South Coast Metro is an area loosely defined by its proximity to South Coast Plaza and John Wayne Airport, and comprising the surrounding portions of Santa Ana, Costa Mesa, Irvine, and Newport Beach. This neighborhood distinguishes the more cosmopolitan environment of the South Coast area from the surrounding suburbs that include Santa Ana.
The South Coast Metro area includes its namesake, South Coast Plaza, along with hotels and residences. In addition to South Coast Plaza, South Coast Metro encompasses the Segerstrom Center for the Arts and South Coast Repertory theater company.
Several prominent outdoor sculptures and other works of arts are displayed in the area around these buildings by artists such as Isamu Noguchi, Jean Dubuffet, Henry Moore, Richard Serra and others. This sub-section of South Coast Metro is sometimes referred to as the Costa Mesa Theater and Arts District.
A satellite of the Orange County Museum of Art, called The Orange Lounge, is located inside South Coast Plaza. Recently, plans have been drawn to move the main museum, currently located in Newport Beach to South Coast Metro.
South Coast Metro is served by the San Diego (I-405), Costa Mesa (SR-55), and Corona Del Mar (SR-73) freeways. A bus rapid transit line connecting the area to nearby John Wayne Airport, downtown Santa Ana and Anaheim is being considered for implementation in the future.
Once the abundant beauty of Park Santiago has captured your heart, the charm of it will hold it forever. A captivating setting in Santa Ana unites with community to create a place like no other. Park Santiago’s 1,175 homes are nestled between 17th Street, the 5 freeway, Main Street, Santiago Park and Lincoln Street. Verdant tree-lined streets, stylish architecture, and friendly neighbors make this Santa Ana neighborhood a hidden gem offering serenity in a community so near a bustling metropolis.
There’s more fun to be had at the numerous events created for the enjoyment of Park Santiago’s residents and their guests. Kids and adults alike will be entertained and get acquainted at the annual Concert in the Park, and the 4th of July parade.
The Park Santiago Neighborhood Association is active in preserving and enhancing the quality of the neighborhood. The local residents volunteer and create various committees helping to make our community a better place to live.
Wilshire Square is a neighborhood in Santa Ana where neighbors know each other. Wilshire Square is not just a collection of historic houses, it is also a place where people gather and socialize during the summer concert. Where neighbors swap cuttings to expand their gardens. Where you know your neighbors well enough to actually recognize them when you run into them in Home Depot or the supermarket.
The first house in Wilshire Square was built in 1915. The majority of homes was completed between 1922 and 1931, with a second building phase between 1935 and 1942. Very few houses were built after that, though a few were built as late as the 1950s. The wide tree-lined streets, period street lighting, and large lawns and gardens add to the neighborhood’s charm.
The homes were built by master craftsmen with Arts and Craft style overtures. The houses reflect some of the architectural styles popular at the time — Tudor Revival, Spanish Colonial, and California Bungalow. Although you will find similarities in the houses, because each one was custom-built, they all reflect the individuality of the original owners and builders. In many cases, you will also see the influence of subsequent owners who have completed sensitive remodeling, renovation, and addition projects to their home.
Residents enjoy wandering through some of the neighborhood gardens. Each one reflects the personality and style of the home, and each is an artistic and thoughtful complement to the home it surrounds.
Located in the northern tip of Santa Ana, the Floral Park neighborhood is a community of more than 600 vintage homes, most of which were built from the 1920s through the 1950s. Recognized as one of Orange County’s most established neighborhoods, the neighborhood is representative of a bygone era—one of gracious tree-shaded streets, abundant lawns and flowers, unique and stylish homes and, most importantly, friendly neighbors! Once blanketed by orange, avocado and walnut groves, the neighborhood features original farmhouses and the sweet smell of orange blossoms still fills the air.
The Floral Park Neighborhood Association actively works to preserve the character and beauty of the neighborhood and to provide a sense of community and tradition to its residents. Over 100 homes in Floral Park are on the Santa Ana Register of Historic Properties.
Floral Park was the recipient of the 2005 Neighborhood of the Year Award awarded by Neighborhood, USA, and ranked as the Number One Neighborhood in 2007 in the Orange County Register’s Best of Orange County rankings.
Residing in the Lacy Neighborhood is a provides modern living and a great location. Walk to Downtown Santa Ana and enjoy the international culinary fare, experience the Artists Village artwalk, and catch the local bands and entertainers in the theatre district. Also located near the Metrolink for easy daily commuting or weekend trips.
Walk downtown to fun restaurants and local entertainment in the Downtown Artist Village. Cultural and Civic centers near Lacy are the Bowers Children’s Museum, Discovery Science Center, the Santa Ana Zoo, the Civic Center and Main Place Mall.
