The Little Boy Blue Motel --- Anaheim, CA

Here's the Little Boy Blue Motel located at 416 West Katella Avenue, near Disneyland. Among the many amenities available at this modern motel were:

Orthopedic Mattresses
Tubs and Showers in Each Room
Electric Air Conditioning
Heated Pool

Once you've had a chance to enjoy these modern features, It was comforting to know that the LBB was "Around the corner from Disneyland and Melodyland." and "Close to Knott's Berry Farm, (Movieland) Wax Museum, new Angel Stadium and beach areas."

In this postcard it looks like two middle aged couples are enjoying the pool area, but apparently forgot to pack their swimsuits. One might ask: Where are the kids and why isn't anyone in the pool?

Fast-forward 40 years. Once again, No child is present on this Summer afternoon. The colorful waterslides have been removed, and it seems like the adults have checked-out as well. Maybe they spent the day at Knott's Berry Farm?

The Little Boy Blue is one of the few Disneyland-area motels to retain both it's original name and layout. It still shares a pool with the adjacent Riviera (formerly Pyramid) Motel, and the funky diamond-shaped entrance archway continues to stand watch...

Travelers Inn Restaurant

Located on the old alignment of Highway 99 (Union Avenue) six miles South of Bakersfield, The Travelers Inn Restaurant was a welcome rest stop for those who were "on the road" in the 50's.

The Coffee Shop was open 24 hours a day and the dining room was REFRIGERATED. For those who were thirtsy, Cocktails were available from 9 A.M. to 2 A.M.

Les & Helen Rose were the hosts and if you wanted to know what the special was before you made the trip, you could dial FAirview 4-2786.


Many hot and dusty days have passed since Les & Helen held court at the Travelers. As the local demographic has changed, so has the focus of many an old eatery along this forgotten stretch of road. Now known as La Villa, the former coffee shop serves up tasty tacos, tortas and burritos. Carne Asada and Al Pastor are the forvorite fillings and an ice-cold Jarritos Pina or Corona Light goes a long way to slake the local thirst.

The building itself appears to be in original, albeit well-worn condition. Even the cement road surface hasn't been paved since the fifties as the same cracks appear in each picture. As is common for August, the late afternoon temperature hovered around 104.

Fly Casting Pool - La Palma Park Anaheim

Anaheim's other large public space is La Palma Park. Back in 1957, this fly-casting pool gave the locals a place to practice their casting without having to leave town. Not sure how many people used this pond for that purpose but sometime between then and now another use was found for this space; a use that speaks more to the Southern California lifestyle...


That more appropriate use was (of course): PARKING!

Here's the fly-casting pool in June, 2007, sporting a glassy-smooth blacktop surface. Probably not the best spot to practice your casting anymore. Some of the parks' current residents were nearby, wandering what was so interesting about this spot that I needed to take a picture...

Anaheim City Park / Pearson Park

Here's a 1957 postcard featuring the Water Lily Pond in Anaheim City Park. The young lady admiring the lilies is now over fifty years old. She must look quite different today. How about the pond itself?

Here we are in June, 2007. The City Park is now Pearson Park having had it's name changed by city resolution in April, 1960. Other than the name, things are much the same around the old pond. Even the river rock shoreline remains as it was; many of the individual rocks can be identified between the shots.

Stay tuned...We'll visit the former Fly Casting Pool at Anaheim's La Palma Park next time here on WalterWorld.

World Famous Tagus Ranch

The Tagus Ranch is located 4 miles North of Tulare on Highway 99 in the heart of California's great Central Valley. This dusty locale once featured banquet rooms, a coffee shop, cocktail lounge, gift shop and a deluxe motor hotel. Later on in life it was the home of a live music theater where country and western acts would put on a show for the locals. But that was another time and place...


Today, the Tagus lies abandoned, a state it's been in for over 15 years. For sale banners have come and gone and the gradual deterioration has escalated in recent years. The adjacent motel is hanging on by a thread...a home to long term occupants and those with little means.

