Discover 11 hidden attractions, cool sights, and unusual things to do in Santa Ana (United States). Don't miss out on these must-see attractions: Discovery Science Center, Bowers Museum, and Old Orange County Courthouse. Also, be sure to include Santa Ana Zoo in your itinerary.
Below, you can find the list of the most amazing places you should visit in Santa Ana (California).
Table of Contents
Discovery Science Center
Museum in Santa Ana, California. The Discovery Cube Orange County, formerly known as the Discovery Science Center and the Taco Bell Discovery Science Center, is a science museum in Santa Ana, California, with more than 100 hands-on science exhibits designed to spark children's natural curiosity. Designed by the architect firm Arquitectonica with structural engineers Carl Johnson and Svend Nielsen, it has become a visual landmark due to its ten-story solar array cube that stands over Interstate 5.[1]
Address: 2500 N Main St, 92705 Santa Ana
Bowers Museum
Art museum in Santa Ana, California. The Bowers Museum is an art museum located in Santa Ana, California. The museum's permanent collection includes more than 100,000 objects, and features notable strengths in the areas of pre-Columbian Mesoamerica, Native American art, the art of Asia, Africa, and Oceania, and California plein-air painting. The Bowers organizes and hosts special exhibitions from institutions throughout the world, and travels exhibitions nationally and internationally. The museum has a second campus two blocks south of the main site, Kidseum, a children's museum with a focus on art and archaeology. The Bowers Museum and Kidseum are located in Santa Ana 6.4 km south of Disneyland.[2]
Address: 2002 N Main St, 92706 Santa Ana
Old Orange County Courthouse
Courthouse. The Old Orange County Courthouse, at one point also known as the Santa Ana County Courthouse, is a Romanesque Revival building that was opened in September 1901 and is located in Santa Ana's Historic Downtown District on Civic Center and Broadway streets. The Old Orange County Courthouse is officially recognized as California Historical Landmark No. 837 and is also on the National Register of Historic Places.[3]
Santa Ana Zoo
Home to over 350 animals. The Santa Ana Zoo at Prentice Park in Santa Ana, California, is a 20-acre zoo focusing on the animals and plants of Central and South America. The Santa Ana Zoo hosts more than 270,000 people annually. The zoo opened in 1952 and is owned and operated by the City of Santa Ana. Joseph Prentice donated land for the zoo with the stipulation that the city must keep at least 50 monkeys at all times. The zoo maintains an extensive primate collection with over a dozen species from around the world.
The focus of the Santa Ana Zoo is recreation, education, and conservation. It was previously accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA).[4]
Address: 1801 E Chestnut Ave, 92701 Santa Ana
Yost Theater
Building in Santa Ana, California. The Yost Theater is a concert and events venue in Santa Ana, California. It is a National Register of Historic Places-listed building located in Santa Ana's Downtown Historic District. Under the ownership of the Olivos Family it became a movie house for the Golden Age of Mexican Cinema. In recent years it housed various church organizations and underwent renovation in 2007. It is currently an event venue that hosts such functions as concerts, Ted Talks, school dances, and weddings.[5]
Address: Santa Ana, 307 N Spurgeon St, Santa Ana, CA 92701-4856
Lyon Air Museum
Museum in Orange County, California. The Lyon Air Museum is an aerospace museum located on the west side of the John Wayne Airport in unincorporated Orange County, California, United States. The museum features military aircraft, rare automobiles, military vehicles and motorcycles, and related memorabilia, with an emphasis on World War II.[6]
Address: 19300 Ike Jones Rd, 92707-5229 Santa Ana
Howe-Waffle House and Carriage House
Home in Santa Ana. Howe-Waffle House and Medical Museum is an 1889 Queen Anne style home in Santa Ana, California. It was the home of Dr. Willella Howe-Waffle, one of the first female physicians in Orange County, California, until her death in 1924.[7]
Address: 120 W Civic Center Dr, 92701-7505 Santa Ana
Builders Exchange Building
The Builders Exchange Building, at 202-208 N. Main St. in Santa Ana, California, was built in 1929. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.
It was designed by architect William Rohrbacher in simplified Beaux Arts style. The building is currently owned by California-based General Contractor Swinerton Builders, CSLB 0092.[8]
Jamboree Road
Road in Orange County, California. Jamboree Road is a 15.8-mile long major arterial road through Orange County, California, running through the cities of Newport Beach, Irvine, Tustin, and Orange.[9]
Address: 3091 Edinger Ave, Santa Ana (Tustin)
Tustin
City in California. Tustin is a city located in Orange County, California, in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. In 2020, Tustin had a population of 80,276. The city is located next to the county seat, Santa Ana, and does not include the unincorporated community of North Tustin.[10]
Santa Ana Fire Station Headquarters No. 1
Santa Ana Fire Station Headquarters No. 1, at 1322 N. Sycamore St. in Santa Ana, California, is a fire station which was built in 1929. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1986.
It was designed by Santa Ana architect Frederick Eley. It is a two-story Spanish Colonial Revival-style, stuccoed building.[11]