1892-94 | First Street Track | San Jose
Page last updated April 10, 2026.
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In the summer of 1892 the Garden City Cyclers started construction of a track of their own.
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Unfortunately, no photographs or illustrations of the First Street Track have yet to be found.
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This San Jose Mercury, June 12, 1892 article starts out describing some road rides then it gets into the Garden City Cycler's "new track". The track is scheduled to be ready for racing on September 9th. It is hoped the track will showcase the city of San Jose to visitors from all over the country.
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This article also provides context to the amount of track racing happening in northern California. It refers to Agricultural Park Horse Track in Sacramento, the recently opened Alameda Track, the soon to be opened Goodwater Grove Track in Stockton and lastly, the First Street Track in San Jose to debut in early September.
Here is another article from later in the year that reflects on bicycle track construction that occurred throughout the state in 1892.
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The Bearings was the prominent cycling trade journal in the late 19th century. It was a weekly publication that focused on bicycle industry news, racing, and trade. It provides very valuable information about the velodromes of the day.
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In the The Bearings, December 14, 1892 article there is a year-end summary of cycling in each state. In the summary about cycling in California, it lays out the timeline of five new tracks built in the state during 1892: Alameda, Goodwater Grove, Riverside, Los Angeles and San Jose. This provides a wider context portraying the popularity of track cycling in California. Other state summaries are similar, indicating how popular track cycling is throughout the country.
Here's a San Francisco Call, Aug 1, 1892 article that is mostly about cycling in general, in the area. However, in the middle of the article there is a paragraph stating, "The Garden City cyclers of San Jose will hold a racing meet on Admission day, September 9. The new track will be in readiness by that time and the occasion will probably be signalized by the first grand parade of the clubs comprising the new association which intends offering prizes for the organizations turning out the strongest and presenting the best appearance. All the clubs up this way will do their best to make the San Jose meet a great success."
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Admission day as well as Thanksgiving day seem to be popular dates for big race events. The First Street Track will hold races on Admission day each of the three years it exists. Admission day commemorates the admission of California to the United States on September 9, 1850.
Here is a San Jose Mercury, September 5, 1892 article announcing that the construction of the South First street track has completed. This article provides the best details of the First Street Track:
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quarter mile track
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radius of the turns is 100 feet
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embankment at the turns is 5 feet (from next article, San Jose Mercury, Sept 10, 1892)
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distance between curves is 200 feet
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the homestretch is 30 feet wide?
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the surface is crushed rock
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the grandstand is capable of seating 1900
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It's interesting to read the explanation for having banked curves.
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Note, again, the Alameda Track is referenced. The Alameda Track has turns that are banked 6 feet with a shorter radius.
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The teams participating in the upcoming Admission Day race are listed. The morning's parade route is described. It's common for a parade of teams and racers to be held in the morning and in this case they will be judged. With the races taking place in the afternoon.
It also states the location of the track as "opposite the Pratt Home on South First street".
Here are two articles from the San Jose Mercury, September 10, 1892 describing the festivities of the 1892 Admission Day event.
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The first article describes the parade in great detail. The clubs participating in the parade are:
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Garden City Cyclers of San Jose
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San Francisco Bicycle Club
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Bay City Wheelmen
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Capitol City Wheelmen of Sacramento
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Acme Athletic Club of Oakland
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Oak Leaf Wheelmen of Stockton
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Alameda Bicycle and Athletic Club, including a "ladies' annex"
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California Cycling Club of San Francisco
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Oriental Cycling Club of San Francisco
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Alameda County Wheelmen
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Los Gatos Wheelmen (from previous article, September 5, 1892 San Jose Mercury)
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Vancouver BC club (from previous article, September 5, 1892 San Jose Mercury)
It also indicates the banking of the track in the turns is five feet.​
The second article lists the results of the afternoon's races. It's interesting to note the distinction made between ordinary races and safety races. The transition from the ordinary/highwheel bicycle to the safety bicycles was underway. Future races summaries from the First Street Track do not make any distinctions, so they were likely racing safety bicycles.
The De Anza College - California History Center had an exhibit titled A Century of Cycling in Santa Clara Valley from October of 1989 until February of 1990. The feature research paper of the exhibit was Cycling: In And Around San Jose 1890 - 1900, by Barbara H. Houghton. The paper describes the San Jose cycling scene in the 1890's. It contains a few paragraphs about both the First Street Track and the Agricultural Park Velodrome. The paragraphs below are those about the First Street Track, which also describe the inaugural day of races at the track, Admission Day 1892.
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NOTE: when reading the research paper the pages are not in the right sequence. There are only 4 pages so it's easy to resolve.
Cycling: In And Around San Jose 1890 - 1900, by Barbara H. Houghton.
These are two newspaper clippings about the 1892 Thanksgiving Day races to be held at the First Street Track.
In December of 1892 The Referee contains a very extensive article summarizing the year of bicycle racing in California, which in 1892 meant mostly northern California. The article touches on the leadership of the racing organization, the race tracks, races and some of the racers.
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It states "The season '92 should go on record as the renaissance period of the past time of cycling on the Pacific Coast."
