Lou Perry, of "Lou and Sue" fame, took the opportunity to walk around the streets near Disneyland to snap some photos of things that most people probably ignored, or saw as eyesores. Not Lou! He saw beauty even in a mundane hotel or motel.
First up is this shot along what I believe is the corner of West Street and Katella (looking along West St.), with the Princess Motel closest to us. I admit that I would have never taken this shot! How did Lou know it would be of interest nearly 40 years later? The high-rise in the distance is the Emerald Hotel, which was bought by Disney in 1995 and was renamed the Disneyland Pacific Hotel. Later it was rebranded as Disney's Paradise Pier Hotel. I think they used to hold Disneyana conventions at the Pacific Hotel, but I could be mistaken.
Just for fun, here's a vintage postcard for the Princess Motel!
Here's a Google street view, showing the Paradise Pier Hotel way it looks today. While I miss the old motels, I have to admit that the avenues of trees and parkways (the "Anaheim GardenWalk") is much more attractive.
The next four pictures feature the Anaheim Hilton over on Convention Way, the hotel was brand-spankin' new at that time.
Wikipedia says: The Hilton Anaheim is a hotel located in Anaheim, California, next to the Anaheim Convention Center. It originally opened as the Anaheim Hilton and Towers in 1984, in time for The Los Angeles Olympic Games. Hilton Anaheim is the largest hotel in Orange County and the second-largest hotel in all of Southern California with 1,572 guest rooms.
That's the Convention Center to our right - as you might recall, it looks like a spaceship. Meanwhile the Hilton "towers" are boring glass boxes, like generic office buildings. Snore!
And here's one final look at the glass boxes! Based on a Google search, the Hilton Anaheim has expanded considerably, it's enormous now. Business must be good.
THANKS to Lou and Sue!
Major-
ReplyDeleteAnaheim, seen here from a by-gone era. I've stayed at both the Emerald Hotel and the Anaheim Hilton - probably around the time when the images were taken.
Gotta love that postcard from the Princess Motel. If a Southern Belle could be a princess, I guess this is what she'd look like. That drawing is a classic, with its oversized automobiles, and vast expanses of asphalt.
Thanks to Lou & Sue.... and the Princess.
The postcard of the Princess Motel shows that it had one of those roofs with the white rock scattered all over it. Nothing says late '50s/early '60s like a white rock roof. A house we lived in for a couple years had one of those roofs.
ReplyDeleteIn the first Anaheim Hilton photo, that palm tree in the foreground looks especially primeval; I think it's that big bulging part of the trunk.
It really is weirdly uncanny that Lou had the foresight to chronicle Disneyland's surroundings before it all changed. I think he has a working time machine.
Thanks Lou. Thanks Sue. Thanks Major.
Major, you are correct about the location and direction of the view, in that first pic. We can even see the sign for the "Apollo Inn," which was one of several of Stovall's space-themed motels in the area. Part of the Disneyland Hotel's sign and glass elevator, are visible above the roof of the Apollo Inn.
ReplyDeleteI believe the Emerald Hotel was even the Pan-Pacific hotel for a while. I believe that name might have occurred after it was the "Emerald Hotel" and before it was "Disney's Pacific Hotel."
Is that another motel, wedged in between the Apollo Inn and the Princess Motel? The "Lamplighter" perhaps?
Here's a fun fact....sort of....for those who are into hidden Mickeys (which I am not). That Google street view that you provided was taken from the middle of a very large hidden Mickey, that can only be viewed from above:
https://www.google.com/maps/search/disneyland/@33.8050568,-117.9237655,146m/data=!3m1!1e3
- Tokyo (Turkey) Meatballs!
I forgot to thank Lou and Sue, and Major, too!!!
ReplyDeleteIt looks like Lou was standing in the same spot, when he took the last image, and the third to last image. He was just facing slightly different directions for each shot. Google street view won't let me into the hotel's parking lot to get the exact same angles, but here's a view from just outside the parking lot, showing both structures:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.google.com/maps/@33.8019458,-117.9174275,3a,75y,155.12h,104.52t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s0FurweMaX82qEXoCcdJcoA!2e0!7i16384!8i8192
I wonder if the Hilton's glass towers weren't quite finished when Lou took these pics. There does appear to be a huge dumpster (filled with construction materials?) next to the parking structure. Also, there doesn't appear to be too many cars in the structure. The other reason I'm wondering if it wasn't completed yet, is because I believe the older "Hilton at the Park" tower became the "Inn at the Park" hotel around this time. It later became the WestCoast Anaheim Hotel, and it is now a Sheraton. The front of the hotel (facing Harbor Blvd.) used to have a wonderful mid-century modern "smaller version" of the Anaheim Convention Center dome. It was built over the driveway in front of the hotel, and cars could drive underneath it. They demolished it about 15 years ago. Why? Because they ruin everything, I tell ya!
