Thursday, February 23, 2012

Knott's, June 1962

I've said it before, and I'll say it agin'.... I love that there was a house of ill repute in Knott's Berry Farm. Talk about the "hard facts" that created America! Walter Knott was my kind of dude. Goldie's "Hotel" was place where a lonely prospector could drink, gamble, get a good meal, listen to a pi-anny, and maybe enjoy a little feminine companionship.


Here's the statue of "Seldom Seen Slim". Yep, that's what he was called. He may have been seldom seen, but I'll be he often smelled. Fortunately the "Hai Karate" cologne that his donkey wore kept things from getting too unpleasant.


Yeah, you better get a haircut, you darn hippie! And get some new glasses too, you look all blurry and stuff. The barber shop was (is?) the site of one of the famous "peek in" scenes, in which a barber realizes that his customer is the same man seen on the "wanted" poster.

10 comments:

TokyoMagic! said...

Those three people look like they are ready for a dapper day at the Farm.

The Barber Shop is still there, but the Silver Dollar Saloon next door was converted to an incredibly ugly shooting gallery.

And that twisted Wisteria vine growing up onto the arbor in the background of that second photo is just one of many that used to be growing on the property...but the last time I checked, that particular one was still there. I think the others were all replaced by roller coasters.....or concrete.

Nancy said...

that is an interesting photo op choice, sorta plain considering the many cool places there were for one but, okay, maybe our friend here was a barber or something!

the statue is very cool, and I am surprised to see that it is "in color". hopefully that Hai Karate is still holding out!

Anonymous said...

I remember the leg. I think it used to move. Maybe the same person who did the voice for Sad-Eye Joe. (was that his name, TM?)

Mom was scandalized by this feature, even tho the leg was clothed.

JG

Major Pepperidge said...

TM!, now that I know about the wisteria vine, I am worried about its future. Somebody will come up with a brilliant reason to rip it out, just like the Mine Train ticket booth.

Nancy, Hai Karate's aroma never fades. One spritz lasts years and years!

JG, the leg did move every once in a while, and I think you are right, it was controlled by the person who voiced Sad Eye Joe.

Rick West said...

Goldie's (the brothel) was recently completely rebuilt due to its old age; Knott's did a great job. In fact, most of Ghost Town has been rebuilt in the past several years, and now the ground/sidewalks are getting completely redone as well. Huge, good things are happening at the Farm under the guidance of the new GM and new blood in Ohio at Cedar Fair.

TokyoMagic! said...

JG, yep his name was Sad Eye Joe and Major is right about the man doing the voice and operating the leg....in fact, that man can be seen sitting just inside the window on the ground floor of Goldie's (far right of the photo).

I hope they are not replacing all of the concrete in Ghost Town just so they can build a roller coaster on top of it. Hey, they already did it to Boot Hill....I wouldn't put anything past them. :-(

Rick West said...

Whoops - my response apparently didn't appear.

Take Two.

The concrete in Ghost Town - the streets are being colored/textured as dirt street and the "sidewalks" are being colored/textured as wooden planking.

Major Pepperidge said...

Rick, I know that much of the old Ghost Town has been rebuilt recently (thanks to TokyoMagic! and his "Meet the World" blog), I am so glad that they realize the importance of that piece of classic Knott's history.

TM!, I didn't notice the man in the window until I lightened the image WAY up... maybe my monitor is set too dark. Still, it's a cool detail.

Rick again, that will be interesting, I will definitely be curious to see how the textured concrete looks.

TokyoMagic! said...

Major, your monitor is probably okay. I could just barely see the man when I viewed your post last night in a dark room. When I viewed your post again this morning, he was more difficult to see with the sunlight coming in the room.

Anonymous said...

I remember Sad-Eye Joe vividly.

When I was very small, my Dad took me up to see him and Joe called me by name and asked all about my schooling, etc. Scared the daylights out of me.

Years later, on another visit with mom and dad, dad showed me the booth where you could pay the "voicer" to ask questions based on info you provided. there was an elaborate periscope widget that allowed the voicer to see the visitors in front of Joe's cell, so he could see your clothes, for example, and gauge your reactions to the comments. Of course, all that Joe knew about me had been supplied by my Dad. think he would still speak to you even if you didn't pay (or maybe tip?) but comments would be limited to what he could see about you.

A little kid or a casual observer would never notice those items. A great experience for visitors. Is this still in operation?

JG