OCREGISTER.COM/ANAHEIM

ANAHEIM BULLETINServing the Anaheim and Anaheim Hills communities since 1923 AN EDITION OF

The owner of the Howard John-son Anaheim Hotel and Water Play-ground wants to build a similar fam-ily-oriented form of lodging onproperty he owns right across thestreet.

Property owner Jim Edmondsonsubmitted an application to the citythat calls for building a six-story,221-room Courtyard by Marriott at1415 S. Manchester Ave., betweenthe Disneyland Resort and I-5, according to the Anaheim PlanningDepartment.

The proposed all-suite hotel,sitting on 3 acres, would have aguest dining facility and a largeswimming pool with water slides,said Sheri Vander Dussen, Ana-heim’s planning director. Construc-

tion could begin by the end of theyear, pending approval this summerby the city’s Planning Commission.

Edmondson did not return phonecalls seeking comment.

He is not asking the city for a taxsubsidy to finance the project, Van-der Dussen said. City officials are inthe process of crafting a new, possible subsidy for the developerof two hotels proposed for TheShops at Anaheim GardenWalk.

Earlier this year, the PlanningCommission approved the con-struction of two hotels on HarborBoulevard and Katella Avenue:Crews are expected to breakground within the year on a HyattHouse equipped with 252 rooms; it’sunclear when construction will be-gin on a 172-room Springhill Suitesby Marriott across Harbor.

Land owner proposesCourtyard by MarriottBY ART MARROQUINORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

Trevor Kelly has beenbanned from ever working atDisneyland, or any park con-tracted with Mickey Mouseor Donald Duck or IndianaJones, for that matter.

The story behind why hecan’t work there any moreseems right out of a Disneyscrewball comedy starringDean Jones. Following a sto-ried tradition of employeespulling pranks on their finalday at work, Kelly, dressed asIndiana Jones, stole the mag-ic lamp during a performanceof the musical “Aladdin” –halting the show at the hap-piest place on earth.

Kelly was a skipper on Dis-neyland’s Jungle Cruise, apopular ride featuring awacky group of “captains”with a penchant for puns anda drive for growing skills be-yond their narration on thefake river with the mech-anized wildlife that fill theirdays. Skippers have gone onto start movie studios, winOscars and perform at theComedy Store.

A couple of times a year,Kelly and other alums per-form the “Skipper Show,”cracking wise with their ownstand-up routines.

Like Kelly’s flamboyant ex-

It’s a jungle out there, but a funny one

BY RON SYLVESTER ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

Disneyland’s Jungle Cruise skippershone stand-up skills on the job.

MARK EADES, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

Kip Hart, a Jungle Cruise skipperand stand-up comic, performs Fri-day at the “Skipper Show.”

SEE SKIPPERS ● PAGE 1 6

THURSDAY, MAY 9, 20 1 3 OCREGISTER.COM/ANAHEIM

Despite decades of

neglect at the aban-

doned Anaheim Ci-

trus Packing House,

architect James Wilson

saw a set of bare

bones that gave

him the vision to

revive one of the

region’s last exam-

ples of Mission Re-

vival design.

The ware-

house’s hollow clay

tile exterior was intact but

needed to be shored up so

it wouldn’t crumble during

an earthquake. Natural

light shined through win-

dows lining the original

saw-tooth roof, bouncing

off maple floors.

The most dramatic fea-

tures, Wilson said, were

the exposed wood trusses

crisscrossing the ceiling,

later augmented

with steel to en-

sure support.

Wilson was

hired to tackle the

fixer-upper short-

ly after city offi-

cials purchased

the building at

Anaheim Boule-

vard and Santa Ana Street

in 2000 in hopes of con-

verting it into a retail and

dining hub. More than a

PHOTOS: MARK RIGHTMIRE,

ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

The Packing Houseis an example ofMission Revival architecture.NEW SPACE

TO PACKA renovated Packing House will offereateries and places to shop, part of a

downtown revitalization effort.

