The Santa Ana Civic Center is a district of Santa Ana, California that is home to several city, county, state, and federal government buildings. The combination of historic and modernist architecture in the area reflects its longstanding history as Orange County's hub for political, judicial, and governmental proceedings.
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Santa Ana Civic Center | |
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District | |
Old Orange County Courthouse, the first major government building in Santa Ana | |
![]() ![]() Santa Ana Civic Center Location of the Civic Center within southern California | |
Coordinates: 33°44′57″N 117°52′29″W | |
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Area | |
• District | 0.25 sq mi (0.6 km2) |
• Urban | 0.25 sq mi (0.6 km2) |
ZIP | 92701 |
Area codes | 714 and 657 |
The city of Santa Ana was established in 1869 by William Spurgeon on 74.27 acres (300,600 m2) of land purchased from the old Spanish land grant, Rancho Santiago de Santa Ana. Upon the foundation of the County of Orange in 1889, Santa Ana was chosen as the county seat because of its larger growth as a town compared to surrounding towns, namely Orange.[1] The initial Orange County Courthouse was built in 1901, anchoring the area as the future site of the Civic Center. The Civic Center as well as its surrounding early developments comprise Downtown Santa Ana.
The Santa Ana Civic Center district is centered around the Civic Center Plaza, a densely populated city block bounded by W Civic Center Drive to the north, N Ross Street to the east, W Santa Ana Boulevard to the south, and N Flower Street to the west. The remaining government buildings fall within a 0.25 square miles (0.65 km2) area roughly bounded by W Civic Center Drive to the north, Main Street to the east, W 3rd Street to the south, and N Shelton Street to the west. Most offices lie within the boundaries with a small number of exceptions such as the Internal Revenue Service and the Orange County District Attorney. The Civic Center is centrally located in Santa Ana and not far from Interstate 5, which has nearby connections to the CR-55, CR-22, and CR-57 freeways.
Orange County Transportation Authority operates buses in the area. The planned OC Streetcar will travel directly through the Santa Ana Civic Center with a stop at the Civic Center Plaza, as well as westbound-only stops at the Santa Ana City Hall and Old Orange County Courthouse, and one eastbound-only stop at the Ronald Reagan Federal Building and Courthouse. The streetcar will take passengers to and from the Santa Ana Regional Transportation Center, which is serviced by Amtrak and Metrolink.[2]
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