Considered to be one of Orange County’s most established neighborhoods, Floral Park is a prestigious gem located in the city of Santa Ana. Once covered in orange, avocado, and walnut groves, the area is now known for its distinctive and diverse architecture.
The neighborhood truly started to blossom after World War I at the advent of an era when Americans became interested in custom-built homes. Floral Park is an accurate representation of this mindset, with architecture ranging from French Norman and English Tudor cottages to Spanish Colonial villas and dignified Italianates. Allison Honer (1897-1981), who purchased the subdivision of land which is now Floral Park proper, is credited for building many of the homes in Floral Park today. At the time, these were the most lavish and expensive homes in the area, and remain so today.
In the late 1920’s and 1930’s, another builder, Roy Roscoe Russell (1881-1965) continued developing the remaining groves in Floral Park and surrounding areas (West Floral Park and Fisher Park) kicking off his first project with his very own subdivision of Victoria Drive between 19th and Santa Clara Avenue, including his own Colonial Revival Mansion at 2009 Victoria Drive. After World War II, any remaining orange groves in Floral Park were replaced by large, ranch-style homes, largely revival in style, and in the late 50’s low, horizontal ranch style houses punctuated the growth of Floral Park. There are three neighborhood associations in Floral Park: West Floral Park, Fisher Park and Floral Park proper.
Today, the neighborhood consists of more than 600 vintage homes primarily built in the 1920s through the 1950s. 99 homes in Floral Park are currently on the Santa Ana Register of Historic Properties. Homes in this area range from $450,000 to more than $1 million with many estates sitting on over an acre of property.
This neighborhood remains one of the finest in Orange County and the Floral Park Neighborhood Association works actively to preserve its character and beauty. It is the recipient of the Neighborhoods, USA (NUSA) 2005 Neighborhood of the Year Award and was The Best of Orange County’s # 1 Neighborhood for 2007.
