A Tremendous Afternoon in Anaheim!

Anaheim Historical Society - Citrus Celebration 2011 from Crescent Bay Films on Vimeo.

A round of applause to all who contributed to the success of Citrus Celebration, and a warm welcome to our many new AHS members who signed up this weekend.  Thank you for your pride in our amazing community.

And lastly, a tip of our hat to filmmaker Jason Garner for capturing the smiles and festivities on film!

Anaheim Historical Society on NPR!

CLICK HERE to listen to our interview with KPCC FM host Alex Cohen which aired today!

Meet Andy Anaheim!

With his ant-like antennae and Mickey Mouse-ish nose, Andy Anaheim was a quirky little cartoon character who became Anaheim's official mascot in 1953.  Perpetually smiling, Andy embodied the city's optimism during a period of incredible changes.  In fact, his whole body stood for Anaheim, literally, with a capital A!  

The original Andy Anaheim model sheet, drawn by the Walt Disney Studio, early 1954.

Andy belongs to the City of Anaheim's Chamber of Commerce, a generous gift from Walt Disney himself.  While Disneyland was in its early planning stages, City officials requested a special mascot - a character with a cheerful face to help ease and endorse Anaheim's growth from a quiet farming community into a booming vacation destination for the whole world.

Andy Anaheim helped promote scores of city programs and events.

The character was designed (by an uncredited artist) in the spirit of familiar cartoon advertising icons popular in America during that time.  Advertising characters sold everything from breakfast cereals to air lines, so why not put one to work representing an entire city?

"Follow Andy to downtown Anaheim!" 1957 visitors' brochure

 Anaheim's new slogan at the time was "America's Hub of Happiness" with Disneyland being, naturally, "the Happiest Place on Earth." It was hoped that the throngs of visitors lured to Disneyland from around the world each year would also spread their vacation dollars into Anaheim's downtown district, located just one mile north of the Park.  Brochures listing Anaheim's department stores, restaurants, movie theaters and churches were given to visitors checking into the hotels and motels that were popping up all around Walt Disney's vacation kingdom.

Anaheim Welcomes You.

With property values suddenly on the rise, most of Anaheim's citrus growers were enticed to "sell the farm".  Responding to the inpouring of new residents, suburbs of ranch-style homes and tract housing replaced the seemingly endless acres of Valencia oranges, lemons, and walnuts that had once defined Anaheim.  A brand new Anaheim with a new focus was underway.

Anaheim Chamber of Commerce stationery, 1955.

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"Andy Says" - Anaheim city newsletter, 1962

The Anaheim Bulletin, August 21, 1986

Anaheim's public image has evolved much, as can be charted by a lengthy string of mascots, logos and official slogans incorporated over the years.  But of them all, Andy Anaheim remains our favorite.  How can you not like him? Sure, we admit he's a little weird, but his unwavering positive attitude is a quality we admire in anyone.  For a job well done in lending his friendly face to a city that has always been challenging to define, we give Andy an 'A'.

The Shocking Truth About Anaheim Chiles!

Did you know...

Anaheim chiles actually originated in New Mexico.  According to pepper legend, around 1896, New Mexico rancher Emilio Ortega brought these chile seeds to Anaheim to plant and sell.  The mild green peppers adapted well to our Southern California soil and climate, and soon everyone was referring to Ortega's peppers as Anaheim chiles.  The name stuck, and here on the West Coast the Anaheim pepper rules the roost.

CITRUS CELEBRATION! Sept 24, 2011

CITRUS CELEBRATION
Saturday, September 24, 2011
2pm to 5pm
Founders' Park, 400 N. West Street, Anaheim, Calif.

Join the Anaheim Historical Society at the newly opened Founders' Park and celebrate the agricultural era for which Orange County is named.  Enjoy presentations by Jane Newell of the Anaheim Public Library's Heritage Services, Artist Kevin Kidney, and a preview of Anaheim's landmark Citrus Packing House project by Lab Holdings!   Plus old-fashioned orange soda & vanilla ice cream floats provided by Ruby's Diner, fresh-squeezed lemonade from Anaheim lemons, and free tours of the historic buildings at Founders' Park!

Admission to the event is free, and open to all ages.  BECOME A MEMBER of the ANAHEIM HISTORICAL SOCIETY during the event (or RENEW your existing membership) to be entered in our drawing for a free citrus tree courtesy of Anaheim TreePower!

See you there!

No Finer Place To Live

Brochure published by the Anaheim Chamber of Commerce,

early 1950s.

Art in Anaheim: Sculptor John Edward Svenson

"Child on a Dolphin", by John Edward Svenson (1970)

Near a busy sunlit intersection in Anaheim dominated by the sounds of traffic and occasional air-brake hiss of city busses, a young child is going for a joy ride with a trip of dolphins.  His arms outstretched like a rodeo bronc buster, the youth seems barely capable of keeping his seat, as the creatures slip over and below the waves of an imaginary sea.

The sculpture in 1970

John Edward Svenson's sculpture celebrating the joyful spirit of childhood has enhanced the southwest corner of Harbor Boulevard and Lincoln Avenue (one mile north of Disneyland) for over forty years.  The bronze cast was commissioned for Anaheim's Home Savings of America branch in 1970, to accompany Millard Sheets' brilliant tile mosaic depicting the early years of Anaheim history.  Through his association with the Sheets Studio from the 1950s through the early 1970s, Svenson produced more than twenty sculptures for Home Savings and the Ahmanson Corporation all over Southern California.

Plaster presentation model, 10" high.

1970, the original full-scale plaster pattern in Svenson's Studio.

Today.

Chase Bank now owns the building and the artwork, and sadly the reflecting fountain has become an unkempt planter with the addition of a scraggly bougainvillea and a large rock resting on the fountain's original nozzles.   Someone (probably well intentioned) placed plastic pots of flowers into the basin at some point, but the plants have long since died and dried up, and the pots have become just more litter among the trash tossed in by people passing by.  There is no apparent signature or credit given to the artist, who still lives and works today from his studio in Upland. (Perhaps John Svenson's name is buried somewhere beneath all that landscaping bark?)

A beautiful new book "Exploring Form: The Life and Sculpture of John Edward Svenson" by the artist's son David is now available and is an enjoyable way to become re-acquainted with Svenson's amazing body of work.  Wouldn't it be fantastic if Chase Bank would maintain Svenson's sculpture with the care and respect that it deserves?