Two bridges spanning the Santa Ana River keeps Windsor Village North connected. The McFadden Avenue Bridge to the south and the West 1st Street Bridge on its northern borders connects the concrete banks of the river, as well as the residential areas and businesses in this community.
The bridges are indicative of Santa Ana’s Windsor Village North in several ways. Many things in this predominately Hispanic working-class neighborhood are brought together. In a place where most of the residents are Roman Catholic, the only religious center within its borders is a Buddhist meditation center.
This community also bridges charity and job opportunities to residents who either live in the massive mobile home parks in the north or the $300,000 tract homes in the south. One example is the largest facility in this neighborhood, Goodwill Computer Bank in an industrial park just north of West 1st Street. This facility is huge and is comprised of several buildings.
Next to the Goodwill facility on 1st Street is the Carpenters Joint Apprenticeship facility. Here, would-be carpenters learn the craft of building homes or buildings.
Windsor Village North is not just about work. Santa Anita Park near Harbor Boulevard, its western border, is the only park. While small as compared with those outside its borders, it is big enough for a soccer field and an Olympic-size community swimming pool.
And there is the Santa Ana River Trail, a bike and pedestrian trail that connects Windsor Village North with the rest of northern Orange County.