We Want To Be LIKED By You!

…on FACEBOOK, of course! 

The Anaheim Historical Society Facebook Page is a happening place right now, with over three hundred fans swapping stories, photographs, and memories of our world-famous hometown.  


Anaheim is like no other city on Earth, visited by an estimated 45 million people every year, and yet it has retained a “small town” vibe in many ways.  Always evolving, Anaheim has countless stories to tell-- from its early pioneer days as a German settlement producing wine and beer, to the arrival of Disneyland which transformed our landscape forever. 


Romantic, homespun, quirky, sometimes tumultuous, and frequently over-the-top, the story of Anaheim is classic Americana.  


Come “like” us today and add your voice to the story!

Historical Anaheim Outdoor Antique Flea Market

Center Street Promenade, Downtown Anaheim

Every 4th Sunday of the Month 

OPENING DAY MARCH 25, 2012

Exclusive Vintage Market

Free Admission & Parking

Minutes from Disneyland

Between the 91 & 5 Freeways

More information (or if you'd like to be a vendor) visit Heirloomology.tumblr.com

Farmland vs. Fantasyland, 1955

Orange trees and a row of fully-grown eucalyptus trees on the outskirts of Disneyland during the autumn of the park's opening year.

Today, the orange grove is gone, but amazingly those eucalyptus trees have survived.  You can see them today as you face the Storybook Land attraction.  The trees were planted over a hundred years ago by Anaheim farmers as a windbreak to their property line.

This Saturday Night! Anaheim Art Crawl!!!

So, what’s coming up next? 

“ACE” Art Crawl Experience on the Center Street Promenade.

February 11, 2012, 6PM to 10PM. Art, Crafts, Live Music, Food and a chance to preview some of the improvements being made to Center Street.  Stop by for a famous Anaheim Beer in the beer garden at the Good Food Hall, hosted by the Anaheim Historical Society-- and your friends can join the AHS!

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!