A trip to the Anaheim Packing District

Mari, Marissa and I took a trip to Anaheim to the Anaheim Packing District.  This was a place I had heard about that recently opened and I had driven by, while Marissa was going through testing up the street.   I had seen the building while it was going through renovation.

The Anaheim Packing House is one of the few remaining packing houses from the agricultural era for which Orange County is named.  The packing house is a landmark in the history of Orange County and the city of Orange.  The building was built in 1919 at the edge of downtown Anaheim  and along the Southern Pacific rail line.  The Packing House was a hub of commerce for the area, as local farmers arrived to unload trucks of freshly picked citrus  to begin the process of washing, grading and eventual packing into wooden crates.  Once this process was completed, the crated and labeled citrus would be loaded onto rail cars that were parked on the side of the building and were shipped nationwide.

The restored Packing House is a food hall reminiscent of the great public markets of South America and Europe.  These markets served as a resource for the neighborhood  and a community gathering space.  The two level Packing House features a large central atrium with communal dining surrounded by cafes and kiosks of varying sizes as well as outdoor picnic gardens and a building-length dining porch looking out to the outdoor marketplace known as Farmers' Park

Chairs in Farmers' Park

Farmers' Park

Farmers'Park

Farmers Park is a two acre park with a grassy knoll, redwood boardwalk, community gardens and olive grove.  The Farmers Park connects the Anaheim Packing House and the Packard Building and provides the community a gathering place for events.  There is a Certified Farmers Market on Sundays from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.  

The Packard Building is one of a few historic commercial buildings that remain in the district.   The mission revival building was built in 1925 and was designed with an open and light filled interior typical of car showrooms.  After decades of various automobile uses  and miscellaneous modifications, the Packard Building has been restored to its original 1920's glory.  The Packard Building is now home to the Anaheim Brewery and Umami Burger.