2 Views From the Hub, July 1967
All the best things in life have hubs. Let's see, you got wheels; they certainly have hubs (hence hubcaps). And… um… er… uh… I'm sure there are other things with hubs too, and that they are all awesome.
Like the Hub at Disneyland! All of the other "lands" radiate outward from the central hub, like spokes on a wheel. Except for Toontown. And New Orleans Square. And Critter Country. But you get the idea.
Today's photos were taken by a photographer who stood pretty much smack-dab in the middle of the hub, where the "Partners" statue can be found today; I really like this neat shot looking down Main Street USA, toward the train station. It's almost a postcard-worthy shot, especially with the happy li'l family right in the middle. The street looks pretty busy, which makes sense in July.
Pivoting to our left (while continuing to dribble the basketball…), we see the beautiful New Tomorrowland! Folks can't help being drawn toward the entrance, with the bright colorful flowers, the curved, elevated Peoplemover track (the turquoise Peoplemover trains are my favorites), and shiny metal walls, and the Rocket Jets.
11 comments:
Oh boy....if only I could step into that second pic! I would ride everything in Tomorrowland over and over again until park closing, and then I would chain myself to something and not let them destroy this incredible land. Of course there are some problems with that plan since I would have to wait some years for them to bring out the jackhammers and in the meantime, I'm sure they would cut me loose and throw me in the Disneyland jail.
There's something about that last shot that makes Tomorrowland look particularly World's Fair-y (which is OK by me). Not sure if it's the mid-60's futuristic architecture or that giant "GE" sign on the Carousel of Progress in the distance, but it screams "hope" and "anticipation" and "progress" all in the same breath. I think the world would be a better (and louder) place if we all did that every day.
Ho hum. Another Tomorrowland '67 pic. Seen one, seen 'em all. ;)
I love the Main Street view with the red flowers at the bottom and the hub trees framing the sides. That Main Street Station is a reverse Disneyland weenie. I want to go there.
Beautiful shot of Tomorrowland '67. The PeopleMover appers closed as there's an employee standing on the track just behind the turquoise PeopleMover vehicle. I miss those palms and flower bed benches at the entrance.
Both images perfection today. Thanks, Major.
Chuck - Tomorrowland '67 definitely looked World's fair-y. I commented the other day that "it's a small world" could've easily fit thematically into Tomorrowland '67 with the Mary Blair murals present.
Excellent pics today! The first shot is amazing - it's like a bowl of froot loops, with all that crisp color and composure. You can practically smell the geraniums.
I love how clean Tomorrowland looks. So bright and optimistic, like they got it all worked out and the future's beckoning.
Nice shots as ever, Major,
I have to agree with Mr. Martinez about the reverse-weenie. It's about time that the reverse angle on all of those "castle in the distance" shots is paid due. It also shows something I love about earlier days at the Park: guests tended to stay out of the street and on the sidewalks. You can look at some of the late-fifties shots and there's no-one in the street at all.
And Major you can't have the turquoise PeopleMover trains. At best you'll have to split them with me. I really like riding swiftly and silently on Goodyear tires...
Love these.
It seems that Tomorrowland was the guest favorite over Frontierland and Adventureland since we see comparatively fewer views of those latter entries.
That view of Tomorrowland is a perennial favorite, I remember my Mom loving the swirled pattern plantings. Just brilliant design.
Cheers for the reverse angle shot of Main Street too. I try to remember to do this, but not often enough. Another fun thing to do at places like Disneyland or museums is to take photos of the other visitors gawking or taking pictures of the landmark. I recently toured a lot of museums and those pics can be a riot, watching people stretching or contorting to get their selfies.
Thanks, Major.
JG
I agree with Tom the color on this second photo is great.
The painfully akward dressing family (led by babushka mom) is front and center too. Never too many photos of tommorrowland 67'. Thanks for posting.
It also appears bowler hat grandpa is checking out babushka lady. Very fresh isn't he.
TokyoMagic!, stepping into the photos is something I wish for all the time! With a good camera of course. Imagine seeing Carousel of Progress (with Progress City upstairs, complete)! Or America the Beautiful, or the Peoplemover; it truly was an amazing place.
Chuck, you're right about the World's Fair look; the rocket reminds me a bit of the Chrysler pavilion, and the GE logo (as you said) definitely is a callback. I think one of the things that I personally loved about Walt's vision of Tomorrow was its sheer optimism. You don't get that anymore.
K. Martinez, I was wondering about that employee on the track; we all know how the dates on slides can be off by weeks or months, and the Peoplemover opened on July 2nd, so it is very likely that it wasn't ready for guests at this point. Good eye! I still don't understand replacing those flower beds with those dumb rocks.
Tom, at that point Tomorrowland hadn't even had time to get dirty! It was as new as new could be.
Patrick Devlin, I always love shots looking up OR down Main Street. Generally I like it better when you can really see the shops, but in this case it is nice to get a sort of "big picture" view. And like you, it is fun to see the way people treated Main Street like a real street… stick to the sidewalks!
JG, to be honest, I have WAY more Frontierland shots than Tomorrowland shots. The novelty of feeling like you were in the Old West must have been powerful. Personally I wish that I had more Tomorrowland photos, though!
Alonzo, your comment about the babushka lady reminded me… whatever became of our Melissa? I hope she's OK. Maybe she just got sick of GDB! I never trust a man in a bowler hat; you know they're hiding something.
every time I see the New Tomorrowland entrance, i get sooo mad!! Why did they think it would be better any other way, coz its not!!
thanks for this lovely view, however, it made my evening! :-)
I agree with Nancy....it's absolutely MADDENING to think about how they took the coolest looking land in the park and made it the ugliest!
Hey, I just noticed that the amoeboid bowl planters in front of the silver panels haven't been installed yet!
Post a Comment