Unfaded Appeal of French Park

Turns out image isn’t everything. The wall behind the cash register at La Chiquita restaurant displays dozens of snapshots of customers present and past, many of the photos now little more than blank squares, their images bleached to oblivion by decades in the sun. Owner Sammy Montoya wouldn’t dream of taking them down.

“If I got rid of those faded pictures, I’d have to get new customers,” he said. “They bring their grandkids in and they point to those pictures and say, ‘This was your father when he was in a high chair.’

“Even if it isn’t really a picture anymore, they know which square is theirs.”

The photos may have faded, but community pride still glistens northeast of downtown Santa Ana, where some of the homes in the French Park Historic District date to the 1890s and even some new businesses have links to history.

The area’s most endearing quality just might be that it isn’t afraid to show its age.

For a neighborhood institution, La Chiquita puts up a pretty unassuming front. The building is small and nondescript, the ceiling is low and the chairs are covered in orange vinyl that’s pure ‘50s. In other words, things are just the way regulars like it at La Chiquita (906 E. Washington Ave. in Santa Ana, [714] 543-8787).

The restaurant is celebrating its 50th anniversary, though Montoya has been in charge only since 1994. That’s when he took over for Joe Salcedo, whose father opened the place in 1950.

When Salcedo’s health began to fail and he feared he might have to close La Chiquita, 11 regulars were worried enough that they pooled their money to buy it. They recruited Montoya, a longtime waiter at The White House in Laguna Beach, to be a co-owner and run the place.

“I got a lot of phone calls from people who’d been eating here for years, worried that I would change things,” Montoya said. “I kept everything the same--same menu, same cooks, same everything. It would have been very hard for me to take this place, where people felt so comfortable, and start switching things around.”

The enduring menu features traditional Mexican combo plates ($5.50-$7.50) as well as bean and beef sopitos ($3.50-$4.50) and chorizo ($6.75). “Everything has always been fresh and homemade,” Montoya said.

Slowly, Montoya has added new dishes, such as a 5-pound burrito that features four kinds of meat ($8.50). “Sometimes people will order that burrito for the whole family to share,” Montoya said.

The chicken and albondigas soups ($3.95 a bowl) are also fresh favorites.

Many of La Chiquita’s lunch customers come from the Santa Ana Civic Center and courthouse, and the place is often packed at lunchtime.

The restaurant is open 11:30 a.m. to 8 p.m Monday through Saturday. It’s closed Sunday. That’s a tradition Montoya was happy to keep. “I never used to get Sundays off,” he said.

Light Touch

One block west of La Chiquita is Lys Ornamental Lighting, which is new to the neighborhood but already has infused this otherwise industrial corner with more than a little flash.

For a half-century, the company has designed and built ornate street lamps, gazebos and park benches in Guadalajara, Mexico, a 450-year-old city whose architecture reflects its colonial past.

Seven months ago, Lys opened its first showroom in the United States, at 804 E. Washington Ave. “We want to be the first choice for cities and landscape design architects here as well as in Mexico,” said Ricardo Leano, president of the company he runs with his two brothers, Luis and Juan Manuel. The three grew up in the business founded by their father, Don Nazario Leano Herrera.

The Santa Ana showroom is eye-catching in itself, an old mechanics shop painted lime green with blue trim and bright yellow window bars that look more decorative than protective. Colorful spiral staircases wend toward no other destination than the sky.

Outside are an array of outdoor lamps, some arching and stately, with fixtures such as crowns that would be at home French Park, just a block away.

Lys recently landed an account to replicate 300 Victorian street lights on Wilshire Boulevard in Beverly Hills. Other lighting options are slightly less grandiose and befit a small yard or entryway. A big sign on the building says “Open to the public,” but this isn’t the kind of lawn lighting or furniture you might find at Home Depot.

Benches range from wrought iron to bronze and cost $268 to almost $900. There are baroque and Victorian touches, with at least one style featuring Mexican historical figures such as Maximilian and Gen. Porfirio Diaz.

Inside hang two Tiffany style antique chandeliers that measure 8 feet across. Leano bought them from a Beverly Hills restaurant that was redecorating. Each is priced at $5,000.

Lys also builds and sells statues and fountains, from those 4 feet tall to those it takes a 20-foot crane to move. “We don’t make hundreds of thousands of anything,” Leano said. “We’d rather make a hundred, but make it a hundred good ones.”

Lys is open 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. It’s closed weekends. Call (714) 542-4900.

A Foothold in History

It’s a short walk down Santiago Avenue to the Santa Ana train station (1000 E. Santa Ana Blvd.), and the reward is one of the nicest public spaces in the city.

The five-story rounded tower is a landmark recognizable for miles. The four-tiered fountain out front is welcoming enough, but even more inviting is the courtyard on the east side of the Mediterranean-style building, which is shaded from the afternoon sun. It’s a cool spot to rest and people-watch.

The tiled stairways and abundance of flowers add to the ambience.

It’s no wonder that the site formed the backdrop for the final scene in the 1988 film “Rain Man,” starring Dustin Hoffman and Tom Cruise.

Another good destination within strolling distance is the French Park district, bounded by Washington Avenue to the north, Poinsettia Street to the east, Civic Center Drive to the south and Main Street to the west.

The area is full of colonial revival and craftsman bungalows, some restored to their 19th-century glory, others awaiting repairs. Either way, the architecture is always interesting.

“If you’re looking for the shady tree-lined streets, picket fences and the American Dream,” resident Paul Giles said, “well, we’ve got that.”

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DISCOVER ORANGE COUNTY

GETTING THERE: Heading south, exit the 5 (Santa Ana) Freeway at 17th Street. Take Penn Way left to Washington. Heading north, exit at Grand and go south to Santa Ana Boulevard. Go right to Santiago and then right again to Washington.

MORE EATS: For another throwback experience, try Pop’s Cafe, 112 E. Ninth St., (714) 543-2772. “It’s like a little time capsule from the ‘40s,” Paul Giles said.

What does the French Park resident recommend? The French toast, of course. Pop’s is open 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday; 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

NEIGHBORHOOD HAPPENINGS: The French Park neighborhood periodically hosts special events, such as a home tour that attracted 1,600 visitors in December. The next gathering is an Easter egg hunt scheduled for 10 a.m. April 22 at the park. For more information, call (714) 953-4002.

Proud to Show Its Age

French Park Historic District