Anaheim for the Urban Archeologist

Harlow's Service Station, 1930s
401 S. Los Angeles St, Anaheim

Whenever we find an old photograph of Anaheim that we haven't seen before, it's like discovering a map to buried treasure.  Photos are the keys to a lost world, letting us explore forgotten places right in our own neighborhood, hidden under layers of progress and development.  

Take, for instance, this recently unearthed image of Harlow's Service Station at the corner of Elm Street and Anaheim Blvd (then called Los Angeles Street).  In the late 1920s and '30s motorists stopped here to fill up on St. Helens Gasoline or to buy a quart of motor oil for 25¢, made of petroleum from the nearby Whittier oil fields.  The photo shows a quaint gas station built at an angle to the street, with hand-painted signage and glass-topped fuel pumps. 

But a good Urban Archeologist, ever in search of pieces to the puzzle of the past will look deeper into the details.  Behind the station runs Elm Street, lined with a row of old homes and buildings.  One of the houses particularly caught our attention-- a two story Victorian house with ornamental roof railing:

Does it look familiar?  It's the historic 1897 Rea House, the stately downtown home of sisters Kate and Ella Rea, after whom Katella Avenue is named.  The house was relocated in 2007 to its current location on Stueckle Avenue:

The Kate and Ella Rea House today.
 The decorative roof railing, removed decades ago, will be restored this year!

The Harlow's Service Station photo shows another building that has remained pretty much unchanged in  90 years, as well.  On the far right of the image, behind the St. Helens sign, is the back end of a brick building with a window.

That building survives today as the location for two popular restaurants, Punjabi Tandoor Indian Food and Lindo Michoacan Mexican Restaurant.  The row of houses has been replaced by a monstrous high-density residential complex, and the telephone lines have moved underground. 

The corner of Elm and Anaheim Blvd. today. 

Though it doesn't look very pretty at the moment, this area is about to be redeveloped for future use. The old lot itself was recently fenced off and many ideas are being discussed for this major parcel of historic Downtown Anaheim.  What would YOU like to see built here?

Look Up!

The gorgeous new embossed-tin ceiling is going up in the Good Food hall on Center Street today.

More Center Street Progress!

The busy folks at the LAB continue to enhance our historic downtown's Center Street Promenade. Currently, it's all in the details...

Column bases are shedding the marble veneer, and gaining traditional bricks.

Before and After

Starting with the new doors and windows on the Food Court facade, a more classic look and vibe are gradually taking over the street.

Stay tuned for further updates on the exciting changes happening in your Downtown.

Or even better, why don't you head over to Center Street in person and see for yourself? While you're there, treat yourself to a fresh-brewed iced tea at the K&A, or frozen yogurt at Swirls. You'll be glad you did!

Mobil Gas Station, Anaheim 1956

Can a gas station inspire awe? We think it can. This marvelous modern Mobil once adorned the intersection of Harbor and Katella, catty-corner from Disneyland's expansive parking lot. Its four exuberant canopies were arranged in a neat diamond pattern - each magically balanced on a single central support - and topped by a flying red Pegasus.

For these images, architects Whitney Smith and Wayne Williams enlisted the talents of their friend, famed photographer Julius Shulman. Shulman staged the photo on the spur of the moment, with a customer's red car and the wife of one of the architects, driving her own Austin-Healey convertible, with white gloves, in the foreground. Anaheim's ubiquitous orange trees, loaded with fruit, border the blacktop in the distance.

In his book Googie Redux, historian Alan Hess notes "This is another example of an established high-art architect who took the purpose and forms of roadside architecture seriously."

Fantastic, isn't it?

Julius Shulman was one of the leading architectural photographers of the 20th century, developing a close association with many Modernist architects. His work played a major role in crafting the perception of the "Southern California lifestyle" to the rest of the world during the 1950s and 1960s.

And here's where it was... in the bottom right corner of this 1958 aerial view.

Today the property is an empty lot surrounded by chain link fence.

Everything New is Old Again!

Hang on tight, here it comes!  The most exciting redevelopment project in Anaheim's history is underway, as our downtown's Center Street Promenade undergoes an extreme makeover.
Once home to historic buildings that have since been destroyed, the area will soon be inhabited with non-chain retail stores and restaurants that will bring a hip vibe to the area.

New windows (left) look older and more classic than the old ones (right).

The outdated Center Street, designed in the 1980s, is rapidly being re-imagined as a classic 1940s American downtown.   In the visual styling of this project, it's evident that old has become the new new. For example, the K&A Cafe facade is currently in the process of getting fresh windows and doors, which look convincingly as though they've been here for generations.  Antique-looking fold-out windows with panes of wavy hand-made glass are replacing the previous teal-framed ones - and the effect is stunning.

K&A's new interior, in progress.

Inside, the K&A is beginning to look like a whole new cafe.  Vintage "chicken wire tile" cover the floor, new chairs and tables are being brought in, subway tiles add texture to the back wall, and soon an embossed tin ceiling will be installed  "We're very excited about the changes," say K&A owners Kathy and Art Cervantes, who serve up sandwiches, tacos and pastries to the downtown lunch crowd.

K&A owner Art Cervantes (left) with AHS Vice President Kevin Kidney

Large window panels now fold open so diners can enjoy the weather as they eat, while the aromas of good food are carried out to passersby in the street.

Fresh-brewed iced tea and homemade cheese danish
at one of the new glass-topped "community tables".

 Luther Miller (right), Construction Project Manager for Center Street's redevelopment.

An undertaking this big obviously requires passionate and creative people. The Lab's Project Manager Luther Miller grew up visiting the old downtown Anaheim as a kid, and fondly remembers the city's sense of excitement and activity.  "Anaheim's downtown was king!" he recalls, "Back then the city had it all, and everyone came here." Miller is confident that the project will bring that good feeling back again. "Creating a timeless, appealing environment is just the first step.  Fortunately the buildings on this street have good bones!"

Exterior lighting fixtures, then and now!

Watch for further updates on the transformation of our historic downtown in the weeks ahead.

White Front, Anaheim 1961

When it comes to collecting photographs of mid-century America, just as the locals saw it through the lenses of their cameras, our friend Charles Phoenix is king. He has amassed a treasure trove of more than a million vintage Kodachrome slides, and his retro slide shows play to standing-room-only audiences across the country.

This colorful view of the White Front store, once located at 2222 S. Harbor Blvd, comes from Charles' book Southern Californialand (published by Angel City Press). Orange County's first "big box" discount chain store, White Front was the Target of its day.

*Get yourself a copy of Southern Californialand.

The Southland's Playground

A while back, we shared an image of the front of an old brochure from the Anaheim Chamber of Commerce. Our pal Chris Jepsen recently posted the brochure's interior fold-out map on his terrific OC History Roundup blog. The graphics are delightful! Thanks, Chris!

PS: You can also download a much higher-rez scan

of the map from Chris's flickr set by clicking here.