Bowers Museum

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The Bowers Museum is a museum in Santa Ana, in Orange County. It has existed for nearly 70 years, although its purpose and collections have considerably changed over that time. It is one of only 750 museums in America accredited by the American Association of Museums, and is the only museum in the United States to partner with the British Museum. Currently, it has on display permanent collections of Central American native artifacts and paintings of local, Californian scenes. It also has a large temporary exhibition space, a courtyard, a children's museum section, and a restaurant.

The name comes from Charles Bowers, a late 1800s Orange County land developer, who donated the land on which the museum stands. The building was constructed in 1931, after the death of Ada Bowers(Charles's wife) left the property unoccupied. The new building remained empty for 4 years after, as the Great Depression prevented the city of Santa Ana from paying for any operating funds.

The current buildings have been substantially expanded from the original construction in 1931. The old construction now contains only the permanent collection. The first additional construction happened in 1974. More major construction occurred in the years 1988-1992, adding on 52,000 sq. ft, and forming the current layout of the museum.

The original museum is a Mission style, two-story building, now forming one side of the central courtyard. The rooms contains some WPA ceiling murals, added during the four years in the Depression when the museum was closed for lack of funds.