The Sesquicentennial Time Capsule, featuring items that represent 2020 in Gilroy, has been sealed and will stay shut until 2070.
“When asked to design and paint the time capsule, I did a lot of reflection on what to ‘say visually’ to give the residents in 2070 a feel of what Gilroy was like in 2020,” she wrote in her artist’s statement. “Images of what was important to our current residents, the image of Gilroy to outsiders and the heart of who we are. I am 77 years old and have lived in Gilroy my entire life so I have absorbed, experienced and been an integral part of Gilroy’s history.”
Each side of the capsule features iconic people and places from Gilroy’s history, including Old City Hall, cowboy Casey Tibbs and his horse Warpaint, two of the Gilroy Garlic Festival’s founders, Don Christopher and Val Filice, and more.
The time capsule is filled with items that represent 2020 in Gilroy, including a street banner, copies of the 2040 General Plan and county shelter-in-place order, photos of the city council and local newspapers.
The Sesquicentennial Committee plans to present the capsule at the first in-person Gilroy City Council meeting, which does not yet have a date set. The capsule is expected to be placed in City Hall and be opened during Gilroy’s bicentennial in 2070.