In this neighborhood there has been new town homes recently constructed that offer residents more conventional floor plans, and in line with the progressive environmental movement in California, many new homes include electric power and solar systems.
Founded in 1869 Santa Ana is a historic city with a modern heart, located within the warm climes of Southern California, just 10 miles from the coast. Santa Ana is part of the Greater Los Angeles Area but has its very own distinct charm and appeal with plenty of places of interest for residents and visitors along with fabulous dining and shopping opportunities. Santa Ana is “somewhat walkable” though if you’re living in Downtown you can do just about everything on foot, making this the best neighborhood in Santa Ana.
Meredith Parkwood is overall one of the nicest neighborhoods in Santa Ana to live in. It’s right in the eastern reaches of the city, close to Tustin, and includes all the shops, restaurants, grocery stores, schools and services you’d need, plus there are more parks and open spaces here to enjoy. The crime index is lower than the Santa Ana average so it’s a safe neighborhood too.
French Park is one of the Santa Ana’s oldest neighborhoods and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. A charming, 20-square-block residential district, the close-knit community features stately antique homes on tree-lined streets.
French Park began in the 1890s and the homes continued to be built up to the 1920s. Most of the homes have the styles of Colonial Revival, Victorian, Neo-Classical and Craftsman Bungalow.
The area is a hidden treasure comparable to Old Towne Orange, it’s a tucked-away neighborhood that not everyone knows about.
When houses in French Park go on the market they usually are extensively remodeled and enhanced. In most cases, owners want to bring the home back to its original glory.
This French Park neighborhood benefits from being close to the city’s major amenities and it’s close proximity to the Arts District and Historic Downtown. Also, in it’s own neck of the woods they have a special community hub.
Just north of French Park is the French Court neighborhood. This neighborhood benefits from easy access to the interstate while still being close to downtown and numerous grocery stores, restaurants and shops.
A central neighborhood in Santa Ana is the New Horizons bedroom community. The community is within minutes of all of the exciting locations of Santa Ana while maintaining a neighborhood feel.
With many new renovations to historic buildings, modern civic developments, and recently constructed condominiums, Santa Ana is quickly coming to a impacted place of where supply is outnumbered by demand.
Historically Santa Ana has been a forgotten hamlet of small homes that were built around a industry that has come and gone. The importance of Santa Ana is that it helped establish California for the United States and was paramount to developing European and Mexican relationships.
Today Santa Ana has become a metropolitan and cultural touchstone. Santa Ana has become a patchwork of upscale restaurants and the icon eateries that harken authenticity of Mexican and other southern cuisines. Retail in the area includes one of the diamonds of Shopping centers, the South Coast Plaza and the Market Plaza, but continues to provide privately owned store fronts catering to the residents who have lived in the area for generations.
The New Horizons neighborhood is a perfect location for a young family or a first time buyer. Santa Ana sits in a corridor of affluence. The neighboring cities of Fullerton, Costa Mesa and Irvine, along with with Santa Ana itself continues to be a main-stay of employment and business centers. While the past decades in Orange County has seen many new homes in the hilly and beach side locations, the county has come to it’s end in areas for expansion.
The Santa Ana school district continues to excel and restructure to provide a great school district, and the improved safety in the area has shown the cities dedication to return to be a gem of a county seat.
With an exploding food scene, unique retail developments, as well as a growing entertainment hub, Downtown Santa Ana, or Historical Downtown, is one of America’s Coolest Cities.
Historical Downtown Santa Ana has been revitalized and the beautify of the Downtown’s retail section continues to attract new businesses, entrepreneurs, and locals looking for a true Southern California urban destination.
A simulation of a street car in Downtown Santa Ana
The Historical Downtown area contains the Santa Ana Civic Center, which includes the Old Orange County Courthouse, the Ronald Reagan Federal Building, the United States Courthouse, and the California Court of Appeal.
The restaurant and retail sections of Historical Downtown Santa Ana have three distinct business districts namely the Artists Village,Calle Cuatro Marketplace and the West and East End.
The Artists Village corridor is a thriving area of art galleries, studios, creative offices, as well as home to several popular restaurants. Located on Second Street at Broadway, in the heart of historic downtown Santa Ana. The village extends from First Street to Fourth Street, and Bush Street to Birch, surrounding the Second Street Mall between Broadway and Sycamore Street.
Originally proposed in the mid-1980s, the village was meant to revitalize one of Orange County’s oldest cities and bring back part of a once-thriving downtown, with dozens of historical buildings, most vacant for years.
