Confluence Park is made up of innumerable pathways inscribed on this resplendent landscape, offering a rich tapestry of opportunities to gather and moments of unbridled singularity. The park is embodied by the paths that have led us to this iconic landscape, they represent our individualistic pursuit and shared togetherness. The pathways, voluptuous in form, are woven to create a park experience that is dynamic and meant to ameliorate, heighten and celebrate the perceived and latent existing site conditions.
For millennia this landscape has been a collector in the archetype Italian scholar Ferrante Imperato's Dell'Historia Naturale a “cabinet of curiosities”. This confluence of objects began as early invertebrates migrated out from the brackish and briny waters of the Bay to the upland tidal flats. This migration laid the groundwork for an environment unlike any other, a rich alluvial habitat capable of supporting a complex and dense web of flora and fauna. Nearly 5,000 years ago, the first humans encountered this magical environment full of abundance, decadent with opportunity.
This land has been central to other great historic migrations, Manifest Destiny, the Second Great Migration and the migrations of people from South & Central America. Today the process of confluence continues, as the Common Whimbrel migrates along the Great Pacific Flyway, stopping here at Confluence Park, between their nesting grounds in the arctic and their feeding grounds along the Chilean Coast. This confluence of experiences creates a rich spectacle of moments meant to delight, inspire and treasure. This harmonic togetherness is captured with a distinct moment where the long arc of history can be traced.
Perched some 120’ above the Guadalupe River is The Great Overlook, from this commanding promontory, one can look back on their individualized journey, peer west towards Mount Umunhum where the headwaters of Guadalupe Creek mark the ceremonial home of the Amal Matsun, a tribal band of the Ohlone people, and trace the deep history of this site and look forward to the future of San Jose. This park is about confluence.
These are the Paths of Confluence Park!