Friday, June 26, 2020

Rescue 9-1-1! Restored Slides, June, 1974

It's time for some more rescued slides. You know the drill!

I was excited to find this picture of the Guatemalan Weavers shop in Adventureland, which had been there since 1956, but seems to have been rarely photographed. Not a huge surprise, how many shops have I ever taken a picture of? This first view is how it looked after the scanner software had done as much color correction as it could handle.


And here's how it looked after some Photoshop action! I was very happy with this one. Check out the sculptural elements on the front of the building, presumably accurate to some native culture (I would not have guessed "Guatemalan", but what do I know). To the right we can just see a bit of the Adventureland Bazaar, while to the left is "Sunkist, I Presume". The Guatemalan Weavers shop closed on February 23, 1986, and became Safari Outpost.


Next is this view looking down on the Storybook Land Canal Boats, along with its queue, and "It's a Small World" in the distance. Again, this is about as good as the Epson scanner could get it.


A few waves of the Photoshop wand and *poof*, the color has been restored. It was a busy June day, but I would have happily waited in that line. Every time I see that souvenir shop in the upper right, it makes me think of a bounce house at a children's party. Even though there are lots of attractions, just look at all the pretty trees. 


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Here's Sue B's blue dog friend, Reggie!




20 comments:

TokyoMagic! said...

I remember reading in a Disney News article, about the couple who owned and operated the Guatemalan Weavers shop. I wonder if they ended up retiring, or if they were booted out by Eisner?

I don't remember ever seeing one of those square Tomorrowland shade thingys in Fantasyland. The one in the second pic, looks like it might be providing shade for the Storybook Land Canal Boats ticket taker.

K. Martinez said...

I love that souvenir shop that makes you think of a bounce house at a children's party. It was one of my favorite kiosks at Disneyland. Very whimsical.

The prize today goes to the Guatemalan Weavers shop in Adventureland. It is indeed rare to see pics of it. Great pics today! Thanks, Major.

stu29573 said...

I know photo 1 is rarer, but I have to vote for photo 2. It's just so darn cheerful! I want to ride the Storybook Boats right now!!! Let's go!!!

DrGoat said...

Nice Major. My Aunt, who was in the weaving guild here in Tucson, loved that place. Probably did a quick run through back in the day, then off to the Bazaar.
Right behind you stu.
Thanks Major. Great work as usual.
Good weekend to all.

Sunday Night said...

Beautiful restorations Major.
I always stopped at Sunkist I Presume for a frozen orange bar. Seemed just right after about 4 hours of walking.
The Fantasyland pic is really wonderful. I appreciate the fact that the photographer had to catch the composition just right (looks like a full frame with no cropping) as he moved in his skyway bucket. That was tricky! Thanks photographer person of the past!

Omnispace said...

Major, thanks for bringing these lost slides into the 21st Century. As everyone knows, the 1970's were saturated with earth tones. I don't remember the Guatemalan Weavers store though I'm sure we visited it. In fact the kid walking away from us under the sign could be me from that time: in my corduroy jeans, floral Western shirt, and longish hair. But then everyone wanted to dress like David Cassidy in those days!

The overview of Storybook "Landing" is an amazing photo with the colorful towers of the gift shop drawing one into the photo. I have to admit that I was not a fan of the Canal Boats as a kid - not with cool things like the Skyway and Peoplemover to go on. Again, it was a matter of portioning out those precious tickets.

Nanook said...

Major-

The aerial shot is a stunner, taking-in so much of that area of the park. I had forgotten the ticket window inside the lighthouse is seemingly open, after being seen in so many images with information signage in its place. Also, that window was originally facing more towards the east, and appears to have moved facing front sometime in the late 1960's. Maybe Mike knows the details.

As usual, thanks Major for the superb job applying the 'magic color juice'-!

JC Shannon said...

What a great shot of Storybook Land, I wanna ride.It looks like Monstro just got a fresh coat of paint. Great job of restoration, as usual. I don't remember that particular shop in the first photo, but I would love to see what they had inside. Thanks Major.

Anonymous said...

Major... To the right of the Guatemalan Weavers shop is more of the same shop. Further right and out of the frame was the Big Game Shooting Gallery. And to the right of the Gallery was the Bazaar. Great work on the slides. I spent many a day opposite working the JC. But at that particular time I spent the summer on Canoes. It is a shame to have seen years later how the diversity of the shops became a homogeneous Disney operation. KS

Major Pepperidge said...

