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Anaheim, CA
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Anaheim is a city in Orange County. As of 2007, the city population was 345,556, making it the tenth-largest city in California and 54th-largest in the United States. The city anticipates that the population will surpass 400,000 by 2014 due to rapid development in its Platinum Triangle area as well as in the affluent Anaheim Hills area. Anaheim is the second most populous city in Orange County (behind Santa Ana) and second largest in terms of land area, and it is known for its theme parks, sports teams, and convention center.
Founded by fifty German families in 1857 and incorporated on February 10, 1870, Anaheim developed into an industrial center, producing electronics, aircraft parts, and canned fruit. It is the site of the Disneyland Resort, a world-famous grouping of theme parks and hotels which opened in 1955, Angel Stadium, Honda Center, and Anaheim Convention Center, the largest convention center on the American West Coast and the Anaheim Visitor Center is adjacent to the Convention Center. Its name is a blend of "Ana", after the nearby Santa Ana River, and "heim", a common Upper German place name compound originally meaning "home".
Founded by fifty German families in 1857 and incorporated on February 10, 1870, Anaheim developed into an industrial center, producing electronics, aircraft parts, and canned fruit. It is the site of the Disneyland Resort, a world-famous grouping of theme parks and hotels which opened in 1955, Angel Stadium, Honda Center, and Anaheim Convention Center, the largest convention center on the American West Coast and the Anaheim Visitor Center is adjacent to the Convention Center. Its name is a blend of "Ana", after the nearby Santa Ana River, and "heim", a common Upper German place name compound originally meaning "home".
Anaheim's city limits stretch from Cypress in the west to the Riverside County line in the East, and encompass a diverse collection of neighborhoods and communities. Anaheim Hills is a highly wealthy master-planned community that is home to many sports stars and executives located in the city's eastern stretches. West Anaheim is notable for its more mature neighborhoods dating from the 1950s, which comprise part of the continuous suburban sprawl extending from Los Angeles. The Anaheim Resort, a commercial district, includes Disneyland and the neighboring hotel and retail complexes. The Platinum Triangle, a neo-urban redevelopment district surrounding Angel Stadium, will soon be populated with mixed-use streets and high-rises. Finally, the Canyon is an industrial district north of the Riverside Freeway and east of the Orange Freeway.
HistoryAnaheim was founded in 1857 by grape farmers and wine makers from Franconia in Bavaria. The colony was situated on 1,165 acres. Settlers voted to call the community Annaheim, meaning "home by the Santa Ana river" in German. The name later was changed slightly, to Anaheim. To the Spanish-speaking neighbors, the settlement was known as Campo Alemán (Spanish for German Camp). The grape industry was destroyed in the 1880s by an insect pest. Other crops - walnuts, lemons, and of course oranges soon filled the void.
The famous Polish actress Helena Modjeska settled in Anaheim with her husband and various friends, among them Henryk Sienkiewicz, Julian Sypniewski and Łucjan Paprocki.
In the 1920s, the Ku Klux Klan, at the height of its influence and popularity, decided to make Anaheim a model Klan city. In 1924, the Klan secretly managed to get four of its members elected to the five-member Board of Trustees. Nine of the ten members of the police force were also Klansmen. The four Klan trustees served for nearly a year, until they were publicly exposed, and voted out in a recall election in which 95% of the population participated.
The Disneyland theme park was constructed in Anaheim from July 16, 1954 to July 17, 1955 and has since become Anaheim's largest tourist attraction. The location was formerly 160 acres of orange and walnut trees, some of which remain inside Disneyland. In 2001, Disney's California Adventure, the most expansive project in the theme park's history, opened to the public,.
In the late 20th century, Anaheim grew rapidly in population. Today, Anaheim has a diverse racial and ethnic composition.
