Old City Hall
Old City Hall, as many call it now, was the third, and last, city government building at 3rd and Main in Santa Ana. It was built in 1935 after the existing building was deemed unsafe due to damage from the 1933 Long Beach earthquake. Construction was funded by city bonds and a Public Works Administration (PWA) grant. It was designed by prominent Southern California architect W. Horace Austin of Long Beach in what has been dubbed the WPA Moderne style, used for many other PWA/WPA projects. The Santa Ana Daily Register said it was “a source of pride to citizens when it opened.” In the nomination form for the National Register of Historic Places, it states that “the exceptional significance of this structure is found in its role as a primary example of the Federal Reponse to the Depression.” The building was used as Santa Ana’s city hall until 1973.
Santa Ana, Orange County
Photographer: John Bare