This is my last comment tonight! I promise!
ReplyDeleteHere's a great view of the other side of the old "Hilton at the Park" tower, when it was the "Royal Inn." This is the side facing Harbor Blvd., and shows the dome that I was talking about. The real Anaheim Convention Center dome can be seen in the background, peeking up over the roof of the hotel. I knew a couple who worked at the hotel, at the time they tore the dome down. I asked them why it was done and they said it was just an attempt to "modernize" the hotel under the new ownership. Progress sucks!
Royal Inn/Hilton at the Park dome
There should've been a Mr. Toad Motel. :-)
ReplyDeleteAh, the Princess Motel, snuggled into a pine forest wilderness with the mountains just beyond - possibly the most accurate promotional art I have ever seen. BTW - if your if the needle on your sarcasmometer didn’t just peg in the red, you probably need to have it recalibrated. Or maybe just change the battery. No - point the negative end towards the spring. The end with the minus printed on it. What do you mean you’ve never noticed that before??!!
ReplyDeleteTM!, you are correct - that is the Lamplighter between the Apollo and the Princess. It must have been carved out of that pine forest wilderness by early pioneers some time after Fort Princess was settled.
One of the most interesting things about what Lou has done with these photos is that if you didn’t know Disneyland was just out of frame, you wouldn’t have any idea that Disneyland was just out of frame. Of course, I guess that concept (you don’t know what’s just. Out of frame) applies for just about every photo that has ever been taken, so maybe it’s not so interesting after all. I think I may need a second cup of decaf.
In the first photo, is that white, blocky building with all of the window-unit air conditioners the back side of the Apollo? It looks an awful lot like the temporary office structures I’ve seen at many a military installation, although it looks a bit big to me for construction site offices. The Emerald did open in 1984, so I guess it could be for that.
In the penultimate photo note the 1984 LA Olympics flag next to the US Flag. There’s also some other obscure flag flying there with what appears to be a bear and a red star on it. Odd when you think about it since the USSR boycotted those Olympic games.
Thanks again to the Other Dream Team!
Major, Lou and Sue, thanks so much for the “Street View” pics, I love these.
ReplyDeleteShows the evolution of the lodging ecosphere around the Park.
Turkey Meatballs has already provided analysis and context for the pics, I can add a little more.
I once helped push a stalled car across the intersection in photo 1. Young lady’s car was on the Fritz and we pushed her into the parking lot of the business on the southwest corner. Those streets feel very wide when doing this.
Agreeing with TM, the beige Hilton was re-flagged to another brand, not incorporated into the green glass behemoth.
I have stayed in the green glass Hilton several times, did so on my last solo trip. It is the Convention Hotel, closest to everything and many of my events have been in it or in the main buildings. It’s a nice hotel for that purpose. Some rooms face the Park and are high enough to view the fireworks over the intervening buildings, those go for a premium. Business is good, Major. Having Disneyland as a draw is a great incentive for groups to Convene in Anaheim.
The spaceship building and the narrow walk between it and the main building served as Starfleet HQ in the recent “Picard” series. The CC is a very nice design and lends hope that future will not be all beige plaster.
I love the Princess rendering and the artful entourage. I bet that was cranked out in a day before the meeting, or even traced from the one done in the same style for the Magic Lamp around the corner.
White rock roof! YES! JB, the clear emblem of Motel Modern, now is sadly a code violation, because They Ruin Everything.
JG
Nanook, I wish there were more fun Anaheim motel postcards like the “Princess” version - I can only think of one other. The oversized autos are pretty great!
ReplyDeleteJB, I’ve always thought that those “white rock” roofs were weird, they seem less common than they used to be. I really am amazed at the things that Lou thought to photograph, and also think about all the things that I WISH that I had had the foresight to take pictures of.
