Chet Frohlich Photography – Left to right: Anaheim Community Investment Manager Laura Alcala, Community and Economic Development Director John Woodhead, and Mayor Tom Tait.
Anaheim, CA (March 1, 2016) — The Packing House, Anaheim’s innovative food hall in a restored 1919 Sunkist citrus-packing building, has been awarded a rare placement on the National Register of Historic Places. It joins approximately 150 properties in the U.S. with the historic designation. Anaheim officials recently unveiled the official plaque commemorating the award.
“The Packing House represents not only a very important period in Anaheim and Orange County history, it is an explosively popular destination today and the centerpiece of a vibrant future,” said Anaheim Community and Economic Development Director John Woodhead. “This recognition by the National Register affirms our decades-long goal to repopulate and re-energize the historic heart of Anaheim, a goal that we are achieving with the support of many people.”
The food hall has become the most popular new attraction in Anaheim. One of the few remaining citrus packing houses in the county, the Packing House also recently took top awards at the West Coast’s largest design and planning competition, the Gold Nugget Awards, by Pacific Coast Builders Conference.
The Packing House is a grand hall reminiscent of the great public markets of Europe and South America, and is fast becoming a West Coast destination along the lines of San Francisco’s Ferry Building and Seattle’s Pike Place Market. Its independent, gourmet food and beverage vendors and merchants are curated by LAB Holding. The two-level structure features a large central atrium with communal dining surrounded by cafes and kiosks. It includes outdoor picnic gardens, a dining porch looking over the Farmers’ Park outdoor marketplace, and live entertainment.