Santa Ana’s Main Public Library is reopening, following a two-year closure to complete what the city has called the “largest renovation” of the historic facility since it first opened in 1960.
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The renovations to the main public library branch, a roughly 39,790-square-foot building with two floors and a below-grade basement, cost approximately $34 million, according to city officials.
A ribbon-cutting ceremony and grand reopening was held early Saturday afternoon, Oct. 24, which included live music and dance performances, a magic show, and an opportunity for Santa Ana residents to enjoy the new facilities now available. Upgrades will enhance access to library resources, city officials said, and provide free and interactive spaces for children, teens, and their families.
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Bethany Moreno, 5, and Luke Moreno, 8, of Santa Ana play with rotating character blocks in the new interactive children’s learning area of the Santa Ana Main Library during a grand re-opening celebration of the newly refurbished library in Santa Ana on Saturday, October 24, 2026. (Photo by Jeff Antenore, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Santa Ana residents Daniel Garcia and Karina Martin fill out applications for Santa Ana library cards, while their daughter, Valeria Garcia, 8 months, looks on during a grand re-opening of the newly refurbished Santa Ana Main Library in Downtown Santa Ana on Saturday, October 24, 2026. (Photo by Jeff Antenore, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Brian Sternberg, Executive Director of Library Services for the City of Santa Ana, gives a brief history of the Santa Ana Main Library, which opened in 1956, calling it “a symbol of civic pride, education and public service,” as he welcomed visitors during a ribbon cutting ceremony for the newly refurbished library in Santa Ana on Saturday, October 24, 2026. (Photo by Jeff Antenore, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Kids climb inside a play structure behind the newly renovated Santa Ana Main Library during a grand re-opening event in Downtown Santa Ana on Saturday, October 24, 2026. (Photo by Jeff Antenore, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Adilene Mojica of Santa Ana and her daughter, Leila Mojica, 9, browse for books in the young readers section at the Santa Ana Main Library during a grand re-opening of the library in Downtown Santa Ana on Saturday, October 24, 2026. (Photo by Jeff Antenore, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Santa Ana Mayor Valerie Amezcua and Executive Director of Library Services Brian Sternberg are joined by city council members and a group of kids as they officially cut a ribbon to re-open the Santa Ana Main Library following a $34 million renovation in Santa Ana on Saturday, October 24, 2026. (Photo by Jeff Antenore, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Santa Ana Mayor Valerie Amezcua welcomes guests to a ribbon cutting ceremony for the newly renovated Santa Ana Main Library in Downtown Santa Ana on Saturday, October 24, 2026. (Photo by Jeff Antenore, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Dozens of residents flood through the entrance to the Santa Ana Main Library following a ribbon cutting ceremony that officially re-opened the library after a $34 million renovation project in Santa Ana on Saturday, October 24, 2026. (Photo by Jeff Antenore, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Santa Ana Mayor Pro Tem David Penaloza speaks during a ribbon cutting ceremony for the Santa Ana Main Library following a $34 million renovation project, thanking the state and federal officials who made the funding possible, in Santa Ana on Saturday, October 24, 2026. (Photo by Jeff Antenore, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Residents browse bookshelves in the main hall of the Santa Ana Main Library following a ribbon cutting ceremony that officially re-opened the historic, downtown library after a $34 million renovation project in Santa Ana on Saturday, October 24, 2026. (Photo by Jeff Antenore, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Santa Ana City Councilmember Thai Viet Phan demonstrates one of the reading nooks in the new interactive children’s learning area of the Santa Ana Main Library during a grand re-opening celebration following a $34 million restoration of the library in Santa Ana on Saturday, October 24, 2026. (Photo by Jeff Antenore, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Arthur Edgerton, 1, of Santa Ana walks though a kid-sized portal in the new interactive children’s learning area of the Santa Ana Main Library during a grand re-opening celebration following a $34 million restoration of the library in Santa Ana on Saturday, October 24, 2026. (Photo by Jeff Antenore, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Santa Ana City Councilmember Benjamin Vazquez speaks during a ribbon cutting ceremony for the Santa Ana Main Library following a $34 million renovation project in Santa Ana on Saturday, October 24, 2026. (Photo by Jeff Antenore, Orange County Register/SCNG)
