Historic California Bungalow with two guesthouses on large 10,000 sf lot. Main house features 3 bedrooms and 2 baths, a remodeled kitchen and a detached game room. One guesthouse is a one bedroom, one bath and the other is a studio. Large lot gives this property the feeling of a park. Don't miss it. For more information and photos, click here.

 Charming vintage cottage. This three bedroom, two bath home features a newer kitchen with silestone counters, maple cabinets and dual drawer stainless dishwasher. Light and bright. Huge deck and tranquil backyard with spa. Two car garage and long driveway. Walk to all Old Town restaurants and park. Click here for more details and photos.

We live in the neighborhood and have access to other  listings before they go on the market. If you're interested in purchasing or selling in Old Town please contact us directly.

Old Town Tustin Historic District (Orange County, California)

History of Tustin

Columbus Tustin, a carriage maker from Petaluma, California, and a partner  purchased a 1,400 acre parcel of the Rancho Santiago de Santa Ana land grant in 1868 for the price of one dollar and fifty cents per acre. They divided the acreage, with Tustin taking title to the land of what is part of the City of Tustin today. With sales moving slowly in the early 1870’s, he ended up giving free lots to anyone who would build a house on it. 

Although slow, the growth of Tustin City in the 1880’s was steady. Instead of the few “settlers shacks” that were part of the 1870’s, elegant Victorian houses appeared on its streets during the eighties and nineties, a result of the real estate boom of the 1880’s. By the end of the 19th century, Tustin City had a general store, a two-story Richardsonian Romanesque bank building, a Victorian Eastlake 40 room tourist hotel, horse drawn street railway, a Southern Pacific rail station and three churches.

Due to the climate of Southern California, many of the early settlers used their land for agricultural purposes, growing walnuts and apricots, with citrus gaining rapidly. Eventually, Tustin had a number of packinghouses to handle the enormous crops of oranges and lemons that were grown locally. 

By the 1960’s, with the combination of the “quick decline” disease of the orchards, rising land values, and the great influx of people to Orange County, orange groves gave way to housing tracks. In the 1960’s, Tustin’s population increased by a thousand percent, going from approximately 2,000 to 22,000. Today, there are no orange groves or packing houses, but we cherish the many late 19th and early 20^th century homes, a blacksmith’s shop and a historic commercial downtown that remain for current and future residents of Tustin.

Architectural History

Tustin is privileged to have a rich and diverse architectural history. Homes range from early Board and Batten construction to later California Bungalows and everything in between. Old Town Tustin has some of the finest examples of Craftsman homes to be found anywhere as well as an impressive selection of Victorian period architecture including Queen Anne, Italianate, Stick and Eastlake. The ubiquitous Spanish Revival abounds on nearly every street, along-side Monterey Revival, Tudor Revival and Colonial Revival. Our churches range from a Victorian Gothic from the late 1800’s to a Spanish Colonial from the late 1920’s. The commercial area contains very early examples of Western False Front and Victorian Italianate alongside Neoclassical and Greek Revival. Later additions include our school district headquarters in a 1950’s Moderne style and the post-WWII cottages built for the returning veterans. Old Town Tustin is proud to boast a wide selection of architectural styles that serve as illustrations of our city’s history.

Old Town Real Estate

The types of property available in Old Town Tustin are very diverse. Homes range from as small as 850sf to over 5000sf and lot sizes vary from 6500sf to nearly an acre with most homes situated on 1/4 to 1/2 acre parcels. As with many downtown areas of the era, properties are primarily narrow and deep which allowed homes to be built closer to the commercial core without sacrificing lot size. While this facilitated the early homeowners’ ability to walk to the bank, general store, and post office at a time before automobiles became common, the setup now works extremely well for people looking to get away from our vehicle dependent lifestyles. The weekly Organic Farmer’s Market, summer concerts in the park, monthly Vintage Flea Market, and numerous excellent family-owned restaurants are all within easy walking distance for those who choose to walk.

Tustin is centrally located in Orange County, California, and is surrounded by diverse and abundant job opportunities. With such a fantastic economic location, an award-winning school district, year-round weather that never seems to be too hot or too cold, and quick access to snow-covered mountains and palm-lined beaches, Tustin attracts home buyers looking for big city convenience with a small town atmosphere.

Despite these excellent qualities, property values in Tustin remain 10% to 20% lower than in some of the “better known” surrounding communities and Old Town Tustin is no exception. Considering the superb architecture and excellent quality of life, Old Town Tustin is considered by many to be the best value for historic real estate among Southern California historic districts. With so much property diversity, buyers of all types can find the exact size property that they are looking for at a price that fits their budget and find excellent value within the highly desirable Orange County real estate market.

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