Storybook Houses, Historic Theaters and More: 9 Underappreciated Treasures of Santa Ana
When Southern Californians think of Orange County, they might envision coastal bluffs, ocean breezes and the scent of citrus in the air. And while that may be true of many of the communities in this county sandwiched between Los Angeles and San Diego, it's got much more to offer.
At its heart is the City of Santa Ana — established in 1869 on 74 acres of land purchased from the Spanish land grant, Rancho Santiago de Santa Ana.
Bordered by State Route 22 (a.k.a. the Garden Grove Freeway) to the north, the 5 (a.k.a. the Santa Ana Freeway) to the east and the 55 (a.k.a. the Costa Mesa Freeway) to the southeast, Santa Ana is said to represent the "Downtown of Orange County."
But what does that mean, exactly?
For visitors spending just a few hours, an entire day or a whole weekend, that could translate into exploring some major Orange County milestones and superlatives — all within less than 30 square miles.
Whether you're an architectural lookie-loo, a local history buff, a culture hound or an enthusiast of urban development and car-free culture, Santa Ana has something to offer that'll capture your imagination — and maybe even prompt you to see "The OC" in a new light.
1. Old Orange County Courthouse
To understand the beginnings of Santa Ana as a city and Orange County, start your journey at the Old Orange County Courthouse — a Richardsonian Romanesque monolith of Arizona red sandstone (and a foundation of Temecula granite), located where the Santa Ana Civic Center meets the Downtown Santa Ana Historic District (see also #3 below). Dedicated in 1901, just 12 years after the founding of Orange County, it's the oldest existing county courthouse in Southern California — and it still provides some court services (like marriage licenses). Otherwise, it's a museum and county historic park, managed by OC Parks.
Enter through the front door on West Santa Ana Boulevard (just past the restored 75 mm French Field Gun from 1918) to be bowled over by its historic grand staircase, lit by an octagonal skylight with shadows mesmerizingly cast by wrought iron filigree. This street entrance is actually the second floor — and down one level, you can find exhibits of the Old Courthouse Museum's First Floor Exhibit Gallery, as well as the Orange County Archives.
Up one level from the ground floor is the Historical Gallery (inside a former courtroom) and the Historic Superior Courtroom, the county's first (and, for a dozen years, its only). With its original oak furnishings (including an ornately carved judge's bench and audience seating), period chandeliers and high ornamented ceiling, the latter is a real showstopper — having made on-screen appearances in such films as "Norma Rae," "Catch Me If You Can" and "Legally Blonde." Don't miss the adjacent judge's chambers and the court reporter's office, too.
Closed to the public in 1979, the Charles L. Strange-designed courthouse reopened in 1992, once it had been seismically retrofitted and restored. The 30,000-square-foot courthouse is now recognized as a landmark on both the state and federal levels — and is an icon of both Orange County and the City of Santa Ana, the county seat.
Open Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. No appointment necessary. Free admission. Paid parking in nearby lot or in metered spots on surrounding streets. Beware of road closures due to major streetcar construction nearby.
2. The Dr. Willella Howe-Waffle House and Medical Museum
Across the street from the Old Courthouse is the Howe-Waffle House, built in 1889 as the home and office of physicians Alvin and Willella Howe. Willella Howe-Waffle (who later married Edson Waffle) was one of the first female physicians in Orange County, in a time when it was very much of a man's profession. She lived and worked in the Queen Anne-style house — and she died in 1924 at a patient's bedside at a nearby hospital.
This Victorian home was originally located near the corner of North Bush Street and 7th Street (now Civic Center Drive) — and during World War II, it was divided up into multiple apartments. It was threatened with demolition with the widening of the street there in 1975 — but thanks to the efforts of preservationists (who would eventually create Santa Ana Historical Preservation Society), it was moved to the corner of North Sycamore and Civic Center Drive to save it from demolition. In its former location now? A Burger King parking lot.
