The Old Vineland Hotel in Old Towne Orange

The one thing I LOVE about Old Towne Orange here in sunny SoCal is the history. There are so many stories about this quaint little historic town that is on California's Historic registry.  Above is the old Vineland Hotel that is about 125 years old. It has been vacant for about 20 years now, and there are many, many stories about it. It sits next to Country Roads.

 Over the years it has really deteriorated. It has been abandoned and you can see the roof top peeking over the abandoned "Ex-Mormans For Jesus" building. Don't ask because I don't know the answer to what went on over  there. On the far left is the last (or third building) of Country Roads. Wahoo's Fish Taco's recently bought the property and are in the process of restoring it. I think they had to stop work for awhile because to me, it looked like they really had gutted the poor old hotel. The other day, they were back at work, and tore down the facade/building of the long live "Ex-Mormans For Jesus" where many gathered for???  Before they built the fence to hide the construction site I was able to take some pictures of the old Vineland Hotel. Quite a change from the beautiful hotel she use to be. It would have been awesome if someone bought her  to restore her into the hotel she once was.  Here is what is left of the old Vineland Hotel below.

It was really cool to see the outside of our last building at Country Roads. I loved standing there looking at the old brick building and where different cutouts for doors and maybe windows had been made over the years. I LOVE the old brick and hope the pile of bricks the construction guys have gathered will be re-used for something at the new Wahoo's. I know that many of you already know this, but apparently, like many other areas of Old Towne Orange, the Vineland Hotel use to be haunted! If you click HERE hopefully it will take you to a little video that talks about it. We have "Ghost Tours" down here in Old Towne. And no, I have not been on one! It is kind of funny, okay not funny, kind of creepy but over the period of almost the 20 years I've been down here I've had many people come to the counter and ask me if I ever feel anything "different" or "strange" as they point to one part of the store. The upper part that would have been near the Vineland Hotel! I'm not sure if I have personally "felt" anything different, but it does kind of creep me out when we close at night because it is so dark, and we always wonder "who or what" is in that corner of the building that everyone over the years has asked us about! If you haven't been down to Country Roads or Old Towne for awhile you should stop by. I love it here, and it is the perfect setting for an antique business, ghosts and all!!