We've never been to Heritage Square Museum before, so this was our first time as we attended Street…read moreFood Cinema's Boo-ze, Bites and Frights: Half-O-Ween event. Their VIP parking was down a one-way dirt road at the entrance, but we opted for general parking across the street at the Heritage Square metro station. Part of the event was touring the Victorian houses, which was pretty interesting to see. Each house had guides to give insight into how people lived in the olden times. We also got to check out the giftshop for Heritage Square Museum which had souvenirs and mementos if you wanted to support them. Street Food Cinema hosted a special outdoor screening of Sinners. There were two screening areas so don't worry if you can't find a spot at the first one - juts walk aways further and you'll find more seats for the other screen (the movie plays simultaneously on both). Fyi - you don't need to bring your own chairs as they provide lawn chairs for screenings. There's several specialty things to see so it's worth coming early so you can take it all in. There was a Spookeasy with a musician playing songs from the movie, an Oddities Bazaar that offered tarot readings and aura photography, vendors selling goodies/clothes/etc, and of course plenty of food! We had delicious pizza from Angeleno's Wood Fired Pizza, had some cookies from Brady's Bakery, and topped it off with hella strong drinks! It was a 21+ event and they sure had heavy pours! Of course if you don't drink they also offered water, soda, and mocktails. If you get the opportunity to attend an event at Heritage Square Museum, don't miss out on it! The grounds are well-maintained, the employees are all informative and friendly, and we had an absolute blast! Two more things to know before you go - (1) it gets seriously cold at night, so bring a blanket and bundle up. Pro tip: it also comes in handy to secure your seat while you walk around. (2) Outside is mostly dirt and it gets windy, so dress accordingly and be sure to blow your nose thoroughly afterwards because you're going to be breathing it in!

I went to Heritage Square Museum for a movie screening and was genuinely surprised because I didn't…read moreeven know this place existed. It's actually pretty interesting to walk through and see a piece of Los Angeles history preserved like that. I'd say it's especially worth visiting if the event or entry is free, since it's a nice way to experience something different without committing a full day to it. The staff were extremely friendly and very enthusiastic about sharing their knowledge, which honestly made the experience better. You can tell they care about the history and enjoy talking about it. Some of the homes did have a noticeable old house smell, which isn't shocking given their age, but it's something you'll probably notice as you walk through. Overall, it was a cool and unexpected experience and a nice reminder that LA has pockets of history hiding in plain sight.

Really cool place to take a stroll at. They offer free tours so you can go inside four of the…read morebuildings. We did the 11 am tour on a Saturday and our guide Victor was terrific. The tour lasted a little over an hour. Even my teen said it was a lot more fun than she had anticipated. Definitely worth a stop.

My family moved to Orange County in the late 70s, I used to…read moresee this Historical Landmark Church down by the railroad tracks off El Toro Rd. Does anybody else remember this ? So happy I get to see it transferred here. Happy to see that they put a diorama here too, great educational tool. (See pic) This is the place to go to enjoy ac Candlelight, walk-through during the Christmas Holidays. In October, they have the non-scary family harvest activities. In Springtime they do the Easter Bunny egg hunt etc. Used to know a couple that were married here as well. Wondering if they still do that? My favorite thing to do here, is visit one of the nearby restaurants, take the food to go, and enjoy a picnic Table with benches. A beautiful thing to do here at Heritage Hill Park.

WOW! I'm a history buff, so this property is just PURE MAGIC to me! Such an amazing representation,…read morepreservation and staging of the home of a true Renaissance Woman, a multi-talented artisan, celebrated the world over, whom you've probably never heard of. Madame Modjeska aside, my favorite discovery pertaining to the history of this property: Theodore Payne arrived to Arden from England after his scientific studies drove the interests that would lead him to become an amazing botanist, landscape designer, seed harvest and processing expert, horticulturist and preservationist of native California flowers, trees and shrubs. The Theodore Payne Foundation is still active in teaching, stewardship, propagation and garden design throughout Los Angeles. It's main nursery is in Sun Valley! What a fantastic find that the foundation nursery where I buy my native plants started with Payne taking a job as Head Gardener at Arden in 1893! But that was just the outside! The inside of this beautiful home is so meticulously preserved and staged to really bring the observer into Helena Modjeska's life. If you pay attention, you may even realize some scandalous questions to ask the docent on site. My questions were answered, but I felt my enthusiasm for the property outpaced the docents by a very large margin. I wish there was a bit more excitement for his subject, and more of a guided storied aspect, rather than simple answers to our many questions. While this is not a living history adventure and docents are volunteers, it's great that there was someone there allowing us to tour the property, but a more engaging docent would be appreciated. I am looking forward to returning this Fall. There are tables for picnicking, restrooms and free parking. Reservations are encouraged, for a space in the small dirt parking area and the limited time the house and grounds are open. Cheers! "CC" NOTE/TIP: The directions initially took us to a property at the intersection of Santiago and Modjeska Cyn roads, which apparently the OC Parks Dept uses as parking for events at Arden House. The actual property is much further along Modjeska Cyn Road, through residential properties and before the canyon road ends at Tucker Wildlife Sanctuary. If you have the same challenge, navigate to Tucker and you'll see Arden House, on the right, just before TWS.