The Grand Central Art Center is an anchor and catalyst for a ten-square block area in the heart of downtown designated as the Artists Village. The subsequent success of the Artists Village has helped spawn a cultural and economic renewal.
Lofts were built in the Artist’s Village in theearly 2000s, several live-work loft developments came to the downtown including Main Street Studio Lofts and the Santa Ana Lofts, East Village Lofts as well as Artists Village lofts. These artist-centric developments allowed homeowners to experience downtown living while providing them an opportunity to help the flourishing art movement continue to move forward.
An example of the modern interior of the modern lofts include the Santa Ana Lofts. Interior finishes at Santa Ana Lofts include modern kitchen cabinetry, granite kitchen counter tops and undercounted stainless steel sinks. Commercial grade steel stairs reduce maintenance over long term ownership. Energy Efficient Milgard Low-E Fiberglass windows for reduced outside sound and improved durability over vinyl and steel competitors. Historically influenced brick veneer and brick pavers.
Today, the Artists Village is the home to various restaurants, shops, artist galleries, as well as art institutions, including Cal State Fullerton Grand Central Art Center and the Orange County Center for Contemporary Art.
East 4th Street (Calle Quatro) (bounded by French Street and Broadway) is a .3 mile corridor lined with a variety of boutique shops, restaurants, as well as various other retail shops and services.
The centerpiece of Historic 4th Street is the East End known as The Fiesta Marketplace. The East End is a pedestrian-friendly outdoor mall that markets to both the local community and a wider socioeconomic demographic in an effort to retain and attract an audience looking for an alternative to indoor malls and chain restaurants.
The newest refurbished amenity is The Frida Cinema; a two-screen theater converted to an art-house theater showcasing independent film and film related progrmaming, community-building, and education.
In February 2015, The 4th Street Market opened, introducing an indoor food market to compliment the expanding food scene. Similar to the Grand Central Market in Downtown Los Angeles or the Boston Public Market, the 4th Street Market includes a variety of tenants including Portola Coffee, Electric City Butcher, as well as host an incubator/accelerator kitchens where up-and-coming food producers can utilize the Market’s facilities to prepare, package, and sell their goods.
The West End (located between Ross Street and Broadway and West 4th Street) is a unique corridor home to many historic buildings and is located directly across the Ronald Reagan Federal Building and United States Courthouse.
Over the past years, this section of the downtown has successfully blossomed into a cultural and entertainment hub for Orange County’s LGBT population, with notable LGBT-friendly destinations including Theater Out, VLVT Lounge, as well as the West 4th Street corridor playing host to the annual Orange County Pride Festival.
Located less than a quarter mile away on Civic Center Drive is the Santa Ana Civic Center, home to several institutional City and County buildings including:
Santa Ana City Hall (Civic Center Plaza)
Santa Ana Civic Center Plaza (Ross, Civic Center, Santa Ana Blvd, Flower)
Santa Ana Public Library (Civic Center Dr. & Ross)
Santa Ana Transit Terminal – OCTA (Santa Ana Blvd & Ross)
Old Orange County Courthouse (Civic Center, Broadway, Sycamore, Santa Ana Blvd.)
Orange County Courthouse (Civic Center Plaza)
Orange County Public Law Library (Civic Center Plaza)
Ronald Reagan Federal Building and United States Courthouse (4th & Broadway)
Santa Ana has a number of perks that provide an improved quality of life for the residents. Disneyland and Knott’s Berry Farm amusement parks are located northeast of Santa Ana, several miles away. Beaches are located around 20 minutes to the south, accessible by the 55 freeway. Huntington Beach and Newport Beach as well as other coastal communities offer world-class shopping, dining, boating, swimming and surfing opportunities.
Santa Ana has several distinct districts. The core of the city is the downtown area, which contains both retail and housing, as well as the Santa Ana Civic Center which is a dense campus of administrative buildings for both the city and the county of Orange.
The Civic Center is also home to the Ronald Reagan Federal Building and Courthouse. Several historic homes dating from the late 1800s can be found as well, and their preservation is a key issue as development of the downtown area continues.
North of downtown is the “Midtown” district along Main St., home to entertainment destinations such as the Bowers Museum, Main Place Mall, and the Discovery Science Center.
Discovery Cube – Santa Ana
Near the intersection of the Santa Ana Freeway and the Costa Mesa Freeway is the newly designated “Metro East” area, which the city council has envisioned as a secondary mixed-use development district.
Also on the east side of the city is the Santa Ana Zoo, notable for its collection of monkeys and species from South and Central America.
The south end of the city is home to the South Coast Plaza, a major shopping center, which is the primary destination of this area.
