Originally an independent town, founded in 1852, today Alviso is San Jose's only waterfront district, primarily residential in nature, with several Silicon Valley tech companies and recreation-oriented businesses.

Alviso is the lowest point in the San Francisco Bay Area at 13 feet (4.0 m) below sea level.

Corporal Alviso lived but a short time after reaching San Francisco and was buried March 11, 1777.

In 1840 Ignacio Alviso moved from Mission Santa Clara de Asís to this 3,653 acres (14.78 km2) ranchero.

However, in the 1880s Alviso was a stop on the Newark line of Southern Pacific Railroad between San José and Oakland.

After the 1970s, Alviso was treated like a socioeconomic backwater of the prospering Silicon Valley business community and struggled to restore its former vitality.

The listing cited 11 historic structures and alternative name Embarcadero de Santa Clara, although exact boundaries were not disclosed.

Many salt evaporation ponds formerly owned by Cargill in the neighborhood are being converted to wetlands as part of the Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge.

[10] As of 2021, Amtrak trains and the Altamont Commuter Express still cross through Alviso on the Coast Line (Union Pacific Railroad).

The U.S. Census Bureau provides demographic information for the 95002 ZIP Code Tabulation Area, which includes the former City of Alviso.

This 18.9 acres (76,000 m2) bayside park, though small in size, offers a great deal of activities within its boundaries and on into the Wildlife Refuge.

[15] Every year on a Sunday in October Alviso celebrates Day on the Bay, a multicultural event, free for all, sponsored by Santa Clara County.

Day on the Bay attracts families with music, food, booths for community organizations, Halloween pumpkins, kayak rides, and other activities.

Day on the Bay began on October 16, 2010, to celebrate the opening of the newly renovated Marina Park.

In addition to its seasonal visitors, the Refuge provides critical habitat to resident species like the endangered Ridgway's rail and salt marsh harvest mouse.

Fish and Wildlife Service, It was renamed Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge in 1995 in recognition of Congressman Don Edwards' efforts to protect sensitive wetlands in south San Francisco Bay.

The H. G. Wade Warehouse was built in 1860 and used for storage of grain and hay prior to shipment to San Francisco, and also for Wells Fargo horse-drawn carriages.