The roof of Ramada Plaza, with the "railroad track."
This modern hotel at least has some moderately interesting architecture on its roof, with one structure that looks like a train track, another that looks like the skeleton of a satellite dish, and another that looks like a flying saucer. On the ground floor off the street is an Indian restaurant called Gandhi Palace that has reasonably priced, quality Indian food.
The fountains on the grounds of this hotel are odd: they are shaped rocks, maybe intended to be suggestive of human forms. The only recognizable form among all these rock fountains on the main driveway is a fish, and the fountain in front of the building has a small stone bridge, like a Japanese garden might have.
The clerk at the Anaheim Visitor Center made me aware of this old motel when I began asking about the ages of local buildings. He said this motel was built in the early 1970s and regrettably (in his opinion) has not undergone the same modernization as other old local motels such as the Candy Cane Inn. That immediately put this motel on my "must see" list.
I'm surprised that I don't remember ever having seen this motel before, despite having walked along Katella many times in this area. On the other hand, the motel is totally unremarkable in appearance, and is lacking any large exterior sign to even say what the name is! (At least it was missing its sign on 3-3-07, when I first visited it and took these pictures.) The free postcards of the motel in the registration lobby (with a cool mid-century painting of the motel) show a large sign over the registration lobby, so maybe the sign has blown down recently. As for the lack of modernization, the brown painted stucco looks modern and ugly to me, so that change seems to make it sufficiently modern-looking, in my opinion, if that's what the public wants.
This motel is almost at the southeast corner of Harbor Blvd. and Katella Ave. Currently [3-3-07] there is an empty lot on the exact corner, and Zaby's is immediately to the east of that empty lot. I have been unable to find out what used to be on this corner, but the lot belongs to Zaby's. The lot contains a sign promoting it as a business opportunity, but since the lot belongs to Zaby's, this leads to speculation about the fate of Zaby's.
The way it used to be...
Zaby's Motor Lodge [1978] |
The way it used to be... Neither the modern version nor the mid-century version of this motel have very interesting architecture. Photo courtesy of Synthetrix [4-14-07].
Lucky 7 Motel [1978] |
The way it used to be... This pool area hasn't changed very much over the decades. Photo courtesy of Synthetrix [4-16-07].
Islander Motel [1978] |
The way it used to be... Libation Station is a seldom-remembered restaurant that was near this location in 1975. (Anaheim Telephone Directory, 1975)
Libation Station [1975] |
The way it used to be... The Pyramid Motel used to stand where Riviera Motel is now, in the '60s. Photo courtesy of Synthetrix [4-16-07].
The Pyramid Motel [1968-1969]
Riviera Motel [1978] |
This large lot spans a good deal of the south side of Katella Avenue where there used to be several businesses. According to Andrew of MousePlanet this is a Disneyland employee parking lot called Katella Cast Member Lot, also called KCML or K-Lot for short, A shuttle bus for Cast Members runs between KCML and the Harbor House gate every few minutes. For some reason this property keeps a low profile, and displays only the street number (300), a standup sign with the Disney logo on it, and a sign on the inside that says "EMPLOYEES ONLY", despite the Disney term "Cast Member" ordinarily being used instead of "employee." This lot was built around the time of the Pinocchio lot, when the former 100-acre lot was gradually being closed.
The way it used to be...
Katella Car Wash [1975]
Concours Auto Detail [1975] |
This motel complex looks more like low-cost, long-term accomodations for low-income residents rather than a typical Disneyland tourist motel. Such motels are also found along Beach Boulevard in Westminster.
The way it used to be... Caravan Inn used to stand where Arena Inn is now. Photo courtesy of Synthetrix [4-16-07].
Caravan Inn [1978] |
Created: February 24, 2007
Updated: May 1, 2007