TokyoMagic!, yes, there were a lot of motels crammed into that one relatively small block. No shortage of places to stay, and you could walk to the park if you were not worried about getting tired later. I love those Stovall’s space-themed motels, imagine how popular they would be if they still existed and were well maintained! I’d want to stay at one of them. Thanks for the hidden Mickey link!
TokyoMagic!, that Lou, always facing different directions. Make up your mind like I do, and keep facing the same direction all the time! Thank link to the hotel parking lot makes me think of a large hospital. I noticed the dumpster, and thought that it was possible that there was still some construction going on, but also considered that this might have been one of those “off season” photos when there just weren’t that many people at the park. You’re probably right though! Wow, I didn’t know about that smaller version of the convention center dome, I’m bummed that they tore it down!
TokyoMagic!, thank you for the picture link. It’s SO odd how they tend to tear down the stuff that is the most fun or interesting, always veering towards bland conformity. They sure did modernize the hotel, congratulations, dummies!
Andrew, yes, in an authentic Tudor style!
Chuck, see that link to the postcard for the Waikiki Motel that I posted in Nanook’s comment! Disneyland is surrounded by farmland and low mountains. No sign of Fort Princess yet. Now that I’m thinking about it, I’m kind of fascinated by the names and concepts behind many of those near-Disneyland motels. Of course it was the most fun when they went full “theme motel”, I guess that fell out of favor, though I don’t know if it fell out of favor with guests or with the motel owners. My guess is the latter. You make a good point about the “out of frame” thing! I would guess that the white blocky structure IS part of the Apollo… not exactly a thing of beauty, but those Stovall’s motels did tend to go crazy with the interior decor. The flag with the bear and the rest star… we all know that California is full of commies!
JG, whoa, you were definitely a good samaritan when you helped to push that car across that intersection! I would have just sat there honking my horn. When you think about it, that’s a special way of helping. Quite a while I knew someone who liked to stay at the Hilton, but they always made a point to mention that it was too far to walk to the park. What if I like being exhausted before I even get to the front gates? Huh? What if I like that? Hilarious that they used that one building in “Picard”. I’ve been to a water treatment plant in Van Nuys that is also a beautiful Japanese water garden, that appeared in the old TNG show at least once. So those white rock roofs are now verboten? I wonder why?
For me, 1984 was the last great year of Disneyland. After that, Disney went for outside IPs and the park's personality changed forever.
ReplyDeleteI've stayed at a lot of hotels/motels in Anaheim, but non featured here today. Never cared for the architecture of the Emerald/Paradise Pier Hotel or Hilton Anaheim. Now that DCA's Paradise Pier has been transformed into Pixar Pier, I'm surprised they didn't change the hotel to reflect Pixar Pier and rename it Pixar Pier Hotel. For Disney being so IP-minded, it's a no-brainer.
Thanks, Lou and Sue! Always great photos and a special treat. Thank you too, Major.
I remember staying at that fancy Hilton for a convention back in 1998..and taking an early leave to walk through the Katella Gate and the Parking Lot to get an admission to the Park for the afternoon and evening. Those were the days. KS
ReplyDeleteOld close-to-Diseyland motel photos take me back to my childhood. Since we lived so close to the Park we never stayed at those motels. But with names like the Space Age Motel, the Peter Pan Motor Lodge, the Magic Lamp Motel, the Candy Cane Motel and the Cosmic Age Motel what kid couldn't envision them as magical places to stay.
ReplyDeleteI love how the Princes Motel sign on post card advertises both "Room Phones" AND "TV". Wow!
Thanks L&S&M
Grant (I couldn't think of a clever Thanksgiving name but I guess being a direct descendant of Pilgrims means I don't need one. LOL)
TM! ("Tryptophan Man!") - thank you for attaching the links - especially that hidden Mickey one. I like it!
ReplyDeleteAndrew, I like the idea of a Mr. Toad Motel! I'm not sure if you mean an adult version resembling something like THIS,...or a smaller version like THIS. Either way, I like 'em both.
Thank you, all, for sharing your stories about these hotels/motels...as always, you folks make these pictures 'come to life' for me. Thank you, too, Major.
Thanks a lot, Chuck... I just spent an hour wiping the drip, drip, drip of sarcasm off my keyboard... AGAIN! (So funny, about the pine forest wilderness and mountains.)
