Santa Ana Museums and Art Galleries

(Santa Ana, California - CA, USA)

There is certainly a real assortment of museums to be found within the city of Santa Ana, covering subject matters such as local Californian history, natural history and the world of modern art.

Created with help by the City Council, the Artist's Village is a major attraction in Santa Ana and has grown up around the California State University Fullerton Grand Central Art Center (CSUF Grand Central Art Center), the adjacent Orange County Center for Contemporary Art, and also the historical Santora Building.

The Artist's Village came into being as part of a successful plan to revitalize and regenerate the downtown district and incorporates a series of lofts, work spaces and local businesses. This ambitious project resulted in the restoration and subsequent reopening of the neighboring Yost Theater in the year 2009.

Art lovers may also like to check out the Bowers Museum on North Main Street, which stands on the northern side of downtown Santa Ana and was established as long ago as the year 1936. The museum was named after Charles Bowers, a prominent Orange County businessman and developer from the late 19th century. Over the years, the available exhibition space has been greatly expanded and is now over six times bigger than its original incarnation, with the addition of the Donald Kennedy Wing including a large auditorium capable of accommodating seated audiences of 300 people.


The Bowers Museum is one of the most important and popular attractions of its kind in Santa Ana and manages to boast in excess of 100,000 items, which are spread across collections and exhibitions named Ancient Egypt, Native Americans, Pre-Columbian Art and the Secret World of the Forbidden City. In the mid-1990s, the Bowers founded the Kidseum a couple of blocks away, targeting families with young children and providing fun hands-on activities.

Families in Santa Ana may also enjoy spending an hour or two exploring the natural history exhibits at the Heritage Museum of Orange County, found close to the Centennial Regional Park and previously named the Centennial Heritage Museum. This noteworthy history center is called home by the historic Kellogg House and numerous other old buildings dating from the latter part of the 19th century.

Bowers Museum

Address: 2002 North Main Street, Santa Ana, California (CA), 92706, USA
Tel: +1 714 567 3600

CSUF Grand Central Art Center

Address: 125 North Broadway, Santa Ana, California (CA), 92701, USA
Tel: +1 714 567 7233

Dr. Willella Howe Waffle House and Medical Museum

Address: 120 West Civic Center Drive, Santa Ana, California (CA), 92701, USA
Tel: +1 714 547 9645

Heritage Museum of Orange County

Address: 3101 West Harvard Street, Santa Ana, California (CA), 92704, USA
Tel: +1 714 540 0404

Irvine Museum

Address: 18881 Von Karman Avenue, Irvine, California (CA), 92612, USA
Tel: +1 949 476 0294

Lyon Air Museum

Address: 19300 Ike Jones Road, Santa Ana, California (CA), 92707, USA
Tel: +1 714 210 4585

Orange County Center for Contemporary Art

Address: 117 North Sycamore Street, Santa Ana, California (CA), 92701, USA
Tel: +1 714 667 1517

SAC Arts Gallery

Address: Santora Building, 207 North Broadway, Santa Ana, California (CA), 92701, USA
Tel: +1 714 564 5605