Santana Row takes its name from Frank M. Santana, who sat on San Jose’s planning commission in the 1950s. The site was once the Town and Country Village shopping center, home to the first Chuck E. Cheese’s Pizza Time Theatre from 1977 to 1985.
The 42-acre “village within a city” was built in 2001-2002 for about $450 million. During construction, on August 19, 2002, its largest building caught fire; it was the biggest structure fire in San Jose’s history. Today it mixes shops, restaurants, spas, a hotel, homes and offices, close to the Winchester Mystery House.