Peter Ullmann will walk us through several locations in Downtown San Jose tied to the city’s early Jewish experience; some structures you can still view today, and some no longer exist. We will see photos of the structures and some of the people involved. Each stop tells the story of individuals whose lives and work helped shape the character of San Jose.

Being Jewish and living in San Jose for the past 30 years, Peter began to won- der if he had any historical connection to this area. What he uncovered was a hidden but rich history of the local Jewish community, dating back to the earliest Gold Rush pioneers. They often chose downtown San Jose to live and work, innovating and investing in the everyday businesses that make a city run—trolleys, banks, textiles and leather goods: they were both an intimate Jewish community, and an indeli ble piece of the larger fabric of San Jose. Enjoy this tour outlining just some of the Jewish folks who left their mark, and the places where it happened. Reserve your spot soon!

Peter Ullmann (Cal BSEE) is an intellectual property manager for several startups. Peter has also been on the boards of several professional and non-profit organizations (including founding member of the Silicon Valley Jewish Film Festival) while also being a docent at several museums.

He has had papers’ published in several journals and been a speaker or panelist at several conferences. He has performed extensive research on the cultural history of his German/Austrian Holocaust-surviving family while concurrently researching information relating to the downtown Jewish history. He has been a downtown booster, living downtown for over 20 years, where he volunteered at The Tech and helped Opera San Jose with their corporate outreach. [Side note, Peter wrote a libretto performed by Opera San Jose and a melodrama performed at the former downtown San Jose melodrama theater on East San Fernando.]