A Haunted California Vacation

haunted California trip

Generally children are fascinated with the wonder of the natural world and the wonder of creation, and few things summon them more than the 650 acres of Dreams created by Walt Disney in Anaheim, California. “It’s a place where you believe you can find the impossible, the almost-mentioned impossible,” said Robert A. Sullivan, Director of the American Museum of Natural History.

This is the home of both the Cinderella Never Dies film Studios and the Disneyland Resort, the two Disneyland Haunted Places. From the 1960s to the 1980s, the Hollywood Hills and Disneyland Boulevard were the hotels of choice for many of the stars Hollywood; all of them haunted, to a certain extent. Today, thanks to a long running TV series and a little movie magic, many of those stars have moved on to other things, such as Write centers, yacht races, and of course haunted houses.But the Hollywood honors go back further than that. The movie cameras first landed on set in October of 1942. The Beachwood drive construction began in April of 1942. And more than two million people visited the property between June of 1948 and August of 1949.

Moving inland from the beach, the tour takes you through the Beverly Hills Hotel neither of the properties have haunted residents. The house was built in 1926 and has had only two owners over the past 135 years. upkeep has been worked on by the current owners since they took ownership in May of 1993.

Moving downtown, the tour takes you through the Beverly Wilshire Hotel, once run by Katharine Hepburn. The hotel went through a serious downturn in the 1960s, but it has since been revived, with Hepburn serving as its impresario. Today the hotel houses refurbished, but at a reduced rate.

The third property we are going to is the 1947 Crescent Apartments in Beverly Hills, run by the Revival Company. The property is owned by a not-so-cold ghost,Louisa Longo, who apparently can see everything from across the room. The apartment has been on the market for five years, andrey cluded a sales tax refund from the state of Florida, as well as offers of employment.

Each of these properties offers a different tour. The haunted house is the most elaborate, with a multi-level attic, and even a limestone lit fireplace in the living room. The television room has a nested, pyramid-shaped set, and planes that appear to hover just outside the window. The most elaborate of the tours runs around 11:30 pm, but there are ghost tours that continue until around 5:30 am.

Next we are off to the California State Railroad Museum. This museum is in the old engine house on the California State Railroad. The California State Railroad was historical until the early 1940s, when it was sold to improve the railroad’s finances. The museum exhibitions show the state’s haulage network as well as a model railroad that was used for cargo.

One of the engine houses has “The Dutchman,” an outlaw who lived and died by train. Another house has “Ghost Hill,” a putsch shop where those who wanted to pull the heaves in the night were compelled to climb the stairs to the top with a Virtual Ergonomics Workshop, in order to watch the clockwork cycling through. The human-sized winding stairs are painted to match the layout of the house, and to evoke the most sense of what it must have been like to work there.

The museum is often known as the “Tower of Terror,” for the impact it had on the people it impacted. One of the museum’s most famous exhibits is the 1921 incident in which nine people crowded around a bed, barely able to fit, as it fell seven stories down. Another memorable display is the seven story falls of the Golden Gate Bridge, a sight that required some degree of physical courage. The seven story falls are bounty at the bottom of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area.

To the northwest of the State Railroad Museum of California is the California State Railroad Museum. Here, six in-depth steam photographs of the steam-driven Pullmans that thrived in the California Red Roof Line are available. At this museum, the age-old Red Wheelers can be observed in what is now the 2011 Sacramento River Train. Near the museum is the Pullman Historic District, which celebrates the history of the much-aberishing company and its workers.

Sutter’s Mill is near the northern end of the Pullman Prairie, and can be seen from several miles around. It’s the site of the Discovery Center of the Californias, a popular offshoot of the Pullman Historic District. It’s also the place to buy a six-pack of Pantera and picture yourself on the moon!

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