ReplyDeleteThanks Lou and Sue for these memories... a lot came back, including my car needing to be pushed through that intersection into that gas station!!...if you pushed a '68 Red Firebird...that was me! I loved that car, but when it got hot, and then rested, it didn't want to go anymore. All of those motels were a little low rent for this snob, but as a kid I PINED to stay in them, and had them mail me all of their brochures. Wish I would have saved those. The motels later became a place for other "businesses" to "operate". I talked about that in a previous post. The worlds oldest profession was alive and well and living in Anaheim. We punks called it Ana-slime, even the ones that lived there. 18 year olds are brats :) I liked Anaheim, and it had lots of attributes like the old Belisle's restaurant...which I suppose is technically in Garden Grove which we called Garbage Grove...like I said we were punks... Belisle's had out of control largest eclairs and pies you have ever seen in your life. It had a sad ending, but it was a fun place to go after work. I was offered a job at that shiny glass Hilton when it was brand new: Bell Captain. I had never been in that end of the hospitality business, and the job didn't make much sense to me, so I passed. I stayed at the Inn at the Park before I worked across the street at the mouse house- Wrather had taken it over and they sent the DLH overflow over there. The room did have a nice view of the parking lot and park, but it was not a particularly nice hotel. The restaurant was strange...it was a Wild West Theme with curtains, and brass railings, and bar maids with super short skirts...I think even velvet wall paper...it was a lot of THEME (bold letters), but had good steaks. The Hilton is where the people wanting a more adult/professional hotel experience stayed. I went to a wedding at the Emerald Hotel and I think I must have stayed there as well...I just don't remember it. It was a nice hotel as it was new, It probably didn't weather the storm too well after that, and now I'm sure it's all too fabulous for itself. Another fun fact is Disneyland owned, among other things, the Heidi Motel on Katella. And, since my dept. was non-union I actually worked there for a few shifts. It was way weird, and weird people came to Anaheim in the '80's. The place did not have a hint of Disneyland anywhere, and you would never know the connection, other than the daily check in's by DL security. Disneyland wanted the land, but kept the hotel in operation. And since the agreement with Jack Wrather was that Disneyland could not go into the hotel business, if Jack did not go into the theme park business...there ya have it: "Heidi Motel". Chuck, a DL employee ran and lived in the hotel with his wife told me the story. The story of the Heidi motel (yes, there is a story) is that Anaheim did attract a fair amount of Germans (Anaheim...a german name) so, whoever first built the Heidi Motel capitalized on that and named the motel "Heidi". Disneyland owned it for a very very long time, since the 60's I think and it was shrouded in somewhat secrecy. Very low key for obvious reasons. The property along the parking lot sides were especially valuable. The tawdriness of Katella, West, Ball and Harbor I now look at as nostalgic and kitschy, and those iconic theme motels were part of the excitement of the "approach" into the parking lot, where after you crossed 1313 Harbor, you saw manicured bushes, fresh paint, and clean design, clean cut Californians taking your .50 to park...etc. Thanks for the memories, and thanks to whomever pushed be through Katella and West that hot day in 1980-something. BTW: after my car cooled down, it started right back up again, and I drove home as usual.
ReplyDeleteMajor, the young lady was stalled out and people were honking at her, as if she didn’t know already that her car wouldn’t go. I was walking from the Hilton up to Trader Sam’s for a tiki drink, and ran out with another pedestrian to help push her across. Just took a minute and kept traffic moving, and maybe her from getting hurt. She was definitely not Bu, as the car was a little Nissan or similar subcompact.
ReplyDeleteThe Hilton is a long walk from the Front Gate, but it’s manageable for adults. Not feasible for kids or the elderly, as I am rapidly becoming.
I am familiar with the Van Nuys building you mention, I think it won a design award when it was new. Star Trek TNG filmed a couple of episodes there.
The Original series (Kirk and Spock) filmed a couple of episode exteriors at TRW corporate HQ, but I’m not sure where that was. I’m sure it’s been modernized out of recognition by now.
Commercial roofs in California since 2007 have had to be “cool roofs” reflecting heat etc. for energy savings. Qualifying requires special testing. The old rock roofs are “commodity products”, no one owns the generic materials, so no tests are available, so the rocks can’t be used. No one is going to pay five figures plus for a one-off test, so the fashion is come to an end.