First heard about this historic land mark from Pageant of the Masters. Decided we needed to come…read morefor a visit and see what it's all about. Call OC Parks to get a docent led tour on either Wednesday or Saturday 10am. Each tour is only 10 people to keep it small and the interior is small so we need as much space as possible. House is air conditioned on inside which was perfect for hot days. We were lucky to get a reservation for Saturday in September 2025. Our docent was Bob, he was super chill and even allowed us to see parts of the house that we missed since we arrived late to the tour. The tour lasts 90min to 2 hours, there's just lots of information to share. You get to view the interior of the home and outside guest houses, pool and storage shed. Plenty to parking spots. Bryan from OC parks mentioned this place is closed starting in October 2025 because they are doing construction on the roof of the house. Be sure to get your tours in before that occurs, since the tours will temporarily end soon. Have fun!

This cute, little historic landmark is conquistadorable. The first adobe bricks got laid here in…read more1820 back when California was Spanish. It originally served as a station between the San Juan Capistrano and San Gabriel missions. The Diego Sepulveda Adobe is the second oldest building in Orange County, and that seemed like a pretty good reason to check it out. Volunteers from The Costa Mesa Historical Society open the building to the public on the first and third Saturdays of every month from noon until four. You can see the outside of the building anytime you feel like visiting Estancia Park, but timing your visit to coincide with the open hours is worth it. My docent Kathy was a fount of historical knowledge and shared lots of fun facts with the other guests and me. It's free to visit, but you can make a donation if you're a good person. (Do it. You can go on to describe yourself as a philanthropist. That's totally worth throwing a buck in a jar. Right?) The three room adobe is filled with relics and displays that reflect the different eras of California history. I'd like it if there were more informative displays on the Spanish and Mexican periods, but the early American period is well represented and there's a nice display about local Native American history. If you just want to take a look around and see some cool old stuff, you'll only need ten minutes to check out this quirky little museum. If you get a kick out of reading plaques and maps (like me), you'll enjoy spending half an hour here on a Saturday afternoon. Much of the building has been restored, but the original adobe walls have withstood floods, earthquakes, and nearly two hundred years of Orange County history. She's a brick house... mighty, mighty.

From a historical standpoint this building is just mediocre. They didn't restore it correctly. the…read moreterra cotta shingles are clearly not original. Also The paint looks to be too brand new covering up the original adobe look entirely. As a historical site enthusiast, I was not too enthusiastic about the upkeep of this building. Glad it's still here however, that's a big positive.

Wonderfully maintained, great example of Queen Anne Revival architecture associated with the West…read morein the 1800s. This is similar to the Painted Ladies you see in San Francisco and older homes in certain parts of Seattle. Unfortunately because of Covid there are no interior tours but you can still see the outside and get an idea of how a wealthy person lived back then. The building itself has distinct features for the American Queen Anne style including asymmetric facade, cylindrical tower, and decorative overhanging eaves over a large wrap-around porch. Tiling and shingling work is impressive and though this style isn't something I really like I can appreciate the design of it. Cool random fishscale tiles on the tower somehow work very well. Hilariously at night it does look kind of creepy and its right in back of Anaheim High School, a lot of my friends in this area used to tell me all about the Witches House or the old Haunted House. 4 stars because you cannot go inside at this time so you only get half of the picture.

