Marking a milestone in Santa Clara Valley history, Guadalupe River Park and Gardens will celebrate its official opening on Sept. 10. But the day isn't just commemorating the end of a project that's been more than 20 years in the making. It also represents the start of an urban pleasure garden.

The downtown San Jose park stretches 2.6 miles along the banks of the Guadalupe River, from Highway 280 to Highway 880. The park and gardens boast immaculate landscaped greenery, family-friendly areas and winding paths for hiking, biking, walking and running that will serve the community in the years ahead, including residents of Campbell and Willow Glen.

The $340 million project is unique in its combination of flood protection, recreational open space, and preservation of an environment that's home to steelhead trout, chinook salmon, birds and other wildlife.

One sunny afternoon, San Jose mother Nikki Moore watches her son and his friends romp around the park. She brings 8-year-old Elyjah Wirth and his friends Joey O'Conner and Michael Thomlinson to the Arena Green Playgrounds at least once a month.

The Arena Green is located between Santa Clara and Julian streets, and is directly across Autumn Street from the San Jose Arena.

"They love to come here," Moore says. "They call it 'spider web park' because of the climbing structures. It's a good place to just let them run around. We come here whenever we get all three of the boys together."

Kathleen Muller is the 10-year executive director of the park and gardens. Her task has been coming up with ways to let the community know there's more than just one great place within the park for Elyjah, Joey and Michael to play. The recreational areas hold a myriad of delights.

A children's carousel in the Arena Green features 33 painted, fiberglass animals. The hummingbird, coyote, salmon and eagle represent indigenous species, and two sharks symbolize the San Jose Sharks ice hockey team.

"I love the carousel; for one thing, it reminds me of my childhood," Willow Glen resident Linda Herschbach says. "I used to ride a carousel at the beach."

Discovery Meadow near the Children's Discovery Museum features the largest Monopoly game board in the world. The 930-square-foot game is an interactive element of the park, where groups can rent large tokens and play a game of Monopoly in the outdoor public setting.

"It's really exciting to see it get to this point," Muller says. "This has been such a long-term project that's gone on for decades. It's taken so many people coming together from all different organizations."

Guadalupe Gardens include an additional 120 acres of city-owned property to the south of Norman Y. Mineta San Jose International Airport. The gardens are being developed as a center for horticultural and environmental education. Ultimately, the gardens will serve as a gateway entrance to downtown.

The gardens include a renowned heritage rose garden with more than 4,000 varieties; a courtyard garden and the Taylor Street rock garden, which uses recycled water; a garden center; and a historic orchard planted with varieties of fruit trees that once grew abundantly in this valley.

"I like the historic orchard because Santa Clara was once famous for being 'The Valley of Heart's Delight,' and now we are Silicon Valley and we think of the computer chip," Herschbach says. "We were once agricultural in our history."

Herschbach is a member of the board of directors of the Friends of Guadalupe River Park and Gardens. The organization provides community leadership for the development and active use of the park through education, advocacy and stewardship.

Herschbach is also the principal of Anne Darling Elementary School, which is part of the San Jose Unified School District. As an educator, she sees the benefits of the park's programs such as the water-wizard festival and summer safari camps, which meet state curriculum standards. There are educational programs available within the park for both children and adults.

"It's another place where I can send my families," she says. "I'm in a school that is low-income, and this provides opportunities for families that don't cost a lot of money ... The park exposes children to hands-on activities that we don't have time to do in school."

Bearing fruit

Planted in 1994, the 3.3-acre historic orchard is just north of Taylor Street and adjacent to the river park trails. The orchard contains more than 250 fruit trees, including cherries, peaches, pears, apricots, prunes and apples. Dedicated volunteers maintain the orchard.

Retired educator Jean Gomes, who now lives in San Jose, was raised in Campbell and lived there for 36 years. She is a member of the board of directors of the Friends of Guadalupe River Park and Gardens, and is among those dedicated volunteers.

Her family settled in Campbell in 1911, and her father, Joseph, and grandfather, Joaquin, owned a combined 100 acres of orchard land in San Jose and Campbell. She recalled that a trip from Campbell to downtown San Jose required traveling on a two-lane road. It was a long trip, she says, but once there, it was exciting to see the thriving city. Today, Gomes continues her family's agricultural tradition by helping to prune the historic orchards on Taylor Street.

"It brings back memories from our home ranch on Hamilton," she says. Mama Mia's Italian Restaurant was the former site of the family ranch.

Gomes says all of the produce harvested from the orchard is donated to the Second Harvest Food Bank of Santa Clara and San Mateo counties.

"We still need volunteers, just to help keep up what we have," Gomes says. "It's fun out there."

In addition, the park is home to tennis courts, public art, a history plaza and visitor and education center.

"There's lots of places to sit quietly and enjoy the outdoors," Muller says.

