Anaheim ( "ANNA-hime") is a city in Orange County, California. As of January 1, 2008, the city population was about 346,823, making it the 10th most-populated city in California and ranked 54th in the United States. The city anticipates that the population will surpass 400,000 by 2014 due to rapid development in its Platinum Triangle area as well as in the affluent Anaheim Hills area. Anaheim is the second most populous city in Orange County (behind Santa Ana) and second largest in terms of land area, and it is known for its theme parks, sports teams, and convention center.

Founded by fifty German families in 1857 and incorporated on February 10, 1870, Anaheim developed into an industrial center, producing electronics, aircraft parts, and canned fruit. It is the site of the Disneyland Resort, a world-famous grouping of theme parks and hotels which opened in 1955, Angel Stadium of Anaheim, Honda Center, and Anaheim Convention Center, the largest convention center on the American west coast. Its name is a blend of "Ana", after the nearby Santa Ana River, and "heim", a common German place name compound originally meaning "home".

Anaheim's city limits stretch from Cypress in the west to the Riverside County line in the east and encompass a diverse collection of neighborhoods and communities. Anaheim Hills is a highly wealthy master-planned community that is home to many sports stars and executives located in the city's eastern stretches. West Anaheim is notable for its more mature neighborhoods dating from the 1950s, which comprise part of the continuous suburban sprawl extending from Los Angeles. The Anaheim Resort, a commercial district, includes Disneyland and the neighboring hotel and retail complexes. The Platinum Triangle, a neo-urban redevelopment district surrounding Angel Stadium, will soon be populated with mixed-use streets and high-rises. Finally, The Canyon is an industrial district north of the Riverside Freeway and east of the Orange Freeway.

History

The city of Anaheim was founded in 1857 by grape farmers and wine makers from Franconia in Bavaria. The first such settler was Daniel Kraemer. The colony was situated on . Settlers voted to call the community Annaheim, meaning "home by the Santa Ana River" in German. The name later was changed slightly, to Anaheim. To the Spanish-speaking neighbors, the settlement was known as Campo Alemán (Spanish for German Camp). The grape industry was destroyed in the 1880s by an insect pest. Other crops - walnuts, lemons, and of course oranges - soon filled the void.

The famous Polish actress Helena Modjeska settled in Anaheim with her husband and various friends, among them Henryk Sienkiewicz, Julian Sypniewski and Łucjan Paprocki. While living in Anaheim, Helena Modjeska became good friends with Clementine Langenberger, the second wife of August Langenberger. Helena Street and Clementine Street are named after these two ladies, and the streets are located adjacent to each other as a symbol of the strong friendship which Helena Modjeska and Clementine Lagenberger shared. Modjeska Park in West Anaheim, is also named after Helena Modjeska.