BY ART MARROQUINORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

SEE PROJECT ● PAGE 4

A palm tree is reflected in the dramatic frontdoor of the Packing House.

A dining area on the side of the building is con-structed from two flatbed rail cars.

Plants and fencing surround an outdoor fire-place at the Packing House.

The interior of the building features plenty ofnatural light and exposed wood trusses.

“If you can’tfind reuse for

historicbuildings, then

they just goaway.”J A M E S

W I L S O N

T H I R T I E T H

S T R E E T

A R C H I T E C T S

SEC: Community_Broadsheet DT: 05-09-2013 ZN: Anaheim_E ED: 1 PG #: 1 PG: Cover BY: kmohr TI: 05-07-2013 16:09 CLR: CMYK

4 ANAHEIM BULLETIN THURSDAY, MAY 9, 20 1 3FROM PAGE 1

dozen years later, an end is fi-nally in sight.

“If you can’t find reuse forhistoric buildings, then theyjust go away,” said Wilson ofThirtieth Street Architects. “Ifeel that the heritage of a com-munity is important, so I’mvery excited and happy aboutthis.”

Finishing touches are beingmade to the Packing House,scheduled to open this fallwith more than 20 boutiquesand artisan food booths.About 85 percent of the ven-dor space is leased out, but de-tails won’t be released for an-other month, said developerShaheen Sadeghi, CEO ofLAB Holding.

New tenants are lining uppermits and examining therenovated space, which calledfor cutting into the woodfloors on the ground level sothat a staircase could be builtto the basement as a way tocreate a connected, giant din-ing and shopping hall.

Long communal dining ta-bles will be scattered insidethe building and on an out-door terrace that sits atoptwo flatbed rail cars found ineast Anaheim.

“It’s exciting to think thatthe building was originallyused to deliver citrus prod-ucts that people ate, and nowwe can come back in 2013 andrepurpose it as a place thatwill serve great food,” said Sa-deghi, who also oversaw rede-velopment of the PackardBuilding and the CenterStreet Promenade as part of alarger effort to revitalizedowntown Anaheim.

City officials have spent$10.4 million to purchase andredevelop the 3 acres encom-passing the Packing House,the Packard Building andcrafting the new FarmersPark. The entire project wasfunded by redevelopment-re-lated funds, said city spokes-woman Ruth Ruiz.

Farmers Park, set to openJune 29, will serve as a vitalconnection between the Pack-ing House and the PackardBuilding. A forest of newlyplanted olive trees sits in onecorner while Valencia orangetrees sprout throughout thesmall park, designed by land-scape architect Ken Smith ofWorkshop West.

Concrete benches emergefrom a grass berm to create asmall amphitheater for per-formances. An outdoor fire-place sits at the rear of thePacking House. The local eat-eries will be able to make useof a community garden thatwill grow beans, beets, cornand – naturally – Anaheimchile peppers.

Smith said he is particular-ly proud of a redwood board-walk shaded by metal awn-ings, and he hopes that thespace will be used as a farm-ers market.

“It was nothing but derelictasphalt when I got here threeyears ago,” Smith said, gazingat the new park.

“We tried very hard not tobe Disneyland; we wanted tobe downtown Anaheim,”Smith said. “That meant us-

ing metal, wood and other ma-terials you find in old industri-al buildings and crafting it in away that made people feelcomfortable.”

The Anaheim Citrus Pack-ing House was built for$40,000 and opened in 1919,serving as the spot where lo-cal farmers would unloadtrucks filled with oranges.

An outbreak of citrus tris-teza virus – simply known asthe “quick-decline disease,”spread by aphids – hit localorange crops during themid-1950s. Farmers couldhave opted to replant, but thatwas a costly investment, par-ticularly as water prices andproperty taxes were going upbecause of an influx of housesbeing built in Anaheim. Mostgrowers opted instead to sell

their land, leading to the endof the city’s agricultural era.