TokyoMagic!, I wonder if I have that issue of Disney News? Mine have been put away for years and years, I can’t remember the last time I looked through them. I can’t imagine why Eisner would have kicked the Guatemalan Weavers out, but that doesn’t mean that he didn’t. And you’re right about the square shade, those are usually in Tomorrowland. I assume it was a very hot day and they provided a little relief for the ticket-takers.

K. Martinez, before the quarantine, our local parks almost always had bounce houses in them on weekends. I mean EVERY weekend! Somebody was having a party of some kind, without fail. So I got used to see big yellow inflatable castles. Glad you liked the Guatemalan Weavers pic!

stu29573, if you like photo #2, I’m not going to argue with you! I just scanned a slide with a similar view, only it has a fascinating detail that I’ve never seen in any other image. You’ll have to wait about three months to see that one, though!

DrGoat, my mom and her cousins were really into textiles, so I’m sure they would have loved the Guatemalan shop, but I don’t know if they ever saw it. My mom’s cousins lived on a farm where they raised sheep with different colored wool. Some were black, some were gray, some were various shades of brown. One cousin even went to New Zealand to do research about the uses of natural colors of wool.

Sunday Night, you used to be able to buy Sunkist orange and lemon bars at the grocery store, I loved those things! I almost always elect to go for a full frame, no cropping, unless a picture is really askew, and then I might feel the need to “un-skew” it to some degree.

Omnispace, there were plenty of Earth tones in the 70s, but I also think of bright oranges, yellows, and reds, along with some nice leafy greens. But I remember going into craft shops and seeing plenty of umbers, ochres, siennas, and grays on things like macrame owls! That western shirt is pretty nice, and I’ll bet my hair was about that length, though my mom did not like it. She was used to our buzz cuts from when we were little! I remember this is the time we lived in Pennsylvania, and all the kids were wearing overalls. So I asked for some, and felt weird wearing them the first few times. We also wore shoes we called “waffle stompers”; funny how fashions are so different, regionally.

Nanook, good observation on the lighthouse ticket window, does that mean that somebody was working inside and they needed a little fresh air so that they wouldn’t expire from the heat? Looking at a 1958 image, it does look like the window used to be more east facing, and it had a rounded top!

Jonathan, I always want to ride Storybook Land! Monstro does look extra shiny, he liked to moisturize with shea butter. I always wonder if souvenir stands from 1974 would have anything that would be super valuable today? My collector brain at work.

KS, I remembered that the Bazaar had a very sculptural façade, that’s why I thought that the building to the right might be part of it. But I’m sure not going to contradict you! I agree so much about the shops - I am friends with a collector who has the most amazing things, many that I’ve never seen before, and they were unique to the park, and often unique to a specific land.

JG said...

Major mojo on these splendid photos, thank you!

I do recall Guatamalan Weavers, but can't recall going inside. The sculptural carvings on the facade look to me like African work from Timbuktu or Mali, where there were great empires once.

https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&tbm=isch&source=hp&biw=1403&bih=748&ei=2Sv2XuP7Hsq_0PEPzYWPyA4&q=architecture+of+ancient+Mali&oq=architecture+of+ancient+Mali&gs_lcp=CgNpbWcQAzoCCAA6BQgAELEDOgQIABAYOgYIABAKEBg6BggAEAUQHlDoCFimTmCvV2gDcAB4AIABR4gBzQ6SAQIzMZgBAKABAaoBC2d3cy13aXotaW1n&sclient=img&ved=0ahUKEwijzN60_J_qAhXKHzQIHc3CA-kQ4dUDCAY&uact=5


There were so many nice shops in old Disneyland with unusual merchandise. Some was quite expensive, but there were always fun things that kids could afford too. It is sad that everything now is so homogenized, Disney doesn't even try to differentiate the offerings by the location. Buzz Lightyear toys for sale in Frontierland etc.

They get a lot of mileage out of those flat, square shade structures, for sure. Not only old Tomorrowland, but IASW also. The sliding drapery type were used in many locations too, old Tomorrowland entry (pre-People mover), FAN 2 dining area, The French Market, Hills Brothers etc.

Lets all go on the Canal Boats together, that would be a lot of fun. I never miss this ride, and also Casey Jones. I usually hit these right after Peter Pan and the bobsleds since the CBs close for the stupid parades.

The bounce house castle always felt out-of-place to me, while the stand across the concourse fits in the IASW vernacular. It looks like it is a test bed for the blue color scheme applied to the attraction facade later in the 70's. I think Mike Cozart said around 1977-78?