Palm Motor Lodge

Located two miles North of Disneyland on Harbor Blvd, the Palm is a survivor indeed. The motel predates the Magic Kingdom but managed to corral it's share of visitors, including Doris Huffman of North English Iowa. She arrived by bus and stayed a week before making her way home via Canada. This was back in August 1961. Today's modern guests are more of the extended-stay, down-on-their-luck types. Here's how she looked on June 20th, 2007:


If you're in the mood for a swim in the heated pool, you'll need a time machine:


And a final sign shot from the street---

Time For A Quick Cup

Up the road from Anaheim (about 260 miles on Highway 99), let’s stop for a cup of coffee and maybe some steak fries. This is Farnesi’s Restaurant and Coffee Shop in Madera, CA.

It’s large, free standing sign can be seen from quite a ways off. Farnesi’s has been open since the early 60’s, serving quality food and drink to those traveling down California’s golden Central Valley.

Here’s the great sign from a mid-60’s postcard and a picture from the present day. Though largely intact, some of the playfully-fonted mini-signs pertaining to the adjacent motel (which still stands) have gone missing (‘TV’, ‘Phones’, etc.) Oh well, at least the classy cocktail glass remains…

The restaurant building itself looks largely the same, but has been enlarged somewhat over the years:

Next time you’re motoring through Madera, make sure you patronize this fine old relic of the road. After a couple o’ highballs and New York Steak & Eggs, you’ll think its 1966 all over again… (And you’ll probably want to get a room!)

A Schusssing We Shall Go...

Back in Anaheim, we now visit the Alpine Inn. The Alpine was one of the earliest of the motels that sprouted up to surround Disneyland after it’s 1955 opening. It was/is located at 715 Katella Avenue near the now closed South entrance to the old Disneyland parking lot. Each room had it's own phone and free TV, and also featured refrigerated air conditioning. This postcard shot dates from the late fifties based on the cars in the lot.

Here’s the Alpine in 2004. The sign now conforms to the new Anaheim Resort code, but this old motel is definitely still kicking. I’m not sure when the well-themed snowy roof and log siding was added, but one could argue that the Alpine looks better now than when it was new some fifty years ago. I think I’ll dial KEystone 5-2186 and book some rooms for my annual June trip...

The Shadow Of Your Smile - Sandpiper Lodge

Now let’s travel about 300 miles north of Anaheim, on good old Highway 99. Here we are in Merced, at the site of that cities newest motel, The Sandpiper. Not sure if the inspiration came from the Burton-Taylor film of the same name or was simply a wistful reference to the beautiful Pacific Ocean which was (and still is) only about 200 miles to the West.

The Sandpiper had rooms for the budget-conscious as well as luxurious suites for those better off. Each room was “…elegantly appointed and magnificently furnished and equipped with individually controlled heat and refrigeration.” There was a “…Bridal Suite, Conference Room, and Background Music”..? Phone RA 3-1034 to reserve your room.


Aahhhh…What a (non) difference 45 years can make. The Sandpiper still stands in most of its original livery, the pool is still heated, the parking lot had some fairly new cars parked in it and business appears to be OK. Only one thing I’m not sure of: do they still have Background Music?

Bahia Motel - Beach Blvd

Sorry for the long gap between posts. Here we go:

Here’s the last word in luxury and convenience: ---The Bahia Motel---
This exotically-themed motel was located at 821 Beach Boulevard in Anaheim.

With thermostatically controlled heat, pool, kitchen units, adjacent restaurants and recreation room, the Bahia was a great place to stay when visiting Knott’s Berry Farm, Disneyland, Movieland Wax Museum and Marineland of the Pacific.

Things were looking good. Of course, that was in the early 60’s…

Now it’s the early 70’s and the foliage has matured. It’s still the Bahia and business is good.

Now we’re in the early 80’s and New Wave is all the rage. The Bahia is new too; it’s now the Razzmatazz…kinda catchy and ‘hip’ huh?

So 40 Summers have come and gone. Here we are at the now-Covered Wagon Motel in 2005. It looks like they removed most of the Palms and the other greenery. Still want to stay there?

Make sure to call ahead and make reservations!