{"nrhp_refnum":"83001219","name":"Pacific Electric Sub-Station No. 14","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"475 North Lacy St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Santa Ana","county":"Orange County","state":"CA","lat":33.74870905000006,"lon":-117.86029340999994,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1983-09-22","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Transportation","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A small rectangular brick electric substation at 802 East Fifth Street, Santa Ana, Orange County, California, built in May 1907 by the Pacific Electric Construction Department. It measures roughly 30 by 45 feet.","why_significant":"The nomination argues it is the oldest standing structural feature of the Pacific Electric system in Orange County and the only one of four county power stations still remaining. It is also presented as an outstanding, unaltered example of early 20th century industrial design with classical detailing, and as a landmark of the region's transportation history.","narrative":"Built in May 1907, this brick substation on East Fifth Street in Santa Ana once converted alternating current from the Watts steam generating station into direct current to run Pacific Electric cars. It served the Santa Ana-Watts line, the Santa Ana-Orange line and the Santa Ana-Huntington Beach freight line until service was abandoned in July 1950. It was one of four Pacific Electric power stations in Orange County and is the only one left. Its pedimented end gables rest on brick corbelling, with buttresses along the double-thick walls and arched door openings. Tile pipes in the gables once served as high tension insulators, and a wooden cooling tower still rises through the roof. Only the machinery has been removed, and plastic sheeting now covers some dormer louvers. The building was used for storage for about twenty years and was boarded up in 1980. It was listed for its role in regional transportation history and its well-preserved industrial design.","period_of_significance":"1907","architect_builder":"Pacific Electric Construction Dept.","architectural_style":"Early 20th Century industrial design with simple classical detailing","criteria":[],"status_note":"Described as in fair condition due to deferred maintenance, used for industrial storage for twenty years, then abandoned and boarded up in 1980.","vacant_flag":true,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:54:27.271001-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_CA/83001219.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/83001219/407a442b62-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/83001219/407a442b62-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Cbl62","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pacific_Electric_Sub-Station_No._14_(Santa_Ana).jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Cbl62</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pacific_Electric_Sub-Station_No._14_(Santa_Ana).jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/123860306","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pacific_Electric_Sub-Station_No._14","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7122439"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/california/orange-county/pacific-electric-sub-station-no-14-83001219/"}