History hiding in plain sight

Old places.
Good stories.

Orange County’s history is still sitting right in front of us. You’ll find it in downtown blocks, old military sites, familiar restaurants, and buildings that found a completely new purpose.

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Orange Plaza fountain surrounded by historic Old Towne Orange
Old Towne OrangeHistoric district · Still part of daily life
Historic Anaheim Packing House viewed across Farmers Park
Featured history

Anaheim turned an old packing house into a gathering place.

The building opened in 1919 when citrus shaped the city. Today, it’s filled with food, drinks, music, and people, but the bones of the old packing facility are still easy to see.

Explore the Anaheim guide
Choose what interests you

There’s more history here than most people realize.

Browse everything or narrow the collection by the kind of story you want to find.

8 stories to explore

AnaheimCulture

How Vans started in Anaheim

A factory storefront, a dozen opening-day customers, and the local beginning of a brand that helped shape skating, music, and street culture.

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Orange Plaza fountain and historic storefronts in Old Towne Orange
OrangeDistricts

Old Towne Orange

A walkable historic district built around the Plaza, with preserved homes, old storefronts, and stories on nearly every block.

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OrangeArchitecture

Orange’s Eichler neighborhoods

Fairhaven, Fairmeadow, and Fairhills preserve nearly 350 examples of Joseph Eichler’s indoor-outdoor modernism.

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Historic Anaheim Packing House viewed from Farmers Park
AnaheimSecond lives

Anaheim Packing House

A 1919 citrus packing facility that found a new life as one of Anaheim’s busiest places to eat and gather.

Open related city guide
Tustin foothill neighborhood representing the Tustin city guide
TustinMilitary

The Tustin hangars

The surviving wooden hangar is an enormous reminder of the Navy blimps and Marine aviation that once defined this part of Tustin.

Open related city guide
Historic Old Towne Orange near St. John’s Lutheran Church
OrangeArchitecture

St. John’s Lutheran Church

A brick Gothic landmark with a tall steeple, historic stained glass, and more than a century of life in Old Towne.

Open related city guide
Old Towne Orange near the Chapman University campus
OrangeLandmarks

Chapman University

A nationally recognized university whose historic buildings and campus have become part of the everyday rhythm around the Plaza.

Open related city guide
Historic architecture in the City of Orange
OrangeSecond lives

Moreno’s and its old church

A longtime local restaurant where an 1880s Friends church still stands as part of the property and its story.

Open related city guide
The collection will keep growing

Every story doesn’t need to be here on day one.

As new guides are published, they can drop into the right category and connect back to the city or neighborhood around them.

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