I love both of these photos so much. Thanks Major, perfect Friday viewing.

JG

"Lou and Sue" said...

Nice pictures! I always love these before and afters.

DrGoat, my mom and her cousins were really into textiles, so I’m sure they would have loved the Guatemalan shop, but I don’t know if they ever saw it. My mom’s cousins lived on a farm where they raised sheep with different colored wool. Some were black, some were gray, some were various shades of brown. One cousin even went to New Zealand to do research about the uses of natural colors of wool.
Major, your comment made me chuckle, as my friend just sent me a picture of a dog ("Reggie") that she saw at a park yesterday. Reggie had just ran through a field of wild bluebell flowers - and the blue pollen ended up turning some of his coat blue. (If I knew how to attach the picture to my comments, I'd do so, but I'm not that knowledgeable.)

Sue

P.S. Please save me a seat on the boat, too! I'm on my way.

stu29573 said...

All seats are saved! Come on guys!

Major Pepperidge said...

JG, in the years that the Guatemalan Weavers was there, I would not have appreciated it. Especially as a teenage boy! Although… my mom once gave me a shirt that she bought in Peru and I liked it a lot. I finally outgrew it, much to my disappointment. Thanks for the link to the photos in Africa, such a fascinating architectural style. I’m sure that the Bazaar in Disneyland is based on some actual structure, but I couldn’t tell you which one. I should have mentioned in my comment to KS, there were sometimes pieces of merchandise that were unique to a specific shop, which was REALLY cool. I’ve seen things in packaging from “Merlin’s Magic Shop” and the “Market House”. And we’ve all see stuff from the “Art Corner”. Those were the days. I wish we could all meet up and ride the Canal Boats, or any other rides. Pirates of the Caribbean! It’s a Small World! The Disneyland Railroad! It sure would be fun. Thanks for your nice comment!

Lou and Sue, hilarious, it’s not too often one sees a blue dog! I added a photo of Reggie for everyone to see.

stu29573, maybe when I win that lottery (any day now!) I can treat everybody, air faire and everything.

MIKE COZART said...

Those souvenir kiosks were both designed by Rolly Crump. However the bounce-house Castle looking one was not a souvenir stand exactly but a pastel portrait artist kiosk. Rolly Crump always refers to it as a Silloutte Stand , but there’s no evidence that it was ever used for anything other than pastel portraits. It was added at the same time as the famous FANTASYLAND ICE CREAM TRAIN. And TOKYOMAGIC - the ice cream train used about 8 of those same “Tomorrowland” sun shades until a permanent Sunbrella canopy was installed.

Until the late 80’s MOST of the items sold at SMALL WORLD GIFTS were moderate priced toys from Europe - but very expensive at Disneyland. They had GNOMY friction motor trains and old time cars and buses by LEHMANN of Germany ( the company who created LGB TRAINS), toy automobiles and trains made from a hard rubber with hard black plastic wheels from Holland and various international dolls from all over the world - the kind you’d probably find in a international airport gift shop. There were also things like small wood puzzle sets and wooden ( non Disney) Pinocchio toys from Italy. They also sold a Its a small world records and a small world music box. They also had necklaces with a different Small World clock tower figure on each one - I have never seen those for sale on the collectors market.

Walt Disney knew that certain shops were never going to make a killing at Disneyland , but they were partially there for atmosphere and theme - that was their purpose . One of kind Antiques didn’t sell much - but it was a shop you’d expect to find in New Orleans. The expensive ship models at Pieces of Eight fit perfectly but few people bought them. It wasn’t so much Eisner , but Paul Pressler began to replaced a good chunk of Themed merchandise with general Disney merchandise - and not custom or exclusive Themed Disneyland merchandise either .... but mostly plush toys and cheap tacky toys. This would make Disneyland a money maker!!!!! Treat Disneyland the way Paul Pressler ran THE GAP ( isn't The Gap in bankruptcy again??) Another thing with Disneyland and the other parks during the Pressler era was the limited edition.
Disneyland had for years produced some kind of limited edition sometimes high-end items for sale. The edition size would very depending on the item, but never more than 300 pieces. During Pressler’s reign edition sizes went into the thousands! Often way more than a regular product production run. This gave “limited edition ” at Disney parks negative connotations. Disney sells pins as limited editions that are so high in numbers they are as rare as beach sand!!

Anonymous said...

@Mike Cozart, thanks for the info on the "Bounce House"! I sort of remember the pastel artists there, now that you mention it.

