Anaheim’s innovative food hall, The Packing House, is now on the National Register of Historic Places. Created inside a restored 1919 Sunkist citrus-packing house, the food hall is a popular destination for locals and Anaheim visitors. It recently took top awards at the West Coast’s largest design and planning competition, the Gold Nugget Awards, which is sponsored by Pacific Coast Builders Conference.

Snapped with The Packing House Placard are Anaheim community investment manager Laura Alcala, Community and Economic Development director John Woodhead and Mayor Tom Tait.

The packing house building was repurposed as a grand food hall reminiscent of the public markets of Europe and South America. It is fast becoming a SoCal destination similar to San Francisco’s Ferry Building and Seattle’s Pike Place Market. Curated by LAB Holding, it includes a variety of independent, gourmet restaurants and merchants. The two-level structure features a large central atrium with a communal dining area surrounded by cafés and kiosks. There are also outdoor picnic gardens, a dining porch overlooking the Farmers’ Park outdoor marketplace, and live entertainment.

The Packing House represents a very important period in Anaheim and Orange County history, is a popular destination today and the centerpiece of a vibrant future, John says. “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.”