San Jose Prohibition

In the early 19th century, Prohibitionists believed that banning alcohol would combat the problems of society caused by liquor such as alcoholism, family violence, crime, and political corruption occurring in the local saloons. In 1919, the Eighteenth Amendment passed, prohibiting the production, importation, transportation, and sale of alcoholic beverages. In San Jose, alcohol had already been banned in the city two years prior, and it was only sold and consumed in a few selected city-licensed restaurants. This gave San Jose’s residents a two-year head start on the alcohol underground economy, as many stills were in full production in the valley and many speakeasies were already open for business when the countrywide Prohibition began. San Jose Prohibition showcases a variety of unseen images and stories from the family members of San Jose’s known bootleggers as well as from the city, county, and state archives.

Author Ted Ramos is a part-time San Jose historian who has studied the city’s underworld history and amassed the largest collection of San Jose gambling paraphernalia while writing his earlier book San Jose Gambling, a similar photographic book from this same series about the area’s gambling past.