A Trip Back in Time in Tustin

New generations are discovering what their elders have known all along: old-fashioned “Main Streets” are a wonderful way to browse and shop a Saturday morning away. Across Southern California, historical town centers are experiencing a revival--put Old Town Tustin at the top of your list.

Architecture dating to the 1800s, flags welcoming passersby and friendly shopkeepers make it a lovely weekend reprieve. “There isn’t anything in here that anyone needs,” one merchant says. “That’s why shopping here is so much fun.”

Old World Treasures

Antique stores have set up shop at the Jamestown Village shopping center on El Camino Real. One filled to the brim with handsome European pieces is Gerda’s Antiques (500 El Camino Real, (714) 832-4932. Hours: Monday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; Sunday, 10 a.m.-3 p.m.).

Here, the serious collector can find such treasures as a $3,750 grandfather clock (circa 1800), or one of Gerda Bruck’s favorites: a Victorian hunter’s cabinet made of rich, European oak for $5,750. A rosewood Davenport desk dating from 1860 sells for $2,950.

The 70-year-old shopkeeper is always on hand to answer any questions or to kibitz about life in general. Bartering? You bet, but only by Gerda’s rules. “Just look me in the eyeball and I’ll decide if I like you,” she says, laughing.

Another must-stop at Jamestown Village is Bruce Noland Cole Antiques and Buttons (500 El Camino Real, (714) 730-5502. Hours: Tuesday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.). Cole is Orange County’s unofficial button broker. “He’s quite a walking encyclopedia,” an adjacent shopkeeper says. Cole has more than 100,000 buttons priced from from 1 cent to the very rare $1,000.

Dig through bins filled with buttons of all colors and shapes--perfect for children’s arts and crafts. Or let Cole show off some of his most prized merchandise. Of particular note is one oil-painted button on ivory of a bouquet of flowers, circa 1770. “This was just somebody’s trash,” Cole says handling an old glass motor oil bottle. “And now ...it’s a treasure.”

Most of Cole’s bottles are more than 100 years old: medicine bottles, whiskey bottles--even empty shoe polish bottles. But what’s really interesting is their colors. Before World War I, glass makers used a chemical to make glass clear--which after years of exposure ages to a beautiful lavender. Other glasses in his collection are in lovely green or blue tints--their original hues.

If you have any questions, hard-to-stump Cole will be happy to research most anything about American collectible antiques. And don’t forget to ask him about Victorian table settings and etiquette.

Say a Little Prayer

It’s not often you find a chapel in a parking lot, but G.T. Gilbreath built one around an old oak tree during the 1961 construction of Jamestown Village. (The Gilbreath Chapel, formerly the Gilbreath Tree Church, is open Tuesday-Saturday, approximately 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Admission free; small fee for weddings. For information, call Charlie May Gilbreath, (714) 544-4193.)

Rumor has it that G.T. had the white-clapboard chapel built--with a tree sticking out of the roof--for his wife, Charlie May.

But if you run into her during one of her twice-daily visits to open and close the chapel, she’ll set the record straight. “No, he didn’t build it for me,” Charlie May, now 88, says. “He built it because it was a childhood memory of his.”

The tree died about a year ago, but the chapel still stands. And with its electric organ, stained-glass windows and pew seating for eight, it is a lovely place for a quick prayer or for a very, very small wedding.

Slice of Tustin History

To round out your day, visit the Tustin Area Museum (395 El Camino Real. Open Tuesday and Thursday, 9 a.m.-2 p.m., and the first and third Saturday of each month from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Free admission. Call (714) 838-6751 for information.)

Kids will love the 1920s-era firetruck--Tustin’s first fire engine, according to museum volunteer David W. Bryan. See photographs of Orange County before it became choked with freeways and learn about Tustin’s pioneers, including founder Columbus Tustin.

If you’ve got more time, the museum has a self-guided map for a walking tour of the nearby residential area and its many fine turn-of-the-century Craftsman bungalows and Victorians.

Time for Tea

End your morning at The McCharles House Restaurant and Tearoom (335 S. C St., (714) 731-4063. Hours: Tuesday-Saturday, 11 a.m.-4 p.m.; selected Sunday afternoon teas at noon and 2 p.m. by reservation only. www.mccharleshouse.com)

In this delightful 1885 green clapboard restored cottage you can sip a soothing glass of vanilla-bean tea garnished with a garden-fresh sprig of lavender. The service here is impeccable--the menu varied--and it’s not just for ladies. “Once gentlemen come, they just keep coming back,” says Audrey Heredia, who has run the restaurant with daughter Vivian since 1985.

The menu changes with the season. For the fall, consider hearty items for bigger appetites such as homemade meatloaf ($11.25) or the savory shepherd’s pie ($16.50).

Or consider taking traditional Victorian afternoon tea--an assortment of sandwiches served with a scone topped with clotted cream and raspberry preserves ($20). A small gift shops sells tea and accessories--perfect keepsakes to enjoy at home.

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IF YOU GO

* Getting There: Take the Santa Ana Freeway to the Newport Avenue exit and head north. Turn left on Main Street to El Camino Real. Old Town Tustin is bordered by the Santa Ana and Costa Mesa freeways, Newport Avenue and First Street. Park in diagonal spaces along El Camino Real or in the city lot behind Rutabegorz restaurant at 158 W. Main St.

* Look Up: A handful of shops at Jamestown Village have special beamed ceilings made of pine logs chopped from the forest of the nearby town of Crestline. The story goes that G.T. Gilbreath cleaned and stripped the logs of bark himself.

* Aside: Check out the 12-foot-tall Eiffel Tower garden ornament ($1,800) at the recently opened Tustin House and Garden--a funky garden and antique shop at 420 El Camino Real.