FOCUS : The Changing Portrait of an American Main Street

When Judy Crewe moved to Orange County from Windsor, Canada, the first thing she noticed was the shortage of neighborhood gathering spots, where locals could stop and chat with friends or linger over the newspaper with a cup of coffee.

So, in 1986, Crewe purchased a run-down mom-and-pop grocery story on Cambridge Street in this central Orange neighborhood and restored the 1920s structure to its former glory. The wooden window boxes out front are now filled with pink geraniums, and barrels of marguerites mark the entrance.

The store’s delicatessen is a favorite lunchtime gathering spot for residents and local office workers. Children drop by on their way home from school to select a treat from the candy jars.

Crewe said daily contact with regular customers gives her the sense of community she never found in other Orange County neighborhoods. While living in Irvine and Silverado Canyon, “my neighbors never said much more than hello and goodby. After work they disappeared behind automatic garage doors,” she said.

The nostalgic atmosphere at Crewe’s store fits in with the surrounding neighborhood, which is an eclectic mix of past architectural styles, including large Victorian homes built in the late 1800s and tiny bungalows from the 1920s and 1930s.

“I like the atmosphere and the people here,” said Ruth Bryant, who has lived in the neighborhood nearly 20 years. Every morning she guards the busy crosswalk up the street from her two-bedroom bungalow on Palmyra Avenue. She enjoys watching the constant home restoration and remodeling efforts in the neighborhood, which is a mix of long-term residents and newcomers attracted by the old-time ambience.

Every year, Bryant attends the Orange International Street Fair held at the nearby Orange Circle area, which marks the center of town.

“I go to see my friends and enjoy myself,” she said. “But lately it’s been getting a little too crowded. More and more people are discovering the area.”

The Orange Circle is a mecca for antique hunters, with five antique malls and more than 30 shops. But it’s more than just a tourist attraction. The area has functioned as the city business center since the 1880s.

The antique shops are mixed with offices, banks and businesses catering to a local clientele. The area seems a prototype of the vanishing American main street. A classic red and white striped barber pole swirls slowly outside Hank’s Barber Shop, and Watson’s Drug Store still operates a soda fountain and luncheon counter.

But there are cracks in the neighborhood’s all-American facade that, according to Mary McAnena, are growing wider every day. McAnena, 86, feeds hundreds of homeless people in Hart Park every weekday at 2 p.m.

When she started bringing food and clothing to the park three years ago, there were usually 10 or 15 homeless people lined up to partake. Now there are at least 200 people every day, including families with children.

“It’s a disgrace,” McAnena said. “This is not the America I once knew. There are many good people in this community. But most are so busy with other things that they don’t take time to help the poor.”

Every weekday at her home on Grand Street, north of the park, McAnena gets up at 6 a.m. to make soup from vegetables prepared the night before. While the soup simmers, she attends 8 a.m. Mass at nearby Holy Family Cathedral on Glassell Street. Afterward, she returns to her kitchen, where volunteers help her prepare the rest of the meal and transport it to the park.

“Never in my life have I ever seen anything like this,” said McAnena, who lived through the Great Depression and saw poverty in her native Ireland. “Children are sleeping in the back seats of abandoned cars. Not enough is being done to help them.”

Ironically, a sign near the area where the homeless wait for McAnena each day proclaims: “This Park is Dedicated to the Concept of Home and Family.”

Population Total: (1989 est.) 6,668 1980-89 change: +18% Median Age: 27.9

Racial/ethnic mix: White (non-Latino): 72% Latino: 21% Black: 2% Other: 5%

Income Per capita: $13,136 Median household: $27,352 Average household: $30,466

Income Distribution: Less than $25,000: 45% $25,000-49,999: 41% $50,000-74,999: 11% $75,000-$99,999: 2% $100,000 and more: 1%