The Last Tomorrowland Construction
Today is a bittersweet day; not only are these the last two amazing photos featuring the construction of the "New Tomorrowland", they are also the last of the Instamatic images that were generously given to me by my friend "Mr. X" years ago. There were nearly 300 views in total! And I think you'll agree that some of them were quite nice. I may do a "greatest hits" post (or more than one).
On to today's pictures; take a look at this wonderful photo (taken from the Skyway?) looking down on what appears to be some very frantic activity. There's a lot more steel here than in other places - not entirely sure why, when standard wood framing is also used judiciously. Workmen can be seen all over the place, too. Notice the Disneyland Hotel in the distance, as well as the red leaves on the Swiss Family Treehouse.
I'm wondering what the deal is with those two ladders on the Peoplemover beamway. Any ideas? I'm sure it's all very safe!
Here's a closer view, presumably taken on the same day (though maybe not). It's hard to believe that this tangle of wood and metal would eventually result in the clean, pleasing buildings that so many of us remember fondly!
Even though these are the last of the Instamatics, I still have lots more from Mr. X coming up!
11 comments:
Major (& Mr. X)-
What great times we've had sharing these many views of Disneyland. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you-!
And Major, those "ladders" are actually part of the gigantic Swing Set of the Future-! Weeeeee.....
Thanks again Mr.X & The Major.
That metal framework is for the roof over the Tomorrowland Terrace's seating area. We can even see the unpaved ramp that leads down to the lower level/dance floor in the bottom left corner of the pic. Hmmm, I'm just now getting why they called it Tomorrowland "Terrace." Duh!
Mr. X, Thanks so much for your contribution to this blog. These photos have brought a great amount of joy bringing back those wonderful 1960's memories through the magic of Instamatic images! Sadly, everything does come to and end eventually and this is that moment. Again, thank you so much for sharing with us.
Thank you too, Major, for without you, it wouldn't be possible.
Yeah, Terrace seems to have been popular in restaurant names back in the 1960's and 70's. Tomorrowland Terrace, Tahitian Terrace and River Belle Terrace.
True, a sad day but thanks Mr X and Major for sharing these memories.
Nanook stole my swing set joke. I'm telling!
It's been an amazing run, Major & Mr X. Many, many thanks!
Very cool Major. Will be looking forward to a greatest hits post with Mr. X's pics. These are fantastic. The Swiss Family Treehouse looks so far away. What K. Martinez said.
Now, I read more thoroughly and at the bottom of the article, discover that even though the Instamatics are done, there's still lots more coming from Mr. X. That's good news! Thanks, Major.
Wowie, that's a lot of steel! I never would have guessed that so much of that structure wasn't wood bearing walls. Thanks so much to Mr. X. and the good Major for the thrill of a lifetime! Yes, I was buckled in...
Imagine a time when you could enjoy an aerial view of the Park like this...and to see how high the Treehouse was in relation to everything else. A great series of pictures. Thanks Mr. X! KS
Let me add my thanks to those of the group for Mr. X, and you, Major, for hosting this construction extravaganza. I've really enjoyed it.
I'm stumped as to the purpose of the precarious-appearing swing set structure, it almost looks like it is being used to hoist something up to the beam, in this era before SkyTracks. I'm not getting on it, for sure.
It's no surprise seeing the steel in that roof, the finished work has long spans and a thin cross-section. It's not uncommon to mix steel and wood construction like we see in these pics, even today. Photo one has a good example of steel framing supporting wood rafters for the roof. Steel is economical and capable of long spans and high axial loads, so little columns support a lot of weight.
The views in the distance are just a fine bonus, with an extra kick of the high-tension power line in it's original route.
I wonder if the cost of the land for the park was reduced by the encumbrance of the easement for this line? It would be a big barrier for development of that area for anything other than parking. I'd love to see the budget item for the legal fees alone for the re-routing of that HT line, to say nothing of the construction costs. Infrastructure items like that are non-trivial to move around, even with deep pockets.
Thanks Major.
JG
Nanook, funnily enough, my first thought was that the ladders looked like a swing set!
TokyoMagic! I like it when the readers point out details that I would have never noticed. Like that ramp.
K. Martinez, I am super grateful to Mr. X for giving me the original negatives so long ago. When he handed them to me, I couldn’t believe it. And after scanning them, I was also pleased with how great so many of them were. And yeah, what’s the deal with all of those terraces??
Scott Lane, no need to be sad! There’s more to come.
Chuck, Nanook didn’t steal it, he borrowed it from Milton Berle.
DrGoat, I really do need to get on that “greatest hits” idea - knowing me it will be 90% views of Tomorrowland.
K. Martinez, I visited Mr. X just two weeks ago, and he gave me more Walt Disney World negatives from his November 1971 visit, along with some other fun stuff. Wheeee!
Patrick Devlin, scanning those Instamatic negatives was a lot of work (and cleaning them up was a TON of work), but it was definitely worth it.
KS, I know! I miss that Skyway so much. There were rumors going around Facebook the other day about some sort of aerial tramway possibly being installed at the park - from the looks of the photos, the cars were much larger, and completely enclosed.
JG, er… what is a SkyTrack? I’ve actually seen local office buildings (as long as they’re not too huge) with a combination of steel and wood framing. My understanding is that wood is much better for flexibility in a land where earthquakes are always a threat. As for the high-tension power lines, didn’t they eventually bury them? I’m really not sure.
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