Tuesday, April 04, 2017

Main Street, 1959

Over the years I have gained a much greater appreciation of Main Street U.S.A., compared to when I was a callow youth. And while I still get very excited when I find an especially great slide showing Tomorrowland or Fantasyland, some of my favorite images are the ones that show a bustling, beautiful Main Street in its heyday.

Like this great one! First of all, there's one of the more famous flagpoles in the world (think about it!) with its ornate base - previously a street light in Los Angeles. The middle of Town Square had benches and shady areas to enjoy, along with tidy grass, and (in this case) newly-planted flowers. Notice the old water fountain!

A Horse Drawn Streetcar carries three cast members, including one daredevil who appears to have jumped on while the vehicle was still moving. What a showoff.


I have pointed out how much I like seeing the Santa Fe logo in the park. First of all, it's a great logo! And it harkens back to the days when the Disneyland Railroad was sponsored by that legendary company. 

The Mickey Mouse flag is pretty great too.


7 comments:

  1. I never realized that Tinkerbell had so many wires to choose from when flying over the park! And just how did she gain momentum, when all of those wires appear to be parallel with the ground?

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  2. Chuck5:22 AM

    TM!, I had the exact same thought. Great minds think alike, and apparently we do, too.

    It's probably just the angle and the light, but the Emporium's front windows look pretty barren, almost like a shop window in a dressed city set. Somebody should put a display there promoting a recent animated film. Except they just put one in the castle.

    Anybody know which film was the first one they promoted with Emporium window displays?

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  3. Good question, Chuck! And I'm still trying to figure out which film was the last. The last one to receive multiple window displays, that is.

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  4. Love the second pic. Just imagine if the railway still sponsored the attraction. It would be "BNSF & Disneyland Railroad". Nope! Doesn't quite have the same ring to it. Thanks, Major.

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  5. TokyoMagic!, without a wire, Tinkerbell just sort of flops on the ground like a fish, and nobody wants to see that.

    Chuck, I just can’t quite tell what is in that Emporium window, though thanks to pareidolia I think I see a Mickey Mouse doll. The “old school” Mickey (which is the best kind). I would love to know which animated film was the first to get the Emporium treatment!

    TokyoMagic!, I know that you want the answer to that question, and yet you have spent no time in the Library of Congress.

    K. Martinez, for some reason my brain wants to pronounce “BNSF”. If I ever get a dog, that will be his (her?) name.

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  6. Major-

    The second shot is a beaut-!

    Thanks, Major.

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  7. Best shot of that center-of-Main-Street-Plaza fountain I've ever seen.

    Thank you Major!

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