Santa Clara knocked down most of its core buildings 60 years ago, but nothing has been done in downtown since. And one crusading woman is sick of waiting.

In the 1960s, with the Space Race capturing people's imaginations, modern design was all the rage. So, like a lot of cities, Santa Clara decided, out with the old and in with the new.

It was 1964 when the wrecking ball began tearing apart downtown Santa Clara, transforming what had been, for generations, a quaint city center into the dream of a modern, high-rise, futuristic utopia. But at some point, that dream ended, and the city forgot about its grand vision.

"They spent the money in buying other properties, the redevelopment money, and never rebuilt the downtown," said Mary Grizzle, who is leading the charge to revitalize Santa Clara's city center.

Now, the main thoroughfare, Franklin Street, looks like any other street, and a metal archway with a broken clock is the only thing marking the heart of the city.  A few mission-style buildings were constructed, which are in bad shape now, and Franklin Plaza's fountain has been dry for years.  

But mainly there are empty parking lots, lots of parking lots. But even if the city has forgotten its promise, Grizzle hasn't.

"I've been after this for 10 years," she said. "Ten years I've been fighting this, and now we're tired of waiting. Our people are tired of waiting. We want a downtown."  

And she particularly hates the giant granite globe sculpture that was placed at the entrance to the plaza for what it seems to symbolize.  

"Ten years ago, if you said the words downtown, there would be a fistfight," she said. "Why would they put the wrecking ball in the downtown? As a reminder, to the old folks?"

So, Grizzle helped found "Reclaiming Our Downtown," a citizens' group to get officials to focus on the city center. They say the lack of a discernible downtown has left Santa Clara without an identity to present to the outside world.

"They go, 'What? Is that your downtown,'" said Fatima Gomes. "I go, yeah. They say, 'What happened?!' There is no downtown. You don't feel downtown. There is no — It's dead."

Grizzle has her own vision for a 10-block development, and in 2023, the city adopted a new general plan for the area, which got a lot of people excited. But since then, nothing has happened.  

However, a lot of activity has occurred near Levi's Stadium and Great America, including a huge new project called Related Santa Clara with signs saying, "COMING SOON."  The advocates think revitalizing downtown has been put on hold.

"The project that is in the Great America area, they want to see that one move forward, whereas the downtown takes a back seat. And that is not good for the community," said resident Joe Agu.

"There's no reason we can't work on north Santa Clara and downtown at the same time," said Steve Kelly

The city responded with a statement saying the downtown plan was still a priority, but tough economic conditions are slowing the process.  They say no private developers have come forward with any proposals so far.   But for Mary, it's been ten years of frustration.  And now, at age 83, she's not in the mood to hear people tell her to be patient.

"I think it's doable. The city, shame, shame, shame on the damn city. That's what I say. Because it's what the public wants. The public wants this more than anything," she said, fighting back tears. "We got screwed with the original downtown, and they want to screw us again. And I'm not bending over twice. And that's my story and I'm stickin' to it."

The city is sticking to its story, too, so the wait will continue.  But in the meantime, if anyone does have a reason to come to downtown, at least they won't have trouble finding a place to park.

• Santa Clara