During the large expansion of the Disneyland resort in the 1990's, the city of Anaheim then recognized their city as a resort epicenter. Thus, creating the Anaheim Resort. The Anaheim Resort includes the Disneyland Resort, The Anaheim Convention Center, The Honda Center--Home of the NHL Anaheim Ducks, and Angel Stadium, home to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. The whole city has undergone a rigorous transformation in creating metropolitan beautification to attract mass tourism. In 2007, the city celebrated their sesquicentennial anniversary by opening up the Anaheim Walk of Fame by the Harbor Boulevard entrance to the Disneyland Resort. The first star to be placed on the Anaheim Walk of Fame was Gene Autry, who greatly contributed to the arrival of the California Angels to Anaheim, and bringing professional baseball to the west coast of the United States.
Law and government City government Under its city charter, Anaheim operates under a council-manager government. Legislative authority is vested in a city council of five nonpartisan members, who hire a professional city manager to oversee day-to-day operations. The mayor serves as the presiding officer of the city council in a first among equals role. All council seats are elected at large. Voters elect the mayor and four other members of the city council to serve four-year staggered terms. Elections for two council seats are held in years divisible by four while elections for the mayor and the two other council seats are held during the intervening even-numbered years. Under the city's term limits, an individual may serve a maximum of two terms as a city council member and two terms as the mayor.
Mayor: Curt Pringle (since 2002)City Manager: David M. Morgan (since 2002)City CouncilLorri Galloway (since 2004)Bob Hernandez (since 2002)Lucille Kring (since 2006)Harry Sidhu (since 2004)
Emergency servicesFire protection is provided by the Anaheim Fire Department. Law enforcement is provided by the Anaheim Police Department. Ambulance service is provided by Care Ambulance Service.
Federal, state and county representation In the United States House of Representatives, Anaheim is split among three Congressional districts:
40th, represented by Ed Royce (R) since 199342nd, represented by Gary Miller (R) since 199947th, represented by Loretta Sanchez (D) since 1997
In the California State Senate, Anaheim is split among three districts:
29th, represented by Bob Margett (R) since 200033rd, represented by Dick Ackerman (R) since 200034th, represented by Lou Correa (D) since 2006
In the California State Assembly, Anaheim is split among six districts:
60th, represented by Bob Huff (R) since 200467th, represented by Jim Silva (R) since 200668th, represented by Van Tran (R) since 200469th, represented by Jose Solorio (D) since 200671st, represented by Todd Spitzer (R) since 200272nd, represented by Mike Duvall (R) since 2006
On the Orange County Board of Supervisors, Anaheim is divided between two districts, with Anaheim Hills lying in the 3rd District and the remainder of Anaheim lying in the 4th District:
3rd, represented by Bill Campbell since 20034th, represented by Chris Norby since 2003GeographyAnaheim is located at (33.836165, -117.889769).
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 130.7 km² (50.5 mi²). 126.8 km² (48.9 mi²) of it is land and 3.9 km² (1.5 mi²) of it (2.99%) is water.
In the western portion of the city (not including Anaheim Hills), the major surface streets run east to west, starting with the northernmost, are La Palma Avenue, Lincoln Avenue, Ball Road, and Katella Avenue. The major surface streets running north-south, starting with the westernmost, are Beach Boulevard (CA-39), Magnolia Avenue, Brookhurst Street, Euclid Street, Harbor Boulevard, Anaheim Boulevard, and State College Boulevard.
The Santa Ana Freeway (I-5), the Orange Freeway (CA-57), the Riverside Freeway (CA-91) all pass through Anaheim. The Costa Mesa Freeway (CA-55), and the Eastern Transportation Corridor (CA-241) also have short stretches within the city limits.
Anaheim is served by rail by two major railroads, the Union Pacific Railroad and the BNSF Railway. In addition, Anaheim sees Amtrak California and Metrolink services and hosts a major regional train station in the Angel Stadium parking lot.
The current federal Office of Management and Budget metropolitan designation for Anaheim and the Orange County Area is "Santa Ana-Anaheim-Irvine, CA."
