Post Officies
The Kensington Post Office operated as the post office and general store located at the corner of Minnesota and Cherry Avenues beginning operations in 1894. After January 1895, this Post Office was called Willowglen (all one word), with Albert T. Winslow as its postmaster. By the early 1960's, the post office location was at 1171 Lincoln Avenue in a building adjacent to the Garden Theater. After the Garden Theater mall conversion in the 1990's, the Post Office became a tenant there.
Firehouse
1342 Lincoln Avenue was the site of Willow Glen's first volunteer fire department, a building constructed in 1930 just for the firehouse. After the Town's annexation to San Jose in 1936, the firehouse became San Jose Fire Station #6. In 1949, the station moved to 1157 Minnesota Avenue, where it shared a building with the County Free Library. In 1963, Station #6 moved to its own quarters at the corner of Minnesota and Cherry Avenues at the site of the old Kensington Store, razed to provide for the new fire station.
Police Department
Willow Glen's two-person Police Dept. shared space with other city offices in the back of the Firehouse at 1342 Lincoln Avenue with access to the Department through a rear door. After Willow Glen's annexation, Police Chief Eddie Pracina continued
to work for the San Jose Police Dept.
Library
in 1930 a corner of the Willow Glen Methodist Church served as Willow Glen's first library as a branch of the County Free Library system. The church building was alongside of the Fire Station at 1342 Lincoln Avenue. In 1937 the library moved to 1312 Lincoln Avenue near Brace St. In 1947, the City of San Jose allocated funds to build a combination firehouse and library into which the library move in 1949. In 1963, after the Firehouse moved to its Cherry Avenue location, and the library took over the entire building, moving briefly to a temporary building in 1973 due to fire damage... obscured
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