Alviso is a historic little community that, while technically part of San Jose, maintains its own unique history and atmosphere. The Southern Pacific Mulford Line bisects the village after scooting across the South Bay wetlands on its way to San Jose and the Coast Line from Oakland.

During the 1850s Alviso served as a port town that thrived on the quicksilver trade from the mines at Almaden, in the Santa Clara Valley. More money was made from a lucrative grain trade that also flourished in the valley. The roots of the SP line are embedded in the narrow gauge South Pacific Coast, which built a railroad from Newark to Felton, in the Santa Cruz Mountains. Once under Espee control the railroad was standard-gauged and eventually became part of the Niles Subdivision of the Western Division.

Alviso is home to a wildlife preserve and thus the surrounding mud flats and wetlands are well-protected, offering the railfan several great vantage points for photography. 
 

Until the late 1980s Alviso featured a small yacht harbor.  In February of 1983 heavy rains caused floodwaters to breach the banks of the Guadalupe River where it drained into the bay at Alviso. The town was flooded and damage to structures and the yacht harbor were extensive.

Laines Grocery, one of  the oldest buildings in Alviso.