World Famous Doll Hut is a California music venue legend. This venue, just off the Santa Ana Freeway and located in the warehouse district of Anaheim, got its start an impressive 100 years ago, but not as a performance space.
The structure housing Doll Hut was built in the early 1900s as a private home, but was renovated to become the Sunkist Cafe in 1941 and from there has gone through many names and uses.
But its most famous iteration is the one that’s still running today; Doll Hut the music venue has risen to legend status among the many bands and fans who have packed this very intimate performance space.
A Brief History Of Doll Hut
Long after the original structure was built circa 1922, and long after it was known as the Sunkist Café, it was renamed Doll Hut in 1957. But the music was not to come until several decades later.
Linda’s Doll Hut the music venue opened in 1989, and became known as a friendly place for established and up-and-coming acts to perform. Sublime, Brian Setzer, Offspring, Social Distortion, and many others graced the stage in this concert space, which used to have a 49-person capacity but was expanded to admit just under 90 fans.
The owner Linda Jemison, retired in 2001, and Doll Hut for a time seemed to lose its allure, but in 2007 new owners made the effort to restore the hall to its former glory. It nearly closed for good in 2012, but was purchased again and opened under new management in 2014 under the direction of Mike McGarvey.
There have been rough spots for Doll Hut over the years, temporary closures and COVID-19 certainly provided challenges. But Doll Hut survives to this day, and is even the subject of a 2016 documentary called Down At The Doll Hut
Watch the trailer for Down At The Doll Hut
Today, many who loved the “original” 80s and 90s era Doll Hut still support the venue, referring to it as the CBGBs of the West Coast. CBGB was a legendary New York venue that became famous for punk rock, New Wave, and post-punk shows featuring Blondie, Talking Heads, and the Ramones.
Doll Hut has certainly earned a reputation for being as intimate and adventurous as CBGBs. Both Doll Hut and CBGBs had documentaries made about them, further cementing their places in music history.
Watch the trailer for Burning Down the House: the Story of CBGBs
What To Know About Doll Hut
Gathering information about this venue can be challenging; there is an official website listed with some online booking resources but it resolves to a Not Found at press time. Basic venue details (operating hours, age policy) are available on Doll Hut’s Facebook page but there is no official site for the venue apart from FB.
This venue has a limited capacity (89 patrons), is cash-only, and there is an ATM on-site. Limited parking is available with more on-street parking options in the local area.
Getting To Doll Hut
Doll Hut is located at 107 S. Adams Street, Anaheim, CA. This venue, according to the Doll Hut official Facebook page, is open seven days a week from 7pm-2am, and these hours may be extended during special events. There is conflicting information on review sites such as Yelp, which list Doll Hut’s hours as being Thursday through Sunday closing at 1:30 AM except Sundays where Yelp lists the closing time as 10PM.
This venue is for concertgoers 21 and older.
World Famous Doll Hut
107 S. Adams St., Anaheim, CA
562-277-0075
7PM – 2AM Daily
[email protected]
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/worldfamousdollhut/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/worldfamousdh
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