The Howe-Waffle House is, in fact, one of the most historic structures in all of Orange County — and fortunately, it's generally open to the public for tours and occasional events (even spooky, haunted or magical events). Once you're inside, look for original furnishings (including some used for patients), original woodwork and crown molding, stained glass windows, glazed ceramic tiles that depict hunting dogs surrounding the fireplace and a "Victorian intercom."
Contact Santa Ana Historical Preservation Society for updates on upcoming public tours and other events. The Howe-Waffle House is open for guided tours on the first Saturday of the month from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
3. Downtown Santa Ana Historic District
The city of Santa Ana isn't just full of historic landmarks. Its downtown IS a historic landmark! Officially designated the Downtown Santa Ana Historic Districts, it's located in "Old" Santa Ana — essentially in the center of town, still serving as its commercial core. Nearly 100 buildings across 24 acres comprise the historic district — an unusually dense collective grouping of historically and architecturally significant commercial and institutional buildings that have been preserved (though many of them had to be partially rebuilt or restored after the 1933 Long Beach earthquake).
At the historic district's center is Fourth Street — where you can find the circa 1913 W.H. Spurgeon Building (the city's "first skyscraper," named after the founder of Santa Ana) and the circa 1915 West End Theater (home to the restaurant Café Cultura), one of the many movie palaces that used to call Santa Ana home. In the Artists Village section of Downtown, you'll find the circa 1929 Santora Arts Building (whose name combines "Santa Ana" and "Orange"), home of the Santa Ana College Arts Gallery and one of the stops on the Downtown Santa Ana Artwalk (which occurs the first Saturday of each month, 6 p.m. to 10 p.m.). Designed by Frank Lansdowne in the Churrigueresque architectural style, it's been listed individually on the National Register of Historic Places.
On Main Street, the W. Horace Austin-designed Old Santa Ana City Hall — the third city hall to be built on that site — stands looming in epic and dramatic Art Deco fashion circa 1935. Its construction was funded by the Works Progress Administration as the country was still in the throes of the Great Depression (which lasted until 1939) — and it was in public use until 1973. Although the interior is currently inaccessible to the public, it's pretty incredible to look at from the sidewalk.
Another highlight of Santa Ana's historic downtown is the oldest theatre in Orange County, the Yost — built as The Auditorium in 1912 for vaudeville shows and renamed The Clunes later that year. In 1919, theater impresario Ed Yost bought The Clunes and renamed it after himself, transforming Santa Ana into the "Vaudeville Capital" of Orange County. Former vaudevillian "Fatty" Arbuckle performed there in 1917. In the 1950s, the theater became one of the first Spanish-language cinemas in Orange County — a Mexican cinema house called Cine Yost. Nowadays, the Yost is better-known as a live music venue.
Explore the downtown historic district on your own, by attending one of its special public events (like OC Pride), or with a guide on Preserve Orange County's Downtown Santa Ana Historic Architecture Tour. For a bite to eat, stop into the circa 1925 McFadden Public Market (where you can also wet your whistle at Twisted Tiki) or 4th Street Market food hall, which opened in 2015. Beware of road closures due to major streetcar construction. Parking at certain structures (see map) is free from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays
4. Heritage Museum of Orange County
Formerly known as both The Discovery Museum of Orange County and the Centennial Heritage Museum, the Heritage Museum of Orange County is home to two major historic structures that were relocated there for the sake of preservation: the circa 1899 farmhouse of German immigrant and citrus pioneer John Maag, which was moved to this site from in 1982, and the circa 1898 H. Clay Kellogg House, designed and built by Santa Ana's first city engineer, Hiram Clay Kellogg, and moved to the museum grounds in 1980. While the Maag Farmhouse interiors are closed to the public as it undergoes restoration, ticketed guests may take a docent-led tour of the Kellogg House during the museum's open hours.
