A Pair From 1956
I like this first photo showing a Lincoln-log Frontierland Trading Post, flanked by the "Miniature Horse Corral". There is a tiny sign near that trash can, I wish I knew what it said! "Keep off the Grass", probably. The trees are still so little that the castle can be plainly seen - but they will grow pretty fast.
If you like slightly "off" compositions, than this one is for you. "I want to capture that cute circus train on film - but I also like that umbrella". An artist is constantly making choices. I covet that humble rest rooms/telephone sign (for some reason)!
11 comments:
Oh, Major-
That Frontierland looks so brand-spanking new-! Devoid of maturity, foliage and CROWDS-1
And as far as the "Rest Rooms/Telephone" sign is concerned, I have several in my 'estate'. They prove so helpful following all those 'smart parties' I give on a recurring basis - ya' know: too many tiny triples having been imbibed, makes one forget the whereabouts of those "basic" necessities.
Thanks, Major.
Look at all the weeds over on the shores of the Canal Boats. I wonder what their names were?
Great photos that pre-date me and my memories. I like seeing the old photos to see just how much things have changed over the years. The only thing I remember in that spot (pic 1) is the shooting gallery and the trading post.
Thanks
The sign said "ACHTUNG! MINEN." It kept native German speakers from walking on the lawn but didn't fit well with the Old West theming of Frontierland.
I like picture number 2; I often try to get more than one subject if I can which like this one adds more color to the image! :-)
I love the "frontier" lamppost in the first image.
I never noticed before, but those look like the same knotty/gnarly posts on the front of the Miniature Horse Corral as the ones on the front of the Shooting Gallery. I guess they just kept the same front awning and built the Shooting Gallery in place of the Corral.
Nice early images today. Thanks, Major.
As for myself, I like the telephone pole and lines in the background of the Casey Jr. shot. And to think those lines pass by an Indian Village.
I absolutely love that first shot, with the miniature horse corral, and those simple, clean lines they had going on before the trees went berserk. This is definitely one of those scenes I wish I could step into. And then turn around and head over to get on the stage coach.
Nanook, I see so many early photos of an uncrowded Disneyland that it is hard to believe that millions of people were visiting the park. And you know you have a big house when you need a sign pointing people to the bathrooms!
TokyoMagic!, all I know is that they were rare and exotic, and I wish there was a boat ride so that I could look at them.
Alonzo, I don't think that the miniature horse corral was there for very long, so chances are that most people don't remember it, even if they managed to go to the park in those days.
Chuck, your comment makes me think of the WW2-era Bugs Bunny cartoons, with signs that I didn't understand as a child. "Is this trip really necessary?".
Nancy, I'm all for more color in a photo, and in pic #2 I suppose they did the best they could!
K. Martinez, I'm sure you are right. I seem to recall that extra-bumpy wood was used - maybe it was from diseased trees or something. Walt probably got it for cheap, and it looked great! At this point the Indian Village (the one with live Indians, anyway) was over by the Jungle Cruise, I have a couple of pictures of it that I will share here.
Tom, I know what you mean… the simplicity of the early park is very appealing to many, though modern guests would probably find it terribly dull.
My first impression is that the lantern could double as a tiny bust of Abe Lincoln if they put a little beard on it. Every night at sundown, he makes the Elampcipation Proclamation.
The little lign says, “Here lie the bones of the Unknown Cowboy/A-restin’ beneath this grass./His ghost don’t cotton to flowerbed walkin’/So you better watch your ass.”
I love how the word “miniature” is smaller than the other words on the sign. Is there a term for that kind of thing, where a word looks like what it describes? Kind of like onomatopoeia, but visual?
Someone with a proper artistic eye might disagree, but I love the composition of the second picture. You’ve got that mostly neutral canvas with one large vertical circus element in the foreground and one horizontal circus element in the distant background. There’s a sort of balance without symmetry. It’s repeated in a second layer, in white, with the nautical elements of the wavy fence and pole with semaphore flags that lead off-camera to the Chicken of the Sea ship and canal boats.
I haven’t made up my mind about whether the disembodied heads add to it or take away.
I think the heads would add more to the scene if they were displayed atop pikes.
One in a clown hat, and one in a sailor hat.
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