Yesterland: NE Corner of W Katella & S Walnut building, what was it? ANSWER = Wonder Bowl (bowling alley)

[PirateBrigade]

Okay DIS brain trust, I need some help here. I've spent about 4 solid hours diving into old records, old aerial photos, and first-person narratives of people who went to the original elementary school on this corner, but no dice.

What was this building on the NE corner of W Katella & S Walnut?



What I know:
1) The APN for the parcel is 129-441-23
2) The addresses used for this parcel are/have been:

1740 S WALNUT​

1177 W KATELLA​

1709 S DISNEYLAND​

1702 S WALNUT​

1758 S WALNUT​

1792 S WALNUT​

1756 S WALNUT​

1197 W KATELLA​

1179 W KATELLA​

1123 W KATELLA​

1141 W KATELLA​

1668 S WALNUT​

1672 S WALNUT​

1670 S WALNUT​

3) It was built between 1954 and 1960 (based on comparative aerial photos)
4) It was demolished between October 1995 and April 2003
5) Ownership appears to be "Walt Disney World Co" and not part of the Chao LP that co-owns the Paradise Pier property adjacent to this property.
6) Assessor's Map Book 129, Page 44 doesn't yield much info (listed with Parcel Map 136-28)
7) Baseline map shows it as a separate 4 acre site(?), but not the March 1960 assessor's map.

So I'm reaching out to any Anaheim/OC residents who may remember the building as it stood around 1995 -- I know there are a handful of you out there that might remember. It's been bugging me. Thanks in advance!

 

[Dudekiwi]

Okay DIS brain trust, I need some help here. I've spent about 4 solid hours diving into old records, old aerial photos, and first-person narratives of people who went to the original elementary school on this corner, but no dice.

What was this building on the NE corner of W Katella & S Walnut?

View attachment 639728

What I know:
1) The APN for the parcel is 129-441-23
2) The addresses used for this parcel are/have been:

1740 S WALNUT​

1177 W KATELLA​

1709 S DISNEYLAND​

1702 S WALNUT​

1758 S WALNUT​

1792 S WALNUT​

1756 S WALNUT​

1197 W KATELLA​

1179 W KATELLA​

1123 W KATELLA​

1141 W KATELLA​

1668 S WALNUT​

1672 S WALNUT​

1670 S WALNUT​

3) It was built between 1954 and 1960 (based on comparative aerial photos)
4) It was demolished between October 1995 and April 2003
5) Ownership appears to be "Walt Disney World Co" and not part of the Chao LP that co-owns the Paradise Pier property adjacent to this property.
6) Assessor's Map Book 129, Page 44 doesn't yield much info (listed with Parcel Map 136-28)
7) Baseline map shows it as a separate 4 acre site(?), but not the March 1960 assessor's map.

So I'm reaching out to any Anaheim/OC residents who may remember the building as it stood around 1995 -- I know there are a handful of you out there that might remember. It's been bugging me. Thanks in advance!

It might be a bowling alley. My grandfather was in a Disney bowling league in the mid to late 80s that I remember being located at that corner. Not sure if it was still a bowling alley in 1995 though

 

[PirateBrigade]

It might be a bowling alley. My grandfather was in a Disney bowling league in the mid to late 80s that I remember being located at that corner. Not sure if it was still a bowling alley in 1995 though

Thank you so much, this is the answer I was looking for! I reoriented my search and found it.

It was Wonder Bowl.


Wonder Bowl, Anaheim 1959
Photo by Anaheim Historical Society on flickr

The Wonder Bowl on Katella Avenue also contained The Gilded Cage, a bar, which threw fantastic New Year's Eve parties in the late 1950s-1960s. The bowling alley was bought by Disneyland in 1985, who turned the structure into a storage facility for the park's decorations and entertainment props. Disney demolished Wonder Bowl to create (can you guess?) another parking lot. Vintage postcard dated 1959.

https://flic.kr/p/boTrEs

Source: https://eyespyla.blogspot.com/2014/03/wonder-bowl-anaheim-ca-1958-by-charles.html

 

[PirateBrigade]

Another photo courtesy Orange County Archives from 1974. Disneyland Hotel is visible in the background (left). It looks like there was an entire commercial plaza on this site (current Timon lot, south of Downtown Disney, west of Paradise Pier Hotel) prior to its acquisition by Disney.

Correction, this sign is on the south side of Katella. The strip mall is still called Wonderland Plaza to this day (2022), and Wonderland Liquor, Marri's Pizza remain current/operating businesses.

Wonderland Center and Wonder Bowl, W. Katella Ave., Anaheim, 1974
There are no known copyright restrictions on this image. All future uses of this photo should include the courtesy line, "Photo courtesy Orange County Archives."

Photo by Werner Weiss, from the Werner Weiss Collection, Acc#2013.6.

 

[FeistyDisneyMom]

I love these neat finds! Thanks for sharing pirate

 

[PirateBrigade]

I love these neat finds! Thanks for sharing pirate

My pleasure! I have this deep interest in things that were once there and are no longer there, if y'all couldn't tell