A New Lease on Life

The Orange County Courthouse, that grande dame of county buildings, at the age of 87 will soon receive a new lease on a useful life, the one it was built to have.

The way was cleared Thursday when the Legislature passed a bill that will enable the courthouse to once again hold Municipal and Superior courts. It had been sitting idle because of a state law that reserved it only for the state’s 4th District Court of Appeal. But that court had no plans to ever use the old building. All that remains to reopen it for Municipal Court and Superior Court use is the governor’s signature, which seems certain.

The prospect of being able to use the historic red sandstone building--the oldest existing courthouse in Southern California--is welcome news for the county’s court system. Courtroom space is in woefully short supply. It is also exciting for people with a sense of history to have this living link to the county’s past.

Until the late 1960s, when the new County Courthouse was built, most of the county’s notorious cases were tried at the old county courthouse, which was built in 1900. One of the most publicized early trials was in 1921, when silent screen star Bebe Daniels was charged with speeding--for driving more than 50 m.p.h. The first marriage at the courthouse united a man of 65 to his 66-year-old bride.

For years the building, which was designated a state historic monument in 1970, has stood virtually idle, housing only the county’s Historical and Cultural Planning Department in a small section on the second floor. Several years ago, major renovation made the building structurally sound to meet today’s new earthquake standards. Now the Legislature has made the building legally available.

The courthouse stands sturdy and proud in Santa Ana, ready to resume its original role just in time for the county’s 100th birthday celebration beginning next year. It’s a comforting thought to know it’s back in action--as solid and enduring as the justice dispensed in its historic halls.