Visiting Muzeo

In the past my only reason to visit Anaheim was to go to Disneyland. But with the additions of the Packing House and Center Street Promenade I’m finding myself in the city more and more frequently.

Amidst the shops and restaurants on Center Street is Muzeo – a museum and cultural center. I recently headed there to check out their latest exhibit Cougars and Grizzlies: Sharing Their Path.

As a resident of Southern California I’m quite familiar with the cougar. No hike in the area comes without a warning to watch out for this native animal. Luckily, I’ve never run into one.

I’ve also never run into a California Grizzly as they’ve sadly gone extinct. I was heartbroken to learn that the last one was killed in Santa Ana – the town I grew up in.

The exhibit is a comprehensive look at both of these native creatures and I went away with a deeper knowledge of them.

After viewing the exhibit we headed on over to the museums other building – the former Anaheim Museum – which houses additional exhibits. This building was previously a Carnegie Library and is beautifully preserved. Inside is a permanent exhibit on the history of Anaheim.

I was not surprised to learn the town has a citrus past but did not know it also was a grape growing region.

In fact, Anaheim’s roots are in the farms of German vintners. Yup, Anaheim is former wine country. Imagine that.

I also loved learning that Anaheim was also home to a beautiful movie palace – The Fox Theatre (not to be confused with the Fullerton Fox). Sadly, all that remains of this beautiful structure are the items in the photo as it was demolished several decades ago.

Muzeo is a small museum with a lot of heart. I learned so much about the city of Anaheim and our native cougars and grizzlies. It made for a lovely afternoon.