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As far as the bicycle tracks "In northern California we have had eight race meets and they have been uniformly successful. On the Alameda Track, which was the first built with banked corners and up to date in every particular, three of these meets were held, San Jose held two, Stockton two, and Sacramento one."
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The article is from The Referee, December 23, 1892.
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Note, it's a large two-page article, click on the link or the image to read it in a viewer.
1893
It's difficult to determine exactly how much regular racing occurred at the First Street Track. Perhaps it was primarily a training facility for the Garden City Cyclers. However, just like the inaugural year of the track, they held Admission Day races in 1893, the second year of the track's existence.
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The first article is from the San Jose Herald, July 24, 1893 about the September 9th bike races.
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The other two articles appear to be about a benefit race for the Catholic Ladies' Aid Society and the Pratt Home to be held on Friday, October 27th. As stated in a number of archives, the First Street Track is "across the street" fom the Pratt Home. The Pratt Home was a charitable institution caring for elderly women.
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Both of these articles use the term "Bicycle Park" to refer to the First Street Track.
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As always, it's interesting to read the prizes offered at the time, such as: a business suit, onyx stand piano lamp, silk umbrella and a $20 bicycle suit.
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Also notice there is no distinction made between ordinary/highwheel and safety bicycle races.
1894
On to 1894 which would be the final year of the First Street Track. There was a race held on May 11th. The first article is from the San Jose Herald, May 11, 1894 publicizing the races on that afternoon. The second article is also from the San Jose Herald, May 12, 1894, summarizing the previous day's races.
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A very interesting paragraph in the race summary states "Without mentioning any names it is well perhaps for the good of the grand sport that is at present so popular to utter a slight note of warning. It is easy enough for a combination of five or six riders to get a skillful man like Edwards, Davis or Osen in a pocket and manipulate to prevent his winning. The combination can win races in this way but just as sure will they in a very short time disgust the public who love a square sport and quickly become out of patience with anything that leans toward trickery."
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Also notice there is no distinction made between ordinary/highwheel and safety bicycle races.
A very notable event for the First Street Track in the summer of 1894 would be the "big electric light meet" held on the evening of Friday, July 27th. The San Jose Herald, July 13, 1894 article publicizes the event. The San Jose Mercury, July 23, 1894 article is brief but also mentions the special event.
The last known race held at the First Street Track was its third edition of Admission Day races to be held on September 10, 1894. There is an advertisement for the event in the San Jose Herald on Sept. 7.
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The second article below briefly alludes to the First Street Track lease not being renewed.
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The "Two New California Tracks" article is from The Referee, November 2, 1894. It mentions a new cement track in San Jose scheduled for completion in December of 1894 and a second track as well, not as far along in the contracting process. These plans for new tracks very likely impacted the viability of the First Street Track's future.
The most comprehensive document about velodrome racing in Northern California is the Masters Thesis by Tracy Ann Delphia titled A history of bicycle track racing in San Jose: the Burbank Velodrome years, 1935-1941. The research paper is available at San Jose State University - ScholarWorks.
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Although the 250 page paper focuses on the Burbank Velodrome it also provides background on velodrome racing, biographies of racers, description of the track's racing program and some broader context about the San Jose track racing history. When describing the broader context the author touches on the earlier and later tracks and velodromes in San Jose.
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Regarding the First Street Track, the paper cites some of the references cited here. The paper does have a unique comment about the ceasing of operations at the First Street Track.
Location
The proximity of the First Street Track to the Pratt Home is key to placing the location of the track. It has been described as "opposite the Pratt Home" or "across the street from the Pratt Home". It has also been described as being at the "intersection of First and Second Streets" as that is where the two streets merge.
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The Pratt Home was a charitable institution caring for elderly women. The article below recounts the grand opening of the Pratt Home on February 25, 1892.
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The Library of Congress, Sanborn map (1891) shows the location of Pratt Home "Being Built" at the corner of South First and Humboldt Street. It also shows an open area across Humboldt Street from the Pratt Home which might be a possible location of the track.
The map below shows a larger area of 1891 south San Jose. By zooming in on the lower right corner of the map it can be seen there is an open area across First Street from the Pratt Home. So there are a couple open areas that are both "across the street" from the Pratt Home, one of which is likely location of the First Street Track.
Zoom in on lower right of corner of map
Below is a current Google Map of the area around the corner of First Street and Humboldt Street (37.319116, -121.876476) in San Jose.
Current Google Map of the area around the corner of First and Humboldt Streets in San Jose.
CHECKLIST:
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mention that there are NO PICS of this track.
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has the documentation shown the track to be near the GCC clubhouse?
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9/5/1892 article indicates "...cyclery club rooms on Second street near San Antonio."​
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Happy Cyclers article, "..cyclery on Scond street decorated...bunting."
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make sure to doc the track specs in para, someplace.
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make sure to Note where other tracks are mentioned for CONTEXT!
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review each writeup and the archive item to make sure the details of the archive item are touched upon in the writeup
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review to make sure the Links are ALL GOOD!
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review to trim pics if necessary.
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HIDE this section.
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