I certainly do remember the Ice Cream Train. Even back then, I thought it was a little "off" theme, but what do I know? I am pretty sure I bought ice cream or a frozen banana there on a high school trip.

The IASW gift shop was in place at the time of our first visit with our kids. I winced a bit at the prices since we were pretty strapped for money back then, but we couldn't get out without buying them both something. It's a great strategy to "exit though the gift shop", now adopted by so many museum shows. I think Pirates was the first to do this, since the One-Of-A-Kind shop was sort of the exit for that show.

I always wondered about that shop, why was there an antique shop in NOS? Years later, after my first visit to the real New Orleans, and touring the antique shops on Royal Street, it all made sense. Walt and the original Imagineers hit it out of the park once more, and the subsequent management zeroed it all out with their "tin ear" for style.

The special shops for theming make the old Disneyland more like a World's Fair or Exposition than an amusement park. Another reason to love it, and to heap scorn on the later management for wrecking that.

Thanks everyone.

JG



TokyoMagic! said...

Major, I know I scanned that Disney News article within the last year or so. I will try to find it for you. Also, I don't know if you were just looking at the sculptural design on the right side of the shop entrance, but on the left side (blocked by people in the pic), there were more sculptural elements depicting animals and maybe other objects. You can see between the heads of the two guys in the plaid pants, there is a little critter in a recessed area on the building. That motif was continued down to ground on that part of the building. I have photographed it in the past and will also try to find those images, but that might be more difficult than trying to find the article.

Also, I forgot to complement you earlier, on the excellent rescue job you performed on these slides!

Mike, I forgot about the square shades over the Ice Cream Train! In 1976, I got a caricature of myself drawn by someone at that "castle kiosk." I still have it. I also remember buying an "It's A Small World" picture disc and a "Main St. Electrical Parade" picture disc, at that Small World Gifts souvenir stand across the way. I remember the international dolls that they sold and I also remember the music boxes that played, "It's A Small World."

MIKE COZART said...

TOKYOMAGIC: I got both those pictures discs at Small World Gifts too!

Major Pepperidge said...

Mike Cozart, I wonder if that castle was originally supposed to be a Silhouette Stand, but it changed at the last minute, and Rolly just kept calling it by its original name? I have photos (or at least one photo) of the ice cream train, it feels like it and the castle are part of a matching set. It sounds like high priced collectibles at Disneyland is a theme! I remember you mentioned those Exinwest kits that were so pricey. I would imagine any toys from Germany and Holland would be expensive anyway. Wow, I’d love to see one of those Small World necklaces that you mentioned! I knew that Walt was OK with some shops being in the park for atmosphere more than for high sales; it is no surprise that some VP with an MBA would come up with the bright idea of getting rid of such a shop and replacing it with plush toys. That’s been a problem with Disneyland for at least 30 years, sadly.

JG, I always thought that the ice cream train was made up of old parade float pieces, there used to be a Casey Jr. float that looked very much like that ice cream stand. I remember that it was pretty rare for my parents to say “yes” if we asked for something, on my dad’s Navy salary he probably couldn’t really afford things for four kids, along with all the other expenses of a trip to Disneyland. That’s why Navy Nite was so great, we got in for free, and I think he was a little more willing to spend a little on souvenirs.

TokyoMagic!, I was mostly wondering if I happened to have that issue because I think I have about 30 or 35 old issues of Disney News. It’s always fun to grab a random issue and see what the articles are about! You’re right, I was just looking at the sculptural elements on the right side of the picture, didn’t even notice the stuff on the left. I assume those buildings have been altered since that photo was taken? Thanks for the nice words about the restoration! MAN, you remember so much about all the things at Disneyland (and Knott’s!), it makes me feel like I was asleep half the time.

Mike Cozart, do you still have them??

MIKE COZART said...

MAJOR: I do still have those picture disc. I have all of the 70’s early 80’s Disneyland / Walt Disney World Picture discs. There is one I looked for years as it was announced in a Disney News - but found out later it was never issued. For Disneyland’s 25th in 1980 the took various attraction tunes and recorded them on a mood synthesizer and had it follow the Main Street electrical parade and the Disneyland is your land theme music for the anniversary. So I guess Disneyland decided not to produce it since there was no parade featuring the “electrical parade “ renditions of haunted mansion , Pirates etc.....

But it was perfectly oh to release a album of the Electrical Water Pageant and not use the actual music and just reprint the Main Street electrical parade music !! ???

Somebody out there must have the recordings for that Disneyland 25th electrical parade album.