Our editors will review what you submitted and determine if they should review the article. During World War II, the Santa Ana Army Air Base was built as a training center for the United States Army Air Force. It was explored by the Spaniard Gaspar de Portolá in 1769, and later Juan Pablo Grijalva (180) was granted a land concession for the area, which he called Rancho Santiago de Santa Ana and developed for cattle grazing and agriculture. The city continued to grow and expand, with the first automatic route from Los Angeles to Santa Ana being launched in 1935. Santa Ana also has Metrolink's Orange County Line (Oceanside to Union Station) and the Inland Empire-Orange County Line (San Bernardino to San Juan Capistrano).
In 1887, the California Central Railroad (which became a subsidiary of Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway the following year) broke the local South Pacific monopoly on rail travel, offering services between Los Angeles and San Diego via Santa Ana as a major intermediate station. In 1810, the year of the beginning of Mexico's war of independence (1810-1882), land was granted to José Antonio Yorba, a sergeant in the Spanish army, who called Rancho Santiago de Santa Ana. Annual events in Santa Ana and links to local organizations in Santa Ana are listed so you can get involved in everything the city has to offer. Santa Ana has several wall paintings and murals that represent local history, community events, and cultural diversity in Orange County.
Santa Ana is a very densely populated city, ranking fourth nationally in that regard among cities with more than 300,000 residents (behind only New York City, San Francisco and Boston). It also shares its name with the nearby Santa Ana Mountains and the Santa Ana winds, which have historically fueled seasonal wildfires throughout Southern California. Also on the east side of the city is the Santa Ana Zoo, which stands out for its collection of monkeys and species from South and Central America. Santa Ana is also one of the most densely populated cities in the United States, and has also been ranked as one of the safest cities in the United States.
If you are interested in the history of Santa Ana, you can find it along with general Santa Ana information, Santa Ana educational resources, and information about Santa Ana real estate and housing, both for residents and visitors. Pasadena, to the northeast, has a wonderful “old-California vibe,” as do the Santa Monica areas and some of the beach communities. Named the county seat in 1889, Santa Ana is also known as the financial and governmental center of Orange County.