At the time this Queen Anne Victorian was built, it was one of the county's most modern homes — with both central heating and indoor plumbing. It also features two parlors, two kitchens and an oval-shaped dining room with curved glass windows and a custom inlaid wood tongue-and-groove floor (which means no nails were used to keep it together). Leading to the upstairs gallery is a central spiral staircase built around the mast of an 18th-century ship salvaged from the San Francisco Bay.
The sailing theme continues throughout the house — all the way up to the attic, which is positioned with a view of the floors below like a crow's nest. Other Kellogg House points of interest include one "peekaboo" spot in a historic upstairs wall, where you can see what the old electrical wiring was like (as well as the interior framing), shelves built into the well beneath a stairway, and ornate Victorian-era dollhouses.
While you're on the museum grounds, admire some of the other structures — like a carriage barn, an adobe structure and a blacksmith shop — and then meander down the nature path through "Gospel Swamp."
Public open dates and times vary, so check the online event calendar for the most updated information.
5. Floral Park
Although the Floral Park neighborhood isn't a national historic district, the Neighborhood Association is working on it, in hopes of keeping this suburban Shangri-la pristine for many years to come.
The first single-family homes built there — on the site of an orange grove — arrived in the mid-1920s, although efforts by developer and builder Allison C. Honer seriously began in 1929 and 1930, when the first model home landed. Today, you'll find a wide variety of architectural styles there — ranging from French Norman and English Tudor to Spanish Colonial, Italianate, Craftsman and Storybook. Over 100 of them are listed individually on the Santa Ana Register of Historic Properties.
One of the gems of the neighborhood is a circa 1927 example of Storybook architecture on North Park Boulevard in the North Broadway Park section of Floral Park, marketed in the 1920s as "Santa Ana's Subdivision Supreme." Known as the Zlaket House (a.k.a. the "Castle House"), its design was originally created by a Famous Players-Lasky Corporation (now Paramount Pictures) set designer, who'd created three other "carbon copies" of the same design to be built in the Beverly Grove neighborhood of Los Angeles. According to the Floral Park Neighborhood Association, that's because both Beverly Grove and that area of Floral Park were developed by the same company, Southern California Development, Inc.
You can find this quaint and delightful neighborhood between Riverside Drive and 17th Street (north-south) and Flower Street and Broadway (west-east). Please don't disturb the residents, and admire only from the street or sidewalk. A rotating selection of individual homes are open to ticketed guests during the annual Floral Park Home & Garden Tour sponsored by the Floral Park Neighborhood Association.
6. Fairhaven Memorial Park & Mortuary
Upon its founding in 1911 by Oliver L. Halsell, Fairhaven Memorial Park & Mortuary was actually incorporated into an extant cemetery — the Santa Ana cemetery, established 1878 and today sharing a boundary that may be indistinguishable to the average visitor. On the 73-acre Fairhaven side, you'll find grave markers for such Orange County luminaries Santa Ana's founder and first mayor, William H. Spurgeon and former lima bean farmer Henry T. Segerstrom, who founded the South Coast Plaza shopping center in Costa Mesa.
There's also Orange County native son and electric guitar inventor Leo Fender (of Fender Guitars); Douglas "Wrong Way" Corrigan (so nicknamed for his "accidental" Transatlantic flight from Floyd Bennett Field in NYC to Dublin, Ireland), who was born in Texas but lived out his final years in Santa Ana; and Jose E. Perez, known as "Pepito the Spanish Clown" and featured in that role on the pilot episode of "I Love Lucy." Reportedly, its most-visited gravesite is that of Pamela Courson, the long-term girlfriend of The Doors' Jim Morrison, interred in the Rose Alcove section of the Garden Courts Mausoleum under the name "Pamela Morrison."
During your visit, don't miss the spectacular Fairhaven Mausoleum, built between 1916 and 1920 and located near the main entrance. One of Orange County's first ever mausolea, its features include stained glass windows that were hand-crafted in England, bearing quotations from Alfred Lord Tennyson's poetry, Shakespeare's "The Taming of the Shrew", and the Bible's New Testament. For a truly epic experience, stand in the rotunda and imagine what it was like when actor Charlton Heston recorded some of his lines as Moses for the 1956 version of The Ten Commandments.