David Lopez of Fullerton, and his daughter, Hannah Lopez, 1, play with moving gears in the new interactive children’s learning area of the Santa Ana Main Library during a grand re-opening celebration of the newly refurbished library in Santa Ana on Saturday, October 24, 2026. (Photo by Jeff Antenore, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Residents browse bookshelves in the main hall of the Santa Ana Main Library following a ribbon cutting ceremony that officially re-opened the historic, downtown library after a $34 million renovation project in Santa Ana on Saturday, October 24, 2026. (Photo by Jeff Antenore, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Santa Ana City Councilmember Phil Bacerra speaks during a ribbon cutting ceremony for the Santa Ana Main Library following a $34 million renovation project in Santa Ana on Saturday, October 24, 2026. (Photo by Jeff Antenore, Orange County Register/SCNG)
The Desperados perform on the patio of the Santa Ana Main Library during a ribbon cutting ceremony to re-open the library following a $34 million renovation of the library in Santa Ana on Saturday, October 24, 2026. (Photo by Jeff Antenore, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Congressman Lou Correa holds up his new Santa Ana library card as he speaks during a ribbon cutting ceremony for the Santa Ana Main Library following a $34 million renovation project in Santa Ana on Saturday, October 24, 2026. (Photo by Jeff Antenore, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Residents sign up for library cards at the front desk of the Santa Ana Main Library following a ribbon cutting ceremony that officially re-opened the historic, downtown library after a $34 million renovation project in Santa Ana on Saturday, October 24, 2026. (Photo by Jeff Antenore, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Santa Ana City Councilmember Johnathan Ryan Hernandez, who represents Ward 5, speaks during a ribbon cutting ceremony for the Santa Ana Main Library following a $34 million renovation project in Santa Ana on Saturday, October 24, 2026. (Photo by Jeff Antenore, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Santa Ana City Councilmember Jessie Lopez speaks during a ribbon cutting ceremony for the Santa Ana Main Library following a $34 million renovation project in Santa Ana on Saturday, October 24, 2026. (Photo by Jeff Antenore, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Dozens of residents flood through the entrance to the Santa Ana Main Library following a ribbon cutting ceremony that officially re-opened the library after a $34 million renovation project in Santa Ana on Saturday, October 24, 2026. (Photo by Jeff Antenore, Orange County Register/SCNG)
State Senator Tom Umberg speaks during a ribbon cutting ceremony for the Santa Ana Main Library following a $34 million renovation project in Santa Ana on Saturday, October 24, 2026. (Photo by Jeff Antenore, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Residents browse bookshelves in the main hall of the Santa Ana Main Library following a ribbon cutting ceremony that officially re-opened the historic, downtown library after a $34 million renovation project in Santa Ana on Saturday, October 24, 2026. (Photo by Jeff Antenore, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Abbit the Average performs magic tricks for kids in a room at the newly refurbished Santa Ana Main Library following a ribbon cutting ceremony in Santa Ana on Saturday, October 24, 2026. (Photo by Jeff Antenore, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Santa Ana City Councilmember Thai Viet Phan speaks during a ribbon cutting ceremony for the Santa Ana Main Library following a $34 million renovation project, encouraging visitors to sign up for library cards, in Santa Ana on Saturday, October 24, 2026. (Photo by Jeff Antenore, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Dozens of residents flood through the entrance to the Santa Ana Main Library following a ribbon cutting ceremony that officially re-opened the library after a $34 million renovation project in Santa Ana on Saturday, October 24, 2026. (Photo by Jeff Antenore, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Bethany Moreno, 5, and Luke Moreno, 8, of Santa Ana play with rotating character blocks in the new interactive children’s learning area of the Santa Ana Main Library during a grand re-opening celebration of the newly refurbished library in Santa Ana on Saturday, October 24, 2026. (Photo by Jeff Antenore, Orange County Register/SCNG)
ExpandRenovations include modernization and improvements to library facilities, ranging from a new children’s interactive learning area, an improved and reimagined Teen and Maker Space to a reimagined east patio with amphitheater seating and reading areas, an enhanced and expanded History Room, restoration of the Italian marble façade, and upgraded building mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems.
City officials said the work is part of a larger reinvestment into Santa Ana’s library system, including upgrades to the Newhope Library that opened earlier this summer. The city has also funded the opening of two new library branches — one in Delhi and the Outdoor Library at Jerome Park.
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