Sourisseau Academy In-Depth video: “Lick Observatory”

In the Sourisseau Academy‘s first “In Depth” video production, viewers are taken on a tour of the Lick Observatory, the first in the world. Built in the 1880s, it drew visitors to the top of Mount Hamilton morning and night. The February 2019  “Lick Observatory” video documents the early tourists who made the 26-mile trip to Mount Hamilton.

 

January 2019 Sourisseau Academy photo album

Long before the Winchester Mystery House and the Rosicrucian Museum were tourist attractions, the Lick Observatory on Mount Hamilton was San Jose’s most famous venue. In the January 2019 Sourisseau Academy photo album Anthropology Professor Emeritus Tom Layton cruises the delivery wagons, buggies, vans, and trucks that became moving billboards, reaching even the most remote corners of the Santa Clara Valley.

December 2018 Sourisseau Academy photo album and video

Long before television commercials and the Internet, local merchants were seeking effective and innovative ways to advertise their services to the public. In the December 2018 Sourisseau Academy photo album Anthropology Professor Emeritus Tom Layton cruises the delivery wagons, buggies, vans, and trucks that became moving billboards, reaching even the most remote corners of the Santa Clara Valley.

The December 2018 Sourisseau Academy news video visits the many locations that have vanished from our modern landscape.

 

November 2018 Sourisseau Academy photo album and video

In 1930, most San José residents were familiar with the towns of Alma, Perry, Pomar, Madrone, and Wrights — none of which exist today. In the November 2018 Sourisseau Academy photo album Anthropology Professor Emeritus Tom Layton pays tribute to the towns and venues that have disappeared from our modern landscape.

The November 2018 Sourisseau Academy news video presents 150 years of birds-eye views of growth and change in the Silicon Valley.

October 2018 Sourisseau Academy photo album and video

From second story rooftops in 1858, to the 115-foot “birds’ nest” atop the dome of the Santa Clara County Court House in 1869, to the 207-foot platform near the top of the San José Electric Light Tower in 1881, artists and photographers, lugging sketch pads, tripods and glass plate negatives, climbed higher and higher to capture iconic panoramic vistas. In the October 2018 Sourisseau Academy photo album retired Anthropology Professor Tom Layton journeys into the sky to the imaginary heights from which artists have transformed the Silicon Valley into a fantastical realm where San José’s Hotel De Anza can easily loom larger than all of San Francisco.

The October 2018 Sourisseau Academy news video [titled “Horse Power!” this month] explores the era of the horse and buggy, and the sweet aroma of fruit trees by the side of the road.