Grant, Bu, LOL.
JG
K. Martinez, there really is something fundamental about the addition of properties that aren’t Disney. It’s not that they aren’t good rides, but it changes the whole feel of the park. Yes, DIsney owns Lucasfilm and the Muppets, that’s good enough for some fans. I want a true “Disney” land! Maybe that makes me a grumpy old fart, I don’t care. I’m not wild about the architecture of the Paradise Pier Hotel, but for the most part I don’t really care about the hotels - that’s just me. As long as a place is clean and reasonably comfortable, I’m happy.
ReplyDeleteKS, ha ha, I’ll bet you think “Those were the days” (regarding Disneyland) a LOT!
Grant, the one time my family did a 2-day park visit, we stayed at a motel that turned out to be rather dumpy. I don’t even remember what it was called, but it wasn’t really in walking distance. All of the motels that you mentioned do seem to have a special appeal, they knew what they were doing when they chose those names and themes! If the Princes Motel mentioned “Magic Fingers” I would never leave!
Lou and Sue, man, you guys are a never-ending font of nicknames. Maybe I misunderstood Andrew, I didn’t think he actually wanted to stay IN a toad!! :-D It sounds slimy.
JB, I recommend windex and a Shamwow.
Bu, oh boy, a ’68 Firebird, nice! Or not nice, since it konked out it the intersection? I know that the motels were tacky and kitschy, but look at them! So fun! And my needs are simple, I don’t need the Presidential suite. Give me a clean, comfortable room, hopefully reasonably quiet, with a good shower, and I will be happy. I’ve heard about the ladies of the evening near Disneyland, they must still be around? Wherever there’s people, there will be sellers and customers of the world’s oldest profession. Bell Captain, maybe you would have been given epaulets to wear! Or a sash! I’m almost positive that I attended a few NFFC (National Fun and Fantasy Club) Disneyana shows at the Emerald Hotel, I still remember buying a few items, some from our old friend Matterhorn1959. Hope you are well, Matterhorn! I didn’t know that Disney owned one (or more?) of those little motels, that’s amazing. Now I wonder if they owned several? So when you thought you were getting a deal by not giving money to Disney, it turns out that you were anyway. I agree that the strip of motels, while tacky and cluttered, would have probably been an exciting hint that we were getting SO CLOSE.
JG, oh I have no doubt that the young lady was in need. But come on, it’s much more fun to honk your horn! (joking). You did a nice thing for someone in need. If you were walking to Trader Sam’s, this happened much more recently than I originally thought. If I visited the park regularly (like, monthly or even more) I might be OK with walking a long way to the park, just to get those extra steps in. But in spite of the hub design, I think most guests walk plenty during a long day! That water treatment plant is amazingly pretty, it is worth a visit. No, it doesn’t smell bad. Thanks for the explanation about the white rock roofs, I guess someday they will all be gone.
Major, that Waikiki Motel rendering is awesome, I love the Disneyland details in the background. Even the beloved Moonliner is just barely visible above the trees. Much of the picture may be stretching the truth, but the artist knew his or her Disneyland geography!
ReplyDeleteJB, you are most welcome.
Bu, for a second I thought you were addressing me, but I guess the DL employee who ran the Heidi Motel with his wife was named Chuck, too. Must have been a swell guy.
Chuck, What's funny is, as I was reading your description of the (not so) subtle deception depicted in the postcard, plus your mention of the word 'pine', I immediately started thinking of the Monty Python skit with the pet shop; which also involved deception. All that was missing was the mention of a Norwegian Blue parrot "pinin' for the fjords".
ReplyDelete@ Bu-
ReplyDeleteBelisle's-! I haven't thought about that place in forever. I ate there many a time. In 1995 Charlotte Belisle published a book entitled: "The Story of the World Famous" Belisle's - 1955-1995. It's a sweet little remembrance of the restaurant, which you just reminded of - so tomorrow, I will have to look thru the book again to rekindle some good memories. Thanks.
Late post, if anyone is interested.
ReplyDeleteHere is a link to a site with a number of motel postcards, including several mentioned in this post.
https://www.synthetrix.com/apc/potp.html
JG
I was part of the group of original Bartenders at the Emerald of Anaheim 1984
ReplyDelete