| Old Town Irvine | |
|---|---|
 Old Town Irvine | |
  Location within California | |
| 33°40′31″N 117°45′28″W / 33.675330555°N 117.7579111111°W | |
| Location | Irvine, California |
| History | |
| Built | 1887 |
| Designated | November 11, 1991 |
| Reference no. | 1004 |
Old Town Irvine was designated a California Historic Landmark (No.1004) on November 11, 1991. Old Town Irvine is in the city of Irvine, California in Orange County A Historic marker is at 14980 Sand Canyon Avenue, Irvine. The marker is to remember the foundation of the settlement of Irvine in 1887. Irvine started as a train stop for the Santa Fe Railroad in 1889, where a barley warehouse was built. At the time of founding, the settlement was called Myford, California. Myford was the youngest son of James H. Irvine, whom the town would be renamed after. James Irvine called the new town Myford, as at the time there was a City of Irvine in Calaveras County in Northern California. Myford was renamed Irvine in 1914, as the Northern California town changed its name to Carson Hill. The 125,000-acre Irvine Ranch was the largest employer in the town for years, a very busy place during harvest time. The town had a school, general store, blacksmith shop, diner, and a hotel for seasonal workers, all around Central Avenue and the train station. The Ranch lost its place as the center of town in the 1960s, with the housing boom and a new town center was built up. Irvine incorporated as a city in 1971. The old portions of Irvine, renamed East Irvine, had become run down. Much of the old Ranch in East Irvine was abandoned or taken down. Central Avenue was renamed Sand Canyon Ave, which became a main highway.
The 1980 plan to make Sand Canyon Avenue wider threatened some of the Historic Landmarks in Irvine. A Historic Preservation Committee was formed and the town worked to save Old Town Irvine. The City of Irvine working with the Sand Canyon Historical Partners and the Irvine Historical Society came up with a plan to reuse some of the old buildings. The J. Ray Construction Company converted the blacksmith shop into a restaurant (retaining much of its historic tools and machines as decor), the sorting house as retail space, and the granary into a hotel. Buildings originally located nearby were moved to the site, including the historic Irvine General Store.