The park was created in conjunction with an innovative flood protection project constructed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers that uses underground tunnels to carry floodwaters away from homes and downtown businesses.

"There's a bypass system of tunnels under the park that carries the excess floodwaters through," Muller says.

Community leaders worked with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Santa Clara Valley Water District for more than 20 years to design a project that combines flood control work with environmental protection. The city of San Jose/Redevelopment Agency and county of Santa Clara partnered with the Santa Clara Valley Water District on the project to "make it more than just a concrete channel," Muller says.

The design was intended to create a "ribbon of blue and ribbon of green" open space in the heart of downtown San Jose, Muller says.

The park and gardens are historical, since the city of San Jose--el pueblo de San José de Guadalupe--was founded along the river in 1777 by the Spanish, according to a brochure from Guadalupe River Park and Gardens. Successive waves of people including Native Americans, Spanish and Mexican settlers, Chinese and Italian immigrants have lived along its banks. As the city developed, the river was remembered only when it flooded.

"A lot of people are surprised when they learn there's a river in San Jose," Muller says.

The river has periodically overflowed over the years, Muller says, most recently in 1995 when downtown streets were flooded with 15 feet of water. But today, the flood-protection project protects downtown San Jose from the potential damage that has a 1 percent chance of occurring in any given year. The project was completed in December 2004.

Looking ahead

In 2006, Muller says additional trails will be completed along the lower Guadalupe River from the park to Alviso. The park's future includes an upper Guadalupe River project that will continue the trails south to Almaden Valley, as well as connect Guadalupe Park's trails with the popular Los Gatos Creek Trail. The Los Gatos Creek merges with the Guadalupe River at Confluence Point near Santa Clara Street.

"I do want to walk from Lexington Dam all the way to Alviso one day," Gomes says.

According to the park and gardens website, the Los Gatos Creek Trail will eventually connect to the Guadalupe River Park Trail at Arena Green, near the HP Pavilion. Muller says there's no projected date for this link to occur but progress is being made in extending the Los Gatos trail north from Meridian Avenue, where it now ends. The city of San Jose is currently seeking funds from many sources and trying to acquire property to complete the trail as soon as possible.

Muller envisions people using the trail rather than having to deal with parking in downtown San Jose for events such as the San Jose Grand Prix, San Jose Jazz Festival or Cinequest Film Festival. The park is also expected to offer wireless Internet access for out-of-town visitors and business people who want to sit in the park with their laptops.

"The park is not complete," Muller says. "There will always be things added--improvements and other projects. It's an urban park in the center of the city. It's a major milestone point we're celebrating."

Everyone is invited to enjoy new park

Guadalupe River Park and Gardens is like a puzzle that's being assembled piece by piece.

The project has finally come together after a 20-year endeavor, as funding and land were acquired and corporate agreements were reached between government agencies.

This weekend is a celebration of those efforts. The park and gardens will be buzzing with activity on Sept. 10 during the official grand opening.

"A park for many reasons ... A park for all seasons" is the theme of the festivities, which will feature free activities and entertainment from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at multiple areas throughout the park and at the adjacent Guadalupe Gardens.

"The goal of Sept. 10 is to get people moving through the park," says Kathleen Muller, executive director of the park and gardens.

There will be more than 40 booths with hands-on activities for children and families related to the environment, the river's history, community health and fitness. In addition, there will be music performances in Discovery Meadow, Arena Green/Confluence Park, McEnery and Columbus parks. The Joe Sharino Band will perform during a plaza dance from 4 to 6 p.m. at the Center for Performing Arts Plaza, at the corner of Almaden Boulevard and Park Avenue. There will be food, wine and beer booths too.

"I'm very proud of the park and gardens," Muller says. "I'm very excited about this milestone. But more than anything, I hope people discover the park and come back and enjoy it and use it."

There will be gardening demonstrations and exhibits, a habitat hunt contest for prizes, a celebrity softball game, free carousel rides and free admission all day to the Children's Discovery Museum. There will also be docents along the trails to point out park features, and an open house at the new visitor and education center at 438 Coleman Ave.

Participants will receive free commemorative backpacks, a 2006 wall calendar showcasing the natural beauty of the park and other souvenirs. Free shuttles will help move visitors from parking lots and garages to activity areas in the park.

The event is being organized by Friends of Guadalupe River Park and Gardens, which was formed in 1995 through the merger of two nonprofit groups: Friends of the Guadalupe River Park and the Guadalupe Gardens Corporation.

The organization's goal is to provide community leadership for the development and active use of the park through education, advocacy and stewardship. The group has more than 500 members, who strive to work with governmental agencies and provide a citizen perspective on development issues, Muller says.

The Friends also promote awareness and community participation by providing educational and outreach programs and volunteer opportunities. Volunteers are still needed for the Sept. 10 festivities.

For more information, visit www.grpg.org, email grandopening@grpg. org or call Friends of Guadalupe River Park and Gardens at 408.277.5998.