Courting History

Order in the courthouses! Step up to the bar at the Old Courthouse Museum in Santa Ana, the oldest such building in Southern California. Then cut the legal mumbo jumbo and order a cup of gumbo at Shelly’s Courthouse Bistro.

MORNING, 1

The parcel that city founder W. H. Spurgeon set aside for a courthouse served instead as the site of an annual ox roast until the county jail was built there in 1898. The jail came down in 1925, but you can still see its “footprint” in the parking lot. The courthouse went up in 1901, designed by Los Angeles architect Charles Strange, inspired by an already old-fashioned style called Richardsonian Romanesque.

Dozens of films have been shot here, from D.W. Griffith’s “The Flying Torpedo” (1915) to Rob Reiner’s “The American President” (1975).

Two pieces of heavy artillery grace the front lawn, one from 1918. The building’s Arizona red sandstone facade came tumbling down in the Long Beach earthquake of 1933. To be on the safe side, the lofty cupola, site of many a wedding couples’ first official kiss, was removed. The building was restored--sans cupola, alas--and rededicated in 1987.

Today it houses the county’s History Center, with offices devoted to archives, parks programs and an archeological society. You can still get married here; the license office is in Room 201.

A grand staircase with Corinthian columns and Tennessee marble steps leads to the lobby rotunda. A small display there documents the “frenzied passion” of 17-year-old Beulah Overall and her 21-year-old boyfriend, who despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary, were found not guilty of dynamiting her parents’ yacht--with her parents aboard. Beulah bought the dynamite, but police may have tampered with the evidence. It terms of sensationalism, it was the O.J. Simpson trial of 1947.

The proceedings unfolded in a courtroom now filled (through Sept. 25) with fossils, an exhibit called “A Legacy in Stone.”

According to the display, “scientists now know that at one time Orange County was approximately 250 miles south of where it is today. . . . We know this from studying fossils found during construction of the San Joaquin Hills Transportation Corridor.” Who said no good thing could come of the toll roads?

A tiny opossum tooth may be the most important of these fossils. The itty-bitty object, representing the oldest marsupial found in Orange County, has apparently led scientists to theorize that a Nile River-sized system drained the entire Southwestern U.S. and flowed into Orange County. Go figure.

Buffs of more recent history will enjoy Superior Court Department One, the judge’s chambers and jury room (with seating for 12 angry men--no women allowed until 1920). In the court reporter’s office, visitors will see an Edison dictating machine and wax-cylinder Dictaphone. Rooms are outfitted with a pair of wall phones serving two non-overlapping phone systems. (And you thought an area-code split was bad!)

Souvenirs include a county historical map ($2) and a book called “At the Bar,” reminiscences of early Orange County law practice by Leo J. Friis ($13.50). On the bottom floor a 1988 centennial county map shows boundaries both of today’s cities and the ranchos of 1889.

LUNCH, 2

Shelly’s Courthouse Bistro is on the site of a former Italian eatery. A mural depicts a Venetian canal called Via Shelly with--is that the Spurgeon clock tower in the background? Now the jury’s out: At dinner, chicken dishes come in Hawaiian, Alfredo and Cajun styles.

Lunch starts with chips and salsa and leans toward pastas and Creole Cajun cuisine. The gumbo (cup $1.50, bowl $2.95) comes with chicken and andouille sausage. Those “with cast iron stomachs” might try Shelly’s triple jambalaya of chicken, shrimp and andouille ($8.95). Get a table by the front window and watch the Ronald Reagan Federal Courthouse going up outside.

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1) Old Courthouse Museum

211 W. Santa Ana Blvd., (714) 834-3703

9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday

2) Shelly’s Courthouse Bistro

400 W. 4th St., (714) 543-9821

11:30 a.m.-3 p.m. Monday-Friday and 6-9 p.m. Thursday-Saturday

Parking: There is metered parking in a lot at the Old Courthouse Museum, and metered street and lot parking throughout the downtown area.

Buses: OCTA Bus Nos. 47, 49, 49A, 55, 56, 56A, 57, 60, 61, 64, 65, 69, 70, 72, 75, 85, 85A, 162, 205, 462 and 757 serve the Santa Ana Transit Terminal (Santa Ana Boulevard between Ross Street and Broadway.)