Their Civic Duty

SANTA ANA — Even its boosters agree that the sprawling building complex that houses Orange County government is not a very enticing place.

Yet the aging forest of unremarkable office towers and stark concrete plazas attracts thousands of people a day for jury duty, tax disputes and other matters.

For many of these visitors, it’s a less than delightful experience.

“This is not my favorite place,” said Casey Thomas, a Huntington Beach woman in search of the County Courthouse on Thursday morning. “The area seems very tired and uninviting. Parking is difficult, and I can never find the building I’m looking for. . . . It’s a real maze.”

But help may be on the way.

Beginning today, dozens of architects, urban planners, landscape and transportation engineers will converge on the county seat for an intensive three-day workshop focusing on ways to make the Civic Center a more inviting place.

Already, participants are bouncing around a host of ideas, both practical and fanciful, from converting some streets into pedestrian malls to planting orange groves at the Civic Center’s major entrances.

“It’s a gray, bleak world the way it is, but there is so much opportunity here,” said Michael Schrock, a landscape architect who is helping organize the program. “This could become one of the most dynamic and important places in Orange County.”

The revitalization effort comes at a time of transition for the Civic Center, as well as for downtown Santa Ana.

The 10-story Ronald Reagan Federal Building and Courthouse is scheduled to open next year, and the city of Santa Ana is developing an “artists’ village” of galleries and studio-lofts a few blocks to the east. Both projects are expected to bring hundreds more visitors into the Civic Center each day.

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Already, the district has seen an increase in pedestrian traffic as courts have increased the number of potential jurors they summon for trials. Santa Ana recently opened a new police headquarters and jail in the complex, and the county might build an annex to the Central Courthouse.

Officials said the new projects give both the city and the county an opportunity to take a fresh look at the Civic Center, which has received little attention over the last few years as county government struggled with its bankruptcy.

“Since the bankruptcy, and even before then, we really haven’t paid enough attention to the needs of the area . . . and solving some of the problems,” said Michael M. Ruane, the county’s assistant chief executive officer for strategic planning.

“Now, there is renewed interest,” Ruane added. “We see enormous potential if we just spend a little time and energy.”

The rectangular-shaped Civic Center covers about a square mile of land between Santa Ana Boulevard and Civic Center Drive. It contains federal and state courts, Santa Ana City Hall, police and sheriff’s headquarters and many county government offices, as well as a law library and public library.

Most buildings were designed in the 1960s and early 1970s in a boxy architectural style known as modernist. The most distinctive structure is the Old County Courthouse, a red sandstone edifice that serves as museum and meeting area.

The Civic Center suffered with the decline in Santa Ana’s downtown district, where many office towers that once housed banks and law firms now stand vacant.

In the 1980s, the long pedestrian plaza connecting the Central Courthouse with the county Hall of Administration became a popular overnight camp site for homeless people.

The city banned overnight camping. But some visitors still complain about transients and the general griminess of the plaza.

Schrock and other organizers of the workshop said they are sensitive to such concerns and said a key goal is to make the Civic Center safer and more comfortable for visitors.

Now, most jurors, attorneys and government workers must drive out of the area for lunch, because the Civic Center offers few dining options beyond hot dogs and potato chips.

To improve the situation, some planners have suggested adding sidewalk cafes, a farmers market and coffee stands to the plaza. Others have proposed a tram system that would run between government buildings and the bustling 4th Street shopping district downtown.

“Right now, there is little connection between the Civic Center and the rest of downtown,” Schrock said. “That’s something that should change. There needs to be more interaction with the surrounding communities.”

At the same time, architects participating in the project believe the government district could benefit from some distinguishing landmarks, such as archways above roads, festive banners and more pedestrian plazas and walkways.

They have also talked about some more outlandish ideas, like planting rows of orange trees, adding lampposts with globes in the shape of oranges and painting the gray government building in vibrant colors.

Many people agree that the Civic Center needs more signs to guide unfamiliar visitors to their destinations, as well as an improved parking system. There is also general agreement that the center’s plazas and courtyards should be used for weekend festivals and music concerts that would draw nearby residents.

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The three-day workshop is being sponsored by the county, the city of Santa Ana and the American Institute of Architects’ Urban Design Committee. Professionals as well as members of the public are welcome to attend a brainstorming session at noon today at the Old County Courthouse.

“We don’t think there are any bad ideas,” Ruane said. “We will look at anything.”

By Sunday evening, the group will present a final list of proposals to county officials, who will submit it to the Urban Land Institute for further refinement.

Eventually, city and county officials will sit down to determine what ideas can be implemented. Costs of the workshop will be minimal because all the professionals are volunteering their time.

“I don’t think it’s going to take a whole lot of investment to bring this place to life,” said Frank Hotchkiss, a teacher and member of the American Institute of Architects. “It’s a very special kind of space. If this island can be weaved into the surrounding area, I think it will become more alive.”

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Civic Center Sendup

A three-day workshop in Santa Ana will deal with ways to improve the look and feel of the Civic Center. Some of the ideas--both practical and offbeat--that architects, planners and others have suggested:

Convert portions of Ross Street or Civic Center Drive into pedestrian malls

Repaint nondescript concrete towers in festive colors

Erect archways over main streets

Open plaza areas to sidewalk cafes and farmers markets

Add signs and banners to better direct visitors

Enact policies to improve security and discourage transient camping

Plant orange trees at entrances to Civic Center

Design lampposts with globes that resemble oranges

Build tram system running through Civic Center

1) Santa Ana Police headquarters

2) New federal courthouse

3) Proposed district attorney tower

18) Orange County Jail

21) Santa Ana Transportation Center

23) Old County Courthouse

24) Orange County Superior Court

29) Santa Ana Central Library

30) Santa Ana City Hall

39) Hall of Administration