Casablanca Bar & Grill, Claremont

The College Heights Lemon Packing House (where Casablanca Bar & Grill is now located) is a long rectangular, two-story warehouse with a full basement built in stages from 1909 through 1946. Its function was to receive, process, store, then pack and ship the lemons grown by members of the College Heights Orange and Lemon Association who owned the building. Originally built of wood with a gable roof and attached sheds, it was enlarged and modified in 1922, 1931, 1934 and 1946, until it reached its present dimensions and appearance. The current building had (up until 2002, when the west wing was demolished) four distinct sections made of hollow clay tile, concrete, corrugated metal, and wood slats. It now has two sections, but it retains much of the same appearance it had at the height of citrus activity in this area (1920s-1950s) with some minor exterior and interior alterations. It still stands on the north side of the Santa Fe (now Metrolink) railroad tracks where the lemons were loaded into boxcars for shipment to Eastern markets.