The
Orange County Performing Arts Center |
Costa Mesa California
was once grazing grounds for cattle belonging to the Mission
San Juan Capistrano. At the beginning of the 19th century, missionaries
built an adobe Estancia or way-station for the vaqueros
who tended the herds. This structure still stands and was recently
restored and transformed by the City into a museum at 1900 Adams
Avenue.
By the late 1800's the little town of Harper, named after a
nearby rancher, had emerged on a siding of the Santa Ana and
Newport Railroad. On May 11, 1920, Harper officially changed
its name to Costa Mesa, which means coastal tableland in Spanish,
and continued as an agricultural community, growing sweet potatoes,
corn, tomatoes, strawberries, and apples (today the dominant
industries are trade, services, manufacturing, finance/insurance
and real estate). World War II brought many thousands of people
to the area for training at the Santa Ana Army Air Base, located
on what is now the Orange County Fairgrounds, Orange Coast College,
and the present site of the Civic Center. When the war ended,
many of these men returned with their families to begin the
population boom which continues today. On June 29, 1953, the
City was incorporated and City Council-Manager form of government
was chosen. The new City had an area of 3.5 square miles and
a population of 16,840. Today, the population had risen to over
100,000 and the area to 17 square miles.
Today, Costa Mesa, with its world class Costa Mesa hotels and
restaurants, is a major commercial and industrial center of
Orange County. The city, which formally adopted the slogan The
City of the Arts in late 1984, is home to a regional symphony
orchestra, the South Coast Repertory Theater and the Orange
County Performing Arts Center. |
