Editing Anaheim, California (section)

===Disneyland and the Anaheim Resort===

Construction of the [[Disneyland]] theme park began on July 16, 1954, and it opened to the public on July 17, 1955. It has become one of the world's most visited tourist attractions, with over 650&nbsp;million visitors since its opening. The location was formerly {{convert|160|acre|km2}} of orange and walnut trees. The opening of Disneyland created a tourism boom in the Anaheim area. [[Walt Disney]] had originally intended to purchase additional land to build accommodations for Disneyland visitors; however, the park's construction drained his financial resources and he was unable to acquire more land. [[Entrepreneur]]s eager to capitalize on Disney's success moved in and built hotels, restaurants, and shops around Disneyland and eventually boxed in the Disney property, and turned the area surrounding Disneyland into the boulevards of colorful [[neon sign]]s that Walt Disney had tried to avoid. The city of Anaheim, eager for tax revenue these hotels would generate, did little to obstruct their construction.<ref>{{cite book |last1=France |first1=Van Arsdale |title=Window on Main Street : 35 years of creating happiness at Disneyland Park |date=1991 |publisher=Laughter Publications |location=Nashua, NH |isbn=0-941613-17-8 |page=17 |edition=1st}}</ref>

By the mid-1960s, the city's explosive growth would attract a [[Major League Baseball]] team, with the [[California Angels]] relocating from Los Angeles to Anaheim in 1966, where they have remained since. In 1980, the [[National Football League]]'s [[Los Angeles Rams]] relocated from the [[Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum]] to the Angels' home field, [[Anaheim Stadium]], playing there until their relocation to [[St. Louis]] in 1995. In 1993, Anaheim gained its own [[National Hockey League]] team when [[The Walt Disney Company]] founded the [[Mighty Ducks of Anaheim]].

In the 1990s, while Disneyland was undergoing a significant expansion project surrounding the construction of [[Disney California Adventure Park]], the city of Anaheim rebranded the surrounding area as the Anaheim Resort. The Anaheim Resort district is roughly bounded by the [[Santa Ana River]] to the east, Ball Road to the north, Walnut Street to the west, and the [[Garden Grove, California|Garden Grove]] city limits to the south at Chapman Avenue, and Orangewood Avenue to the southwest.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://maps.google.com/maps?qscrl=1&nord=1&rlz=1T4TSND_enUS441US412&q=Anaheim+Resort&ion=1&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_qf.,cf.osb&biw=1303&bih=596&wrapid=tlif134126507311210&um=1&sa=N&tab=wl |title=Anaheim Resort |publisher=Google Maps |access-date=July 4, 2012}}</ref> Attractions within the Resort District include the [[Disneyland Resort]], the [[Anaheim Convention Center]], the [[Honda Center]], Anaheim/Orange County Walk of Stars, and [[Angel Stadium of Anaheim]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.anaheim.net |title=City of Anaheim official site |publisher=Anaheim.net |date=March 7, 2012 |access-date=July 4, 2012}}</ref>

Part of the project included removing the colorful neon signs and replacing them with shorter, more modest signs, as well as widening the arterial streets in the area into tree-lined boulevards.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Grad |first1=Shelby |title=Cities' Towering Signs Coming Down to Earth |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1996-08-26-me-37907-story.html |work=Los Angeles Times |date=August 26, 1996}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Travel Advisory - Correspondent's Report - A Makeover in Anaheim, For Parks and City - NYTimes.com |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2000/01/23/travel/travel-advisory-correspondent-s-report-a-makeover-in-anaheim-for-parks-and-city.html |website= [[The New York Times]]|date=May 27, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150527143439/https://www.nytimes.com/2000/01/23/travel/travel-advisory-correspondent-s-report-a-makeover-in-anaheim-for-parks-and-city.html |archive-date=May 27, 2015 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Further expansion included the purchase of the Fujishige Strawberry Farm in 1998 which sold for just under $100 million to Disney after nearly half a decade of financial proposals to the former owners.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite web |last=Munoz |first=Lorenza |last2=Reza |first2=H. g |date=1998-09-30 |title=Farmer Who Stood Ground Dies |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1998-sep-30-me-27837-story.html |access-date=2025-05-14 |website=Los Angeles Times |language=en-US}}</ref> Today the former farm features a Hilton Hotel and is the site of the 'Toy Story' parking lot.