Downtown Santa Ana (DTSA), also known as Downtown Orange County, is Santa Ana’s historic city center and the county capital of Orange County, California. It is Santa Ana’s and Orange County’s institutional core, a retail and business center, and has rapidly expanded as a regional cultural, entertainment, and culinary center in recent years.
The National Trust for Historic Preservation has classified the Downtown Santa Ana Historic Districts, which include various historic structures around the city.
Historic Districts
The Downtown Santa Ana Historic Districts, which span many of the previously stated sub-districts and have been registered as one entry in the National Register of Historic Places since 1984, encompass 24.5 acres (9.9 ha) and are distinguished by a multitude of Art Deco buildings and 2 old movie theaters (the Fox West Coast and The West End). The county’s first courthouse (presently a museum) and the Dr. Willella Howe-Waffle House and Medical Museum (now the Santa Ana Historical Preservation Society) are both situated at the Civic Center and Broadway streets. Walker’s Theater, the county’s first theater, was constructed in 1909 on Main and Second streets, next to the old City Hall. Where the county’s first movie theater once stood, the Main Street Studio Lofts now stand. On June 20, 1935, Old Santa Ana was listed as a California Historical Landmark (No.204).
Visit Bowers Museum for more fun things to see!
Location
Downtown is commonly defined as the region between Ross Street on the west, Minter Street on the east, First Street on the south, and Civic Center Drive on the north, according to city studies and merchant groups.
Downtown is described more strictly by neighborhood organizations, stretching only as far east as Main Street, with the area east of Main becoming part of the Lacy neighborhood; the Santa Ana Regional Transportation Center rail and bus station is located on Santiago Avenue at the east end of Lacy.
Fourth Street
In Santa Ana’s historic Downtown, entertainment and commerce are concentrated along historic Fourth Street, also known as Calle Cuatro in Spanish. Fourth Street runs eastward from the Civic Center, with part of it being a pedestrian-friendly outdoor mall.
The West End houses several restaurants, craft breweries, jewelers, lounge cafés, coffee shops, bars, barbershops, as well as movie and concert theaters, and is situated between Ross Street, Broadway, and West 4th Street, across from the Ronald Reagan Building. With venues including Theater Out, VLVT (Velvet) Lounge, and the West 4th Street corridor hosting the yearly Orange County Pride Festival, this region has evolved into an LGBT+ cultural and entertainment center in recent years.
Travel, insurance, apparel, shoes, sports, electronics, baptismal certification, bridal, and banking are all represented along the center stretch of Calle Cuatro (approximately from Main east to Spurgeon).
Source: Wikipedia
TechWaste Recycling Inc. is nearby.
Directions
Downtown Santa Ana Historic District
Head east on E 4th St toward N Bush St
4 s (36 ft)
Follow N Bush St to E First St
1 min (0.2 mi)
Take S Grand Ave to Ritchey St
8 min (2.7 mi)
Drive to E Occidental St – TechWaste Recycling Inc. 2 min (0.3 mi)