight to the heart of Downtown San Jose. Starting at the Alum Rock Transit Center, you can take the 22 or 522 bus down E Santa Clara St. The first stop is “Leyendas de San José” at 934 E Santa Clara St. The Santa Clara & 20th stop is right across the street from the mural.
You can then hop back on the 22/522 and take it to Santa Clara & 5th. Walk one more block to 135 E Santa Clara St to see “Homage”, a tribute to John Carlos and Tommie Smith at the 1968 Olympics. Now you’re within walking distance of many of the most well known murals in SJ! There’s the colorful Gross/Holmes Building at 57 N. First St., “Notorious RBG” at 2 W. Santa Clara St., and “Phylum of the Free” in Fountain Alley.
If you visited those in that order, you’ll have made a small loop that puts you between the light rail tracks on First and Second streets. Walk one more block south to E San Fernando St. and you can see the huge “SAP Center 25” mural at 8e E. San Fernando St.
Head west just a short distance and you can then see "¡Alebrijes!” on the side of Mezcal. That puts you right across the street from the San Jose Museum of Art, which is the perfect place to end this tour and start another one through the galleries of the museum.
We hope that on your next transit trip you experience some art you might not have noticed before, or at least feel a little closer to your neighbors.