Open daily 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Enter from Fairhaven Avenue between South Cambridge Street and Dayna Street. Certain areas may be temporarily inaccessible because of burial services or weddings taking place.
7. Bowers Museum
The largest museum in Orange County is Santa Ana's Bowers Museum, located on North Main Street between Floral Park and the Santa Ana Triangle. Its benefactors — Charles W. Bowers, a late 19th-century Orange County citrus grower and land developer, and his wife Ada Elvira Bowers — donated not only the land (where they'd lived in a Victorian home, now demolished), but also $100,000 to build it. That first (now considered the "old") building, which was designed to look like an old Rancho-era home, opened in 1936 and was devoted primarily to the history of Orange County.
After a major expansion, the museum reopened in 1992 — and now its major emphasis is on the fine arts of the indigenous peoples of the Americas and the Pacific, with a growing Oceanic collection. Although its overall vision is to celebrate world cultures through their arts — like with its permanent Chinese exhibition — the Bowers has also become a destination for Disney-philes. It has welcomed major exhibitions from the Disney Archives among its rotating programming — including the current "All That Glitters: The Crown Jewels of the Walt Disney Archives," which runs through June 19, 2022.
Visitors to the Bowers may also be treated to special events — like those that combine dining at its on-site Tangata Restaurant with docent-led gallery tours — evening tours, demonstrations, workshops, outdoor concerts and festivals, film screenings and more.
Open Tuesday through Sunday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. General Admission tickets include access to all current exhibitions. Certain exhibits require additional admission. Discounts for seniors (62+) and students (12+). Members and children under 12 (accompanied by an adult) are free. For health and safety guidelines, visit the Bowers website.
8. Lyon Air Museum
The Lyon Air Museum was founded by Major General William Lyon, former chief of the Air Force Reserve, and opened inside a 30,000-square-foot hangar in 2009. Its permanent collection focuses on authentic aircraft, rare automobiles and military motorcycles and other military vehicles, particularly from the World War II era.
Appropriately, the land that the museum sits on — on the west side of John Wayne Airport — was once part of the Santa Ana Army Air Base, used for basic training during World War II and decommissioned in 1946.
One of the stars of the museum's collection is the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress "Fuddy Duddy," a long-range heavy bomber aircraft that transported VIPs like U.S. Army General Douglas A. MacArthur and future U.S. president Dwight D. Eisenhower towards the end of WWII. Amazingly, it can still fly — and the museum has sent it in the air for flying demonstrations, much to the delight of visitors.
Follow the sign to Lyon Air Museum and Martin Aviation from Airway Avenue. The museum is located separate from airport passenger terminals, security and departure/arrival gates. Open daily, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. (Closed on Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day.) Check the online calendar for a listing of upcoming special events. Tickets may be purchased in advance online, but walk-ins are also welcome. Discounts for seniors, veterans and children aged 5 to 17 are available. Children under 5 enter for free.
Bonus: Santa Ana Regional Transportation Center
Located east of downtown is the Mediterranean Revival-style Santa Ana Regional Transportation Center — built in 1985 and a stop on Amtrak's Pacific Surfliner and Metrolink's Orange County Line and Inland Empire–Orange County Line routes.
It also serves as a Greyhound bus station and a hub for the Orange County Transportation Authority bus system — but what will really draw attention to the SARTC is when it becomes the eastern terminus of the OC Streetcar. When completed (sometime in 2023 or 2024, according to projections), it'll provide public transit via trolley between Santa Ana and Garden Grove.
Moviegoers may recognize some of SARTC's Spanish Colonial Revival architectural details — like arcades, colonnades, decorative tiles and wrought ironwork — from the final scene in the Tom Cruise/Dustin Hoffman film Rain Man (1988).
