For an explorer who never made it to California, Christopher Columbus has sparked plenty of controversy in San Jose lately. You can expect the latest to center around Columbus Park, a 10-acre site just south of Mineta San Jose International Airport that has quite a history over the past 75 years.
But its future will be determined by a “reimagining” project — launched by the city’s Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services department — that includes potentially changing the name of the park, removing its association with the maligned European explorer. That would follow the removal of a Columbus statue from San Jose City Hall in 2018 and the city switching its Columbus Day holiday in October for Indigenous People’s Day in 2020.
