Anaheim on Thursday tore down its fifth motel since 2020 as part of an ongoing initiative to revitalize neighborhoods.
The former Kettle Motor Hotel along Lincoln Avenue near Euclid Street was demolished with crews and equipment knocking down the 27-room, two-building motel and clearing rubble from the site.
Anaheim bought the Kettle for $3.9 million in 2024 from Kali Investment, Inc., a family investment company.
The former motel opened in 1959 alongside the onetime Kettle Restaurant and beside what were then the newest motor lodges in Anaheim — the Peter Pan, Alamo and Jack ’n Jill.
The Kettle Restaurant closed in 1994 and became Mexi-Casa, a Mexican restaurant that closed its doors in 2021, unable to overcome the challenge of the pandemic. The former Mexi-Casa building still stands today.
Lacking travel lodging demand, the Kettle became “overrun with life-destroying drug use and other crime,” according to a press release from the City of Anaheim. “For the last few months of operation, the motel became the source of major drug and transiency problems that impacted the nearby Target shopping center, neighboring apartments and Chaparral Park.”
Upon buying the motel, the city’s Anaheim Housing Authority closed motel operations and began relocating longer-term tenants. While there are no specific plans for development yet, the site eventually will be rebuilt.
The Kettle Motor Hotel is Anaheim’s fifth motel demolition since 2020, along with:
- Rainbow Inn: acquired by the city in 2024 and torn down in May 2025
- Anaheim Lodge: acquired by the city in 2022 and torn down in 2024
- Covered Wagon: acquired by the city in 2022 and torn down in 2023
- Americana Motel: acquired by the city in 2019 and torn down in 2021
