Sunday, November 11, 2018

Frontierland Station, 1962

It's a black and white day here in Gorillaland. Not the usual cotton candy and lollipops malarky! GDB is dark and gritty, like the DC movie universe. Everybody's angry and it rains a lot, and we punch each other through buildings just for the fun of it.

At first I thought that the 1962 date (written on the envelope that holds the snapshots) might be in error; Here we see Frontierland Station, which as many of you know, was based on a train station in the Disney movie "So Dear To My Heart". The station building has been moved back so that the train passes in front of the old building (sorry for my muddled description) - in my brain I always thought that this was done for the construction of New Orleans Square, which didn't open until 1966.


BUT... in 1962, there were plenty of changes in Frontierland, including the removal of the Plantation House and additions to the Indian Village. 1962 really was the year that the old Frontierland Station was moved, as part of construction that would eventually become part of the New Orleans Square expansion (the station wouldn't change it's name to "New Orleans Square Station" until 1996, much to my astonishment). 

Booooooaaaaaard!


9 comments:

Nanook said...

Major-

That's a nice vista one sees from on board the train - even in monochrome. And... it's delightfully uncrowded.

Thanks, Major.

Chuck said...

Note in the first picture that, even though the track and depot have just been moved, there's still a siding at the Frontierland station. By the '90s, the track we see in that first photo will be gone.

Always fun to see familiar things reduced to light and shadow, making different details stand out. In the second image, there's a ticket booth I never noticed before. How long did that last? I won't be surprised if I walked past it a dozen times in the '70s and it never registered. Also note the keelboat to the left of the ticket booth.

On a different note...I know we take this day in the US to celebrate our Veterans, but this year, please take a moment to remember why this day became a holiday - literally, a "holy day" - in the first place.

JC Shannon said...

Sam Spade sat in his office chain smoking Lucky Strikes, a half empty glass of cheap scotch in front of him. Rain was pelting the window when the phone rings and its Disney. There's trouble in Frontierland. Seems people have been angry and punching each other, through walls no less. They need a gumshoe like Sam to investigate. It was dark and gloomy in Mousetown when he arrived, something was off, not kosher. Stay tuned for part 2 of our story where Sam discovers someone has stolen all the color film in the park. Chilling. "Thanks Major," Jonathan muttered as he took a long drag off his smoke and stared out into the rain.

Major Pepperidge said...

Nanook, color generally nicer, but sometimes ya gotta take what you can get. And these are still pretty good!

Chuck, thanks for pointing out the siding. And the ticket booth! AND… gosh, I feel terrible that I forgot today was Veteran’s Day (granted, I wrote this post weeks ago), since my dad was in Vietnam. Definitely think about the people who sacrificed so much for the rest of us.

Jonathan, ha ha, these do have a bit of a “noir” feel to them. Suddenly I have the urge to read some Dashiell Hammett, or maybe Raymond Chandler. Oh who am I kidding, I will just read “The DaVinci Code” for the 11,000th time. I’m sure you agree it’s the greatest book ever.

JC Shannon said...

Just as sure as gorillas don't blog, and the DaVinci Code is the greatest book ever, we owe our freedom to those who gave their lives in service to our country. Thanks to all who served.

Melissa said...

The station was closed. A little bit... too closed.

Steve DeGaetano said...

Frontierland Station was moved a couple times. It originally stood very near where the entrance to the Blue Bayou currently is!

Major Pepperidge said...

Jonathan, you can say that again!

Melissa, you sound just like Bogart.

Steve DeGaetano, yes, I remember in an early Viewmaster packet seeing it must further south and east of where it is in these photos. It seems as if it was practically in Adventureland (though I know it wasn’t).

Anonymous said...

Probably my favorite building in Disneyland, and that's saying a lot.

Thanks Major, for the noir look back, Steve DeG for the bits of history, and to Chuck and the veterans for their service to the Nation.

JG