St. James Square was mapped in 1848 as part of the official survey of the city by
Chester Lyman, but not further developed until after
Trinity Episcopal Church was erected next to the square in 1863; the Square was developed in the late 1860s, starting with a fence erected in 1866.
William O'Donnell landscaped the park under contract to the city of San Jose. It was one of three public squares in San Jose at the time, alongside Washington Square (site of present-day
San Jose State) and
Market Plaza (now Plaza de César Chávez); O'Donnell was responsible for all three. Under O'Donnell's plan, the landscaping effort was in planting hundreds of trees to provide shade, a rarity in downtown San Jose at the time. One of the first major features was a fountain at the park's center; it was built in 1885 and the area began to be called St. James Park instead of St. James Square at about this time. In 1887,
Rudolph Ulrich was given a contract to re-landscape all three public squares. plans for his welcome included a giant bouquet of cut flowers tall and in circumference at the western entrance to St. James Park, billed as the largest bouquet ever made. After his assassination in September 1901, citizens of San Jose held a memorial service at St. James Park and began planning a permanent monument. The William McKinley statue was placed on its base in December 1902. On February 21, 1903, the statue was unveiled on the site where the president had spoken to the public during his visit to the city in May 1901. The standing bronze sculpture, mounted on a granite pedestal, was executed by
Rupert Schmid at a cost of , paid through private donations. A brass cannon is at the foot of the McKinley monument; it has been the site of vigilante justice, including a 1918 incident in which George Koetzer, a brewery employee, was
accused of making pro-German remarks by the
Knights of Liberty, for which he was
tarred and feathered, then chained to the cannon. The city made its first drawing of the park in 1920, The 1885 fountain was demolished in a remodel that occurred under a
Works Progress Administration (WPA) project to renovate the park in the 1930s. Construction materials from the post office were used to storm the city jail where the men were being held; the trees in the park from which the men were hanged (not far from the McKinley memorial) were removed shortly afterward to deter souvenir-seekers. Other memorials within St. James Park honor
Henry Morris Naglee (erected 1915 by his daughters) Kennedy had spoken at St. James Park on March 23, 1968 while running for president; he was assassinated later that year. In 1994, the Memorial Bell for San Jose firefighters was moved to the park from Plaza de César Chávez; Voters narrowly passed an initiative to extend North Second Street through the center of the park in 1952 to accommodate increased traffic, and the extension was completed in 1955, bisecting it; a later proposal to remove North Second in 1976 failed. A senior center was constructed in 1973 in the northeast quadrant of the park, using modular structures that were intended to be temporary. The St. James Square Historic District was added to the
National Register of Historic Places on November 27, 1979. It encompasses the original St. James Square (now St. James Park) along with several bordering properties. A replacement fountain was constructed between 1988 and 1990 in the western half of the park, but is presently not functioning. The 1990 fountain is meant to evoke the 1885 fountain but not replicate it. ==Location==