The city recognizes several districts, including the Anaheim Resort (the area surrounding Disneyland), The Canyon (an industrial area north of the Riverside Freeway and east of the Orange Freeway), and the Platinum Triangle (the area surrounding Angel Stadium). Anaheim Hills also maintains a distinct identity.
CrimeAnaheim ranks as one of the safest cities of its size in the nation. In 2003, Anaheim reported nine murders, 35% of the national average. Rape within the city is relatively low as well, but has been increasing, along with the national average. Robbery (410 reported incidents) and aggravated assault (824 incidents) rank among the highest violent crimes in the city, but even at that, robbery rates are still only half of the national average, and aggravated assaults are at 68% of the average. 1,971 burglaries were reported, as well as 6,708 thefts, 1,767 car thefts, and 654 car accidents. All three types of crime were below average. There were 43 cases of arson reported in 2003, 43% of the national average
EducationAs of May 2006, Anaheim is served by eight public school districts:
Anaheim City School District Anaheim Union High School District Centralia School District Magnolia School District North Orange County Community College District Orange Unified School District Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified School District Savanna School DistrictAttractionsDisneyland ResortDisneyland parkDisney's California Adventure parkDowntown Disney districtESPN ZoneHouse of BluesAdventure CityAngel Stadium of AnaheimHonda CenterThe Grove of Anaheim, formerly the Sun Theater, formerly Tinseltown StudiosAnaheim Convention CenterSports teamsCurrent Teams NHL team: Anaheim Ducks – 2007 Stanley Cup ChampionsMLB team: Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim – 2002 World Series Champions NBADL expansion team: Anaheim Arsenal
Defunct Teams NLL team: Anaheim Storm (Folded after 2004-2005 season due to low attendance)The NFL's Los Angeles Rams played in Anaheim from 1980 through 1994 before moving to their current home of St. Louis.World Football League team: The Southern California Sun played at Anaheim Stadium from 1974-1975.
Court battle against the AngelsOn January 3, 2005 Angels Baseball, LP, the ownership group for the Anaheim Angels, announced that it would change the name of the club to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Arturo Moreno believed Team spokesmen pointed out that from its inception, the Angels had been granted territorial rights by Major League Baseball to the counties of Los Angeles, Ventura, Riverside, and San Bernardino in addition to Orange County. The new owner knew the name would help him market the team to the entire Southern California region rather than just Orange County. The "of Anaheim" was included in the official name to comply with a provision of the team's lease at Angel Stadium which requires that "Anaheim be included" in the team's name.
Mayor Curt Pringle and other city officials countered that the name change violated the spirit of the lease clause, even if it were in technical compliance. They argued that a name change was a major bargaining chip in negotiations between the city and Disney Baseball Enterprises, Inc., then the ownership group for the Angels. They further argued that the city would never have agreed to the new lease without the name change, because the new lease required that the city partially fund the stadium's renovation but provided very little revenue for the city. Anaheim sued Angels Baseball, LP in Orange County Superior Court, and a jury trial was completed in early January 2006, resulting in a victory for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim franchise.
The case is still ongoing and is currently with the California Court of Appeal.
Disney vs. Suncal vs. AnaheimIn March 2007 the Disney corporation filed a lawsuit against the City of Anaheim after the city approved a developer's plan to construct 1,500 homes in the Resort Area, a 2.2 square mile district surrounding Disneyland. Disney claims that the city breached a contract signed between the city and Resort Area businesses in 1994 banning any housing to be constructed within the Resort Area thereby reserving all land in the 2.2 square mile district for tourism and commercial uses. By voting 3-2 to approve the housing development in April, the city of Anaheim thereby violated the terms of the contract.
In response, Disney, Mayor Curt Pringle, and Council member Harry Sidhu formed a coalition called 'Save Our Anaheim Resort' with the objective of overturning the zoning allowance thereby keeping the initial plan for the Resort Area intact. The highly successful group boasted support from several local politicians, many building trade unions, the Anaheim Chamber of Commerce, the Anaheim Police Department, and the Anaheim Fire Department, as well as 97% of all businesses within the Resort Area. The group collected 21,000 petitions, 9,000 more than needed, to overturn the council's decision to rezone the area with the option of either the council turning the decision over or the city hold an election to vote on the initiative.
