Wednesday, March 25, 2015

Random Pair from the 50's

Here are two unusual, random views from the 1950's… starting with this very dark (but kind of neat) dusk photo of a Keelboat. The water looks like India ink, and the very last rays of sun are about to vanish. I'm a bit discombobulated… is that the western shore of Frontierland (near the eventual tunnel to the Indian Village)? If so, it seems like the Keelboat is heading the wrong direction (and I'm pretty sure the image isn't flopped). Anyway, this photo has a romantic quality that is very appealing.


And here's a not-great view taken from the queue up to the brand-new Fantasyland Skyway chalet (you can see the steel Skyway supports near the Pirate Ship). Other folks who have just arrived from Tomorrowland are heading down the steps closer to the fence, where a Storybook Land canal boat and Casey Jr. can be seen.


15 comments:

Chuck said...

LOVE that first one! It conveys so much mood, that lovely, brief moment of twilight as the world is settling down for the evening. Since it's a still photo, we don't have to tune out the crowd noise, the bell and whistle of the Mark Twain, or the background music (if they even had any back then).

I don't think you've misidentified the location. Those posts in the left of the photo appear to be the eastern edge of Fowler's Harbor. A keelboat skipper would have had to veer to the starboard (right) coming out of the dock to navigate around that and into the channel.

I find the second photo rather ominous. Lots of people are getting on, but very few are getting off. "People-eater" indeed...

Tom said...

First picture - awesome. Love the feeling of solitude and finality. It looks like he's heading toward the island. You can see one of the cave entrances there, and in the distance, the lines of the Skyway over the tops of the trees. The Matterhorn must be out of frame on the right side.

K. Martinez said...

Chuck is correct. Here's an image showing the eastern edge of the Fowler's Harbor with posts to support his comment.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v470/bananaphone5000/GORILLLAS/FowlerView50z.jpg


Tom - Those are not the lines of the Skyway, but actually the power poles and lines that ran outside the back of the Park behind the Indian Village.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v470/bananaphone5000/GORILLA3/50sIndianVillage.jpg

Major Pepperidge said...

Chuck, I like that one too… the lighting is unusual, and these days, finding any Disneyland image that is unusual is a miracle. Why would you want to tune out the sound of the bell and whistle of the Mark Twain? Thanks for the confirmation… the wood post fence in the distance was what gave me a clue, but the ones in the water are a more helpful clue. As for the Skyway view, I guess more people wanted to go to Tomorrowland from Fantasyland rather than the other way around!

Tom, when I hear the word "finality" I can't help thinking "death"!! The Keelboat is ferrying passengers across the river Styx to the Underworld.

K. Martinez, wow, that first link is very helpful! It is easy to see why Tom thought that those were Skyway lines, but as you pointed out, the Skyway would be in the other direction… although I can tell you that it wasn't even built when these pictures were taken.

Chuck said...

Major, I'd only want to tune it out to pretend I'm really on the Mississippi circa 1810. I wouldn't mind it any other way.

TokyoMagic! said...

Now I'm confused. The link provided by K. Martinez helps a great deal.....you can even match up the caves in both pics and see that it is the entrance to Injun Joe's Cave.....the rock in the river even matches up. But where is Castle Rock? Shouldn't we be able to see it? Or would it be just out of frame to the left? Or was it not even built yet? Major, you mentioned that the Skyway wouldn't have been built at this time, so the island really shouldn't be built up yet either....including Injun Joe's Cave, right?

K. Martinez said...

Major - Are you sure the Skyway wasn't built when these pictures were taken? Was Tom Sawyer Island open in the first pic? what is the date of the pic?

Here are the opening dates for the attractions mentioned:

12/25/55 - Mike Fink Keel Boats
06/16/56 - Rafts to Tom Sawyer Island
06/23/56 - Skyway to Fantasyland/Tomorrowland

Source: The Disneyland Encyclopedia

They're very close in dates. All opened within one year of Disneyland's opening date and within six months of each other.

K. Martinez said...

TokyoMagic! - Missed your comments there. The same questions came to my mind. I'm still trying to figure out the whole Castle Rock thing myself. Perhaps I'll do some detective work to figure it out. If Major had the specific date of the photo it would help a lot.

Major Pepperidge said...

Chuck, ah, I see what you mean!

TokyoMagic!, I thought the same thing. As for my comment about the Skyway, see my next reply to Ken…

K. Martinez, OK, I confess to having a "brain f*rt", I was composing a blog post as I was answering your comment, and THOSE photos are pre-Skyway. Arg!

K. Martinez, the slide has no date, but it is on a red Kodachrome mount, so… certainly 1950's, but beyond that it's impossible to say. If you figure out the Castle Rock mystery I will be very interested to hear the solution!

Chuck said...

If you compare the photo to an overhead Google satellite image, you can see that the camera is actually pointing NNE, towards where the barrel bridge is on the opposite side of the island. Castle Rock is out of frame to the left in this shot.

TokyoMagic! said...

Ah, it all makes sense now. That fence was also throwing me off, because I don't remember fencing like that on the island, but part of it does show between Injun Joe's Cave and Castle Rock in that first link/pic.

K. Martinez said...

Thanks, Chuck!

TokyoMagic! The fencing through me off too. Looks like the Castle Rock mystery is solved.

Nancy said...

Beautiful views today! Dusk is my favorite time at the park....the nighttime lights are on but its still daylight so the colors are much nicer and softer than stark against total darkness!

you can hear the silence in the first view of the keelboat...just amazing colors. :-)

Chuck said...

Your last sentence sums it up perfectly, Nancy!

Major Pepperidge said...

Chuck, NNE?!?! I refuse to believe it! Don't confuse me with the facts. Well… maybe you're right.

TokyoMagic! and K. Martinez, yes, that fencing is what messed me up too.

Nancy, as Chuck said, your comment is spot-on!