The rise and fall of The Golden Forest Inn

First of all I want to thank my brother Ray for his contribution of the original Golden Forest tourism brochure and his photographs taken during the renovations of the motel.

My family moved to Anaheim in the spring of 1972, having lived previously in La Puente, CA. It was a kid's dream come true...to live next door to Disneyland!

There were a lot of things that were unique to my neighborhood experience like fireworks every summer night at approximately 9:35 pm, pool hopping (more on this some other time), sneaking into countless exhibitions and shows at the Convention Center and a lot of pinball playing.

Around the time we moved to Anaheim, the Ramada Inn at 1050 W. Katella Ave became The Golden Forest Inn. This brochure from the early 70s will give you a glimpse of what this place was like in it's early years before sagging numbers of visitors to The Magic Kingdom and fierce competition in the motel business forced the management to take in far too many local degenerates.