In response, Council member Lorri Galloway, Council member Bob Hernandez, SunCal, and some local affordable housing advocates came together to form a group known as 'The Coalition to Protect and Defend Anaheim'. Their objective was to keep the rezoning approved by the council as legitimate, and stop the so-called "Disney Takeover".
At the August 21, 2007 city council meeting, the council voted 4-1 to place the zoning decision on the June 3, 2008 ballot (Ms. Galloway voted against). This referendum would have overturned the zoning change on the 26 square acres of land SunCal wanted to build on. On November 27, 2007 the City Council rescinded the decision on a 3-2 vote and cancelled the zoning change, thereby eliminating the need for the referendum.
The next day, August 22, 2007 had the Save Our Anaheim Resort group submit 31,348 signatures for verification for an Initiative that would require that any zoning change in the entire Anaheim Resort District for other than commercial and tourist related uses to be approved by the voters. This Initiative has been placed on the June 3, 2008 ballot, and is separate from the referendum.
In October of 2007, SunCal defaulted on a payment for the property in question. SunCal has also pulled funding for this legal suit.
November of 2007, The Frank Family, owners of the Mobile Home Park land in dispute, filed a counter suit against SunCal for their failure to make the required payment in October of 2007.
Notable natives and residentsGwen Stefani, singer, No DoubtJoseph M. Acaba, astronautBrandon Baker, actorMoon Bloodgood, actressJeff Buckley, (birthplace), singerMilorad Čavić, Serbian swimmerDon Davis, composer, The MatrixEden Espinosa, actress, "Wicked"Jim Fassel, professional football coachJorge Flores, Soccer Player (winner of el sueno MLS and playing For Chivas USA)Bobby Hatfield, together with Bill Medley formed the Righteous BrothersTony Kanal, bassist, No DoubtCarl Karcher, founder, Carl's Jr.Thomas H. Kuchel, United States Senator (served 1953-69)Mark Langston, major league baseball pitcherTony Lewis, European-based singer/songwriterMike Lockwood, professional wrestler (a.k.a. "Crash Holly"/"Mad Mikey"/"Erin O'Grady")Alyson Reed, ActressLoretta Sanchez, U.S. CongresswomanSteve Soto, musician, The AdolescentsMilo Ventimiglia, (birthplace), actorFrankie Kazarian, professional wrestler Brock Nelson, guitarist, Three days graceAmanda Babin, 4th-placer on America's Next Top Model, Cycle 7, and her sister, Michelle Babin, the 5th-placerTiger Woods, professional golferAustin Butler, actor, Zoey 101Sister cities Mito, Japan Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain Orlando, Florida, USExternal linksCity of Anaheim, California - Official Home PageCity of Anaheim, California - Chamber of CommerceAnaheim Orange County Visitor & Convention Bureau
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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By BennyTzuk1
5 days
We're taking a full 5 days to explore in and around Disneyland.
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By ElaineMoor45
7 days
If you want to hit the premiere spots in a whirlwind week, try this trip! You'll go to Paramount Pictures in Los Angeles, Disneyland, the Santa Monica Pier, Venice Beach, Laguna Beach and end up exploring Hollywood. And with Los Angeles & Disneyland being Top US Destinations, you've got the makings of a grand, luxury vacation!
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9 people reviewed Anaheim
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Top
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at 5:43PM May 28, 2008
home of the happiest place on earth, doesn't get any better, I love Disney everything
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at 3:23AM May 28, 2008
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at 9:55PM May 27, 2008
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at 5:00PM August 31, 2008
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at 9:30AM August 31, 2008
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at 4:30PM August 10, 2008
--too many times! haha!
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at 4:27AM May 29, 2008
Need I say more?
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at 12:49AM May 29, 2008
My brother lives there...
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at 5:27PM May 27, 2008
quite wonderful really
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