Downtown San Jose’s coolest new shark isn’t named Celebrini – The Mercury News
An artistic blast from the past resurfaced Thursday in downtown San Jose at the fifth anniversary celebration for Guildhouse, the gaming lounge and eatery on South First Street.
If you’re picking up the vibes I’m sending out, you should be hearing John Williams’ iconic “Jaws” theme in your head because there’s an amazing new shark in town. And this one doesn’t play hockey.
“Fishbones” is named after a shark-themed rocket launcher featured in the game “League of Legends,” as well as the animated Netflix show, “Arcane.” It was painted by San Jose artist Cindy Duong, who put about 100 hours into it, stretched over eight weeks.
And, if it looks like it would fit right in with the SharkByte Art project that decorated San Jose with 100 creatively rendered fiberglass sharks back in 2001, there’s a good reason for that. It’s actually one of the original sharks that has been repainted and given a new lease on life. (The shark’s owner made unsuccessful attempts to contact the original artist before giving the OK for the makeover.)
David Faria, director of operations for Guildhouse, said he would like to see “Fishbones” serve as a catalyst for a second addition of SharkByte Art project that could be part of San Jose’s 250th anniversary celebration next year.
“Not only is the legacy of the first one we did, but sharks are kind of our thing in San Jose,” Faria said. “We have tons of artists here, new artists and artists who could be possibly returning and say, oh, I did this 25 years ago.”
In 2011, I wrote a couple of columns trying to track down what happened to those original 100 sharks after they were auctioned off. Many of them wound up in the backyards of San Jose homes, while others became conversation pieces in the lobbies of San Jose businesses. One made it all the way to the United Kingdom. A few, including the Sushi Shark in Japantown and the Ballerina Shark at the old Pavilion shops building, are still easily seen by the public.
Interestingly, just last week, I got an email about another “shark sighting.” Rob Coelho, an assistant county counsel for the County of Santa Clara, sent me a photo of the one he has, “Leon Arto di Sharkie,” which was originally purchased by Bob and Adele Shepard in the auction.
Coelho said that when he was at the downtown law firm Hoge Fenton, he contributed to the effort to purchase one for the company to display. “Hang Your Hat in San Jose” remains on display at the 14th floor lobby of the Hoge Fenton’s Market Street offices.
Faria said he hopes that if a SharkByte Art 2.0 happens, more of the sharks be on display at restaurants and other businesses rather than hidden from public view.
“If businesses own them, then people would come see them as an attraction,” he said. “But if they went into private collections, then they’re gone.”
MINDING THE METERS: Back in June, the San Jose City Council punted the issue of extending the hours and raising the rates on downtown parking meters until August. And look at what month it already is.
The Downtown Parking Board has a special meeting scheduled for 10 a.m. Aug. 5 at City Hall, where the public can provide feedback to the proposed changes. The meeting will take place in City Hall Wing room W118, but you can join on Zoom at zoom.us/j/92875549979.
If you don’t remember the proposal — there was a lot of soccer to watch last month, after all — it would extend the hours for most downtown meters from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. and double the rates for those within two blocks of a city-owned garage to $4 an hour. The changes would bring in $1.2 million in revenue annually, which already has been figured into this year’s city budget.
When the council discussed the plan in June, many downtown business owners and employees lamented they would be stuck paying more (and possibly being ticketed) while they’re serving customers during downtown San Jose’s vibrant evening hours.
FROM SAN JOSE TO THE PGA: The crowd from Cinnabar Hills Golf Club were cheering loudly as 21-year-old Jackson Kouvin’s earned the win in the 3M Open last Sunday, his first victory in just three PGA Tour starts. Kouvin grew up in San Jose, where he started learning golf at Santa Teresa Golf Club’s par 3 course and moved onto Cinnabar Hills, where he continued his instruction under Fred Garcia, who has been with the club for 28 years.
Kouvin went to Archbishop Mitty High School but moved to North Carolina in his senior year during the COVID-19 pandemic and went on to be an award-winning collegiate player at Auburn.
“All of us associated with Cinnabar Hills Golf Club couldn’t be more excited and proud of Jackson Koivun, his parents and family, as well as his management team,” said Bill Baron, managing partner at Brandenburg Properties. “This young man is going to be a star.”
MOVERS AND SHAKERS: Andrea Mackenzie, a woman who’s done a lot to keep this region’s natural beauty intact, will be stepping down as general manager of the Santa Clara Valley Open Space Authority at the end of 2026 after 15 years in the role. During her tenure, the agency more than doubled its footprint across Santa Clara Valley, from about 12,000 protected acres to nearly 30,000 acres.
And at Humane Society Silicon Valley, Nancy Willis is taking the “interim” off her title, as she’s been appointed the organization’s president and executive director. Willis, who joined HSSV in 2023, stepped into the role earlier this year following the departure of Kurt Krukenberg after six years.
