History of our landmarks

I love the Hayes mansion in south San Jose.  The elegant, 41,000 square foot, 60-room Mediterranean-style structure was designed by architect George Page and was built in 1905, was once intended to be the residence of wealthy faith healer Mary Hayes Chynoweth and her two sons, Everis Anson (E.A.) and Jay Orley (J.O.) Hayes. Mary ordered the home built to replace a 40-plus room Queen Anne Victorian that had burned to the ground in 1898. Prompted by the fire, the family ordered the new home to be built with turn-of-the century cutting-edge safety in mind. Mary died a few months before the mansion was complete, but the estate stood for more than 50 years as the home for Mary's sons and their families. Already wealthy from a Michigan mining venture with their mother, the Hayes brothers, both lawyers, turned their attention to community service. They purchased The San Jose Herald and the Mercury, two local papers they combined to form the San Jose Mercury News. Because the Hayes brothers wielded political power, the mansion was host to many prominent political quests. After the Hayes family sold the mansion in the 1950's, the dwelling became empty by 1980, desperately in need of repair. It attracted the attention of both public and private sectors. In 1975 it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places and in 1981, declared a city landmark and purchased for restoration to its original splendor. Under the care of the Network Conference Company, which leases the site from the City of San Jose and operates the Hayes Conference Center, the mansion was restored and an addition was built in 1996 to match the mansion's architecture. The mansion is available for self tours with a free brochure available from the hotel desk.

Opened to the public in 1994, the property quickly became the region's premier facility for meetings and events.

An expansion and renovation, completed in 2002, enhanced the distinctive architectural characteristics of the original structure, and created even more additional meeting & event space.  There is an awesome restaurant (Orlo's) and a Spa that brings us locals back over and over.