“This was an idyllic areawith groves that changed intoan area with an industry- andtourism-based economy,” saidJane Newell, manager of theAnaheim Public Library’sHeritage Services.

The neighboring PackardBuilding was constructed in1924 to showcase Packard au-tomobiles until the owner de-faulted on his loan. Afterward,a series of car dealerships andrepair shops occupied thespace until it was finally soldto the city in 2002; the city re-tains ownership of that struc-ture, the park and the PackingHouse.

Even though the PackardBuilding is now split into tworestaurants, that auto history

continues to thrive. Whencleaning out the building dur-ing renovations, developerscame across boxes filled withold vehicle license plates thatwere crafted into decorativewall hangings and light fix-tures hung inside UmamiBurger.

“We would drive past thesebuildings every day since wemoved here in 2006 andthought it would be a greatplace to open a business some-day,” said Greg Gerovac, whoopened the Anaheim Brewerywith his wife, Barbara, insidethe Packard Building twoyears ago.

“We’re excited because theentire project is going to givethe downtown area a real vi-brant focal point,” Gerovacsaid.

PROJECT: Preserving city’s farming pastFROM PAG E 1

PHOTOS: MARK RIGHTMIRE, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

Ken Smith, a New York-based landscape architect, stands under the shade structures in Farmers Park adjacent to the PackingHouse. The park, designed by Smith, serves as a connection between the Packing House and the Packard Building.

Concrete benches on a grass berm are part of an amphitheater space that will be used for per-formances. The Farmers Park area will open June 29.

The interior of the Packing House will soon be divided among eateries and retailers.

The original floors in the interior of the Packing House, madeof maple planks, were preserved.

An orange tree, surroundedby green glass, reflects thecity’s citrus roots.

PACKING HOUSE ANDPACKARD BUILDING1919: The Anaheim Citrus PackingHouse opens, occupied by the Ana-heim Orange and Lemon Associ-ation, later known as the AnaheimValencia Orange Association

1924: Packard Building is built toshowcase Packard automobiles

1932: Packard Building owner de-faults on his loan; building sold atauction

1933-41: Several auto dealers andmechanics move through the Pack-ard Building

1943: Packard Building sold to Hub-ert and Evelyn Bevins, who operatevarious car dealerships

Mid-1950s: Packing House closesas the local citrus industry wanes

Mid-1960s: Electra Motors movesinto the Packing House and re-moves conveyor-belt system andfruit-packing equipment

1969: Maxad Inc., later known asAmparco Inc., purchases the Pack-ing House and leases it as officeand storage space

2000: Anaheim RedevelopmentAgency purchases the PackingHouse for preservation

2002: The agency purchases thePackard Building for preservation

2010: Restoration begins on thePacking House and Packard Build-ing; construction begins on FarmersPark

2012: Renovations completed onPackard Building

2013: Work completed on the Pack-ing House and Farmers Park

Source: Anaheim Public Library Heritage Services

MARK RIGHTMIRE, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

The exterior of the Packing House still bearsthe Sunkist logo.

COURTESY OF ANAHEIM PUBLIC LIBRARY

The Packard Building was built in 1924to showcase Packard automobiles.

COURTESY OF ANAHEIM PUBLIC LIBRARY

The exterior of the Anaheim Orangeand Lemon Association Packing HouseIn 1936. The Mission Revival-styleconcrete building was constructed at424 S. Los Angeles St. (now AnaheimBoulevard). It later became the Sun-kist Packing House, and still later thehome of Electra Motors until 1968.

COURTESY OF ANAHEIM PUBLIC LIBRARY

Interior of the Anaheim Orange and LemonAssociation Packing House in June 1919.

SEC: Community_Broadsheet DT: 05-09-2013 ZN: Anaheim_E ED: 1 PG #: 4 PG: Jump BY: kmohr TI: 05-07-2013 16:12 CLR: CMYK