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CONSTRUCTION HISTORY: (Construction data, alterations, and date of alterations)
<br />May 10, 1935. City of Santa Ana City Hall.
<br />July 7, 1939. Alterations & repairs.
<br />December 4, 1946. Alter City Hall basement.
<br />July 7, 1959. Remodel Yd floor of City Hall for Planning Dept.
<br />and Mayor's office.
<br />March 2, 1961. Interior alterations 1" and 2"d floors.
<br />July 9, 1963. Suspended ceiling.
<br />May 25, 1965. Partitions around stair well on 2"' floor rear.
<br />May 9, 1968. Elevated floor system and air systems in
<br />computer room.
<br />July 26, 1968. Add paneling over existing wall.
<br />October 15, 1970. Office partitions (Council Chambers).
<br />May 14, 1971. Interior partitions on 3`d floor.
<br />June 12, 1972. Interior partitions.
<br />June 2, 1982. Add new 2"d floor elevation and rehabilitate
<br />building for Barristers' Bldg., Ltd., owner.
<br />September 29, 1982. Tenant improvement.
<br />September 19, 1985. Install door.
<br />April 16, 1993. Repair partition walls.
<br />RELATED FEATURES: (Other important features such as barns, sheds, fences, prominent or unusual trees, or landscape)
<br />None.
<br />DESCRIPTION: (Describe resource and its major elements. Include design, materials, condition, alterations, size, settings, and
<br />boundaries.)
<br />Located on the southeast corner of Main and Third Streets, the Old Santa Ana City Hall is a three-story reinforced concrete building
<br />designed in the Art Deco style. A four-story tower is centered above the main (west) elevation. Both the fagade and the similarly
<br />detailed north elevation are banded by a polished marble base at ground level. Stepped piers divide the fagade and the north elevation
<br />into five and seven bays, respectively. Most ground floor bays contain tall, tripartite, metal -framed windows topped by ornately
<br />grilled transoms. Upper story bays, divided into three parts by pilasters, which mimic the design of the piers, contain metal casement
<br />windows and transoms, separated between stories by decoratively carved spandrels, which vary from level to level. Single windows
<br />are located in each of the end bays. The main entrance on the west is flanked by fluted pilasters topped by Assyrian heads and torsos
<br />and topped by a panel incised with the name of the building. A flagpole is suspended from the building at an angle over the entry.
<br />Another Assyrian head crowns the central bay, in front of the tower. The tower culminates in a pyramidal copper roof, lantern and
<br />spire. Two "mini -towers" cap the end bays. Art Deco ornament, including stylized foliage, fluting, and chevrons enhance all the
<br />decorated surfaces, including the spandrels, parapet, entry, tower, and window headers. Old Santa Ana City Hall retains a high degree
<br />of integrity on its two public elevations.
<br />HISTORIC HIGHLIGHTS:
<br />Old Santa Ana City Hall was constructed in 1935 at a cost of $126,000, funded by city bonds and a Works Progress Administration
<br />(WPA) grant. It was designed by architect W. Horace Austin of Long Beach, who had designed the rather similar Masonic Temple at
<br />Sycamore and Fifth Streets a few years earlier. A prominent Southern California architect, Austin's credits also include the Bowers
<br />Museum and numerous Long Beach commissions (the old Long Beach City Hall [demolished], several schools, the original Buffum's
<br />Department Store [demolished], the Long Beach YMCA [demolished], the Pacific Tower, the Press -Telegram Building, and the Long
<br />Beach Airport Terminal). Local contractors Ball and Honer constructed the building. This was the third City Hall to be built on the
<br />site, and replaced the 1904 building, which had been rendered unsafe after the 1933 earthquake. The City offices were located in this
<br />building until the 1980s with the exception of the City's Public Works Agency, which vacated the building in 1999. In approximately
<br />1982 it was converted into private offices and in 2001 it won an American Institute of Architects/Orange County design award for its
<br />interior adaptive reuse by Nestor/Gaffney Architects.
<br />RESOURCE ATTRIBUTES: (List attributes and codes from Appendix 4 of Instructions for Recording Historical Resources, Office
<br />of Historic Preservation.)
<br />HP14. Government Building
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<br />cm\hist.mAtemplateeAM"6 N 217 (Old Ciiy Hall)
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