Today I had the pleasure of visiting the Woelke-Stoffel House built in 1894, named after two of…read moreit's owners, John Gottlieb Woelke and Peter Stoffel, this home is one of the most beautiful Queen Anne designs in architecture that Anaheim has ever seen.  The home was designed by architect, George Franklin Barber, and the building of it was overseen by contractor, Armstrong Davis Porter in 1896. The Woelke family lived in the home for several years before moving to Los Angeles in 1899 and purchasing the Hotel Argyle. In 1899, when John had left Anaheim, he sold the home to Isaac Lyons, a native of England who came to California in 1862. Lyons lived in the home with his family from 1899 to 1904 when he sold the house to another family, the Michod's. They lived in the home from 1904 to 1907 and then sold the home to another family, Olmstead's. This family would only live there for less than a year before Peter Stoffel and his family would buy it, and make this house their home in 1907. Peter Stoffel lived the rest of his life in the home. It wasn't until Peter's wife died, that the family estate sold the property to John Dwyer when the city had planned to demolish it.  Tours are FREE every first Saturday of the month, from 9:00 am to 12:00 pm. The docents were very friendly and knowledgeable. Donations accepted.

Old Towne Orange is a great place to spend an afternoon having lunch and browsing the many antique…read moreand vintage clothes shops! So many great places to eat from quick bites to sit diwn restaurant and lots of different cuisines. Each visit we try new ones. Check.begore you comes as se do take reservations or have online waitlists. Weeekends can get very busy so expect waits. Parking can be a challenge but there is a lot of street parking. There's a few public parking structures with 3 hour free parking, If you want to extend your visit, the Hilbert Art Museum (part of Chapman university) is in Old Towne Orange. It's a small and intimate museum and woth 1-2 hr visit you can enjoy the wonderful exhibits. And it's free.

I always laugh to myself when I write reviews on landmarks compared to actual businesses because…read moreit's just so random lol. Like... there are people who actually write reviews about their favorite freeways, so I get it now. No judgement though. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, yeah? For a while, my OC people would mention Old Towne Orange and how it's such a nice spot to browse thru vintage/thrift shops and walk around. Honestly, I agree. As someone who's spoiled with places like North Park, South Park, Mission Hills in San Diego (and also Old Town), I never really thought much to come here. Loved all the charming shops around, though. Time felt slow here and strangers felt like neighbors. A memorable moment from this past Saturday was when my friends and I stopped to sit at the bench in the middle of Orange Circle; Met the nicest old man with the cutest and friendliest dogs. Before he left, he joked to my friends and I about how his dogs were always running away from him, like the ladies in life (obviously he wasn't rude or creepy about it). And that entire experience at Old Towne Orange made me think about how many of us yearn for connection and communities like that again. Out-of-towners: If you want something different than Disneyland or Porto's for your weekend trip outing, but still want the actual nostalgic charm experience of the ~good ol days~, look no further.

Did the free guided tour, which is currently available on Sundays only--starting at 2pm and going…read moreuntil 4pm. Call their recording to double check their schedule before you come down. A very personable and knowledgeable docent led us through the house and told us some history of the home, the area, and multiple artifacts inside the house. So glad I did this.

Since I live super close, I am the DUKE! ahhahahahahaha…read more... Nice to see something very historic by me. The first home in Westchester/Inglewood/Playa Del Rey. It's pretty cool actually, nice people run shop over here and give a historic lesson when you're the visitor. It's nice to walk around and just chill. You can also vote here during voting time which is highly convenient! Love where you live and live where you love! HOLLA!

I recently visited Los Cerritos Rancho and had such a meaningful experience. From the moment I…read morearrived, I was warmly welcomed by the staff, who took the time to share the rich history of the landmark, including stories about the Bixby family. Walking through the home and gardens truly felt like stepping back in time. There's something incredibly special about being able to see and feel how people lived in the past--it creates a deep sense of connection and nostalgia that's hard to put into words. For me, the visit was also a moment of reflection--appreciating the lives and efforts of those who came before us, and how their contributions shaped the world we live in today. In such a fast-paced, modern era, it felt especially powerful to immerse myself in a place that preserves history so beautifully. I even remembered visiting here as a child, and coming back as an adult gave me a whole new appreciation for it. It's more than just a historical site--it's an experience that invites you to reflect, learn, and reconnect. I highly recommend visiting. It's a beautiful reminder that Long Beach is full of incredible history and hidden gems worth exploring.

Rancho Los Cerritos is a slightly hidden national historic landmark within Long Beach with…read moreGabrielino-Tongva roots. It was once a sheep ranch, cattle ranch, and even serves as an extension of our public library archives for local history. Entrance is free. Parking is free (and close to the entrance). There are volunteer-lead tours as well as printed maps to help you navigate the property. If you're planning to visit I'd set aside a half hour for everything. Bonus tip: they host events.