Imagineers at the Fair (and More)
Some of you may recall some scans featuring some Disney animators and Imagineers from their visit to the New York World's Fair. If you don't, please check them out HERE, HERE, and HERE. I have a few remaining photos, and decided that I might as well share them today.
The Swiss Sky Ride was one of the more prominent and popular attractions at the Fair, but Switzerland had its own separate pavilion too. Visitors would see displays of clocks, watches, chocolates and cheese are housed in building reminiscent of Alpine chalets. A tourist information center and a restaurant are part of the pavilion. Electronic equipment in the time Center controls 10 modern Swiss clock towers which provide accurate time at the Fair entrances. Animator/Imagineer Ken Anderson's head is right by the doors (looking back toward us), while animator Les Clark (in the gray sport coat close to us) and Imagineer Harriet Burns (in the blue coat) head toward the entrance.
Frankly I'm surprised that there aren't more photos of the gang in front of the Unisphere, but there was only this one example. That's Van Arsdale France with some ladies - I hate to just assume that they are all wives, when they could very well be Imagineers themselves. It's frustrating to not be able to ID them. I love the very chic outfit on the woman with the red hat and gloves.
I can't figure out where our friends were standing in this photo - the glass building with the angled walls should be easy to ID, but I have failed you. In the distance I see a map that might have to do with the Pan American Highway Garden, and just behind the glass wall might be walls and posters from the Pepsi/Unicef "It's a Small World" pavilion. Maybe they're at the "Better Living Center"?
Over in Sinclair Dinoland, Les Clark chats with Ken Anderson, maybe they were reminiscing about working on the "Rite of Spring" segment of "Fantasia". Just behind Les is Harriet Burns again (that blue coat is easy to spot!).
Ken Anderson was prone to making dramatic declarations whenever he happened to be near one of those juice machines, and who can blame him? "Orange juice is not just a source of vitamin C, but other important nutrients such as folate, magnesium, and potassium!", he shouted. The raincoats and plastic babushkas tell us that precipitation has finally moved in. Hopefully it passed through quickly.
This photo was in the mix, and I looked up the Stadium Inn, only to find that it was conveniently located practically right next to the Fair. It must have been the hotel for the Disney folks, they could be experiencing some great moments with Mr. Lincoln in a jiffy! It's now a Holiday Inn.
Here's a vintage postcard, for you vintage postcard nuts. Or just nuts in general.
And finally, here's one last image of the gang posing in Central Park. I believe that the building above Blaine Gibson's head is the famous (infamous?) Dakota, which would make that Central Park West and 72nd Street. Just to the right is The Langham, and the double towers are part of The San Remo. Who can name more buildings?
I hope you have enjoyed these photos of Disney artists and Imagineers at the Fair!
14 comments:
That Swiss Skyride is WAY TOO HIGH!!!
Major-
Très chic, indeed-! And, she knows how to stand-! Evidently Ken was schooled by the same fella who taught me how to "handle oneself" when in the presence of an orange juice machine. (It's serious business, Major-!)
I love those [probably] Austrian curtains - maybe Venetian curtains - can't fully discern until fully lowered, at the Stadium View Inn - so fancy. [It IS 'gracious living', after all-!]
That group photo in Central Park is really nice.
Thanks Major, for sharing more of these images from the Fair.
Red hat and gloves lady is very Audrey Hepburn-ish.
The lady with the colorful pink, blue, and gold dress is petting the T-Rex (or is it an Allosaurus?) like it's a gentle golden retriever. Just before this photo was taken, she tossed a Milk Bone dog biscuit (which she always keeps in her purse for this sort of occasion) up to the dino's toothy, and ample, mouth. Here we see him crunching it contentedly.
In the soggy juice-machine photo, the two guys in the background are running to take cover from the rain. Love the combination of red shirt, black shorts, and black knee-high socks. Is he a soccer player?
It really is astounding that you found these NYWF photos with Disney folks in them. Thanks, Major.
The lady with the colorful pink, blue, and gold dress is petting the T-Rex
JB, and in turn, he is petting (and scratching the head) of that Brontosaurus.
Shouldn't the lady with the chic outfit, also have red shoes and a red purse? Or is that too "matchy-matchy," as Heidi Klum would say.
The last photo was taken at the southern corner of Central Park's Sheep Meadow at 40°46'13.9"N 73°58'28.3"W. Here's a "current" (Aug 2012) Google Street View of a comparable photo composition.
If our 1964 photographer had panned left a couple of blocks, he would have caught the Shandor Building at 550 Central Park West, which, like the Dakota, has its own infamous history.
Major, not only are these fun pictures of some of our heroes and heroines, but some excellent pics of the Fair as well.
I’m impressed with your ability to identify both people and places. The lady in red and blue is very much au courant indeed.
Chuck, thank you for the Central Park links!
I wanted to comment more on yesterdays post, but fridays are always busy and the day ran away with me.
JG
Mike Cozart, it really did go WAY up there! Sources say it was 113 feet in the air.
Nanook, that lady’s outfit almost looks like a uniform of some kind, perhaps a guide of some kind. But she might just be one of the wives who happened to be very fashionable! I’ve heard of Venetian blinds, but not Venetian curtains. I prefer a big piece of cardboard in the window to block sunlight.
JB, yes, she might be playing Holly Golightly in a stage production of “Breakfast at Tiffany’s”. That other lady knows that the best way to tame a T-rex is to tickle his leg. I always carry a Milk Bone dog biscuit, but it’s because I like that they help keep my teeth clean. Not sure about the kid with the red shirt and black knee-high socks, maybe he was one of those International Boy Scouts who were seen around the Fair. Helping old ladies cross the Grand Central Parkway?
TokyoMagic!, aw, the T-rex and Brontosaurus are good pals. “I’d never eat you, Bronto buddy!”. Since I always wear all-purple, or all-green, or all-whatever, I guess I am guilty of being too “matchy-matchy”.
Chuck, I actually did look at Google’s “Street View”, but found those darn trees blocked so much of the view. Trees should be banned! Who’s with me? I had to look up the Shandor Building, so I guess I have to turn in my nerd badge (in shame).
JG, these were definitely a fun discovery, I’d love to find more stuff like this! Some of the identifications took some real work, especially Jack Fergus, about whom not much is written. He seems to have been a good buddy of Rolly Crump’s, though. Friday was busy for me too, so no worries!
@ Chuck-
Nicely done.
Thanks.
Again, "trees have no scale": Walt Disney. I often wonder about these older photos and the people around these people milling about with "greatness" not knowing it. These people basically changed the art and entertainment world as we know it in the 20th Century- with other artists such as Warhol, Dali, etc. being inspired by THEIR work- and countless others. For myself, I have been profoundly influenced indirectly both creatively and professionally by these mortals toodling about the World's Fair totally unnoticed by other mortals. I think about the amazing people in my many past lives where we were all just "doing our thing" not really comprehending the cultural impact for the future. I wax poetic. All I can see in that snack stand photo are the cigarette butts on the floor. Were others clutching their pearls saying to themselves "NOT IN DISNEYLAND!". I don't know. I'm wondering if the pretzels they sold at the World's Fair taste like the ones on 29th and Madison? Like cigarette smoke scented fried dough? Who knows? Let this serve as a warning to any tourists visiting this blog to please avoid the "excitement" of a street-side pretzel in NYC, only to discover it's very hard and inedible texture and burnt tobacco and peat infused melange of flavors. The Stadium View Inn looks like something you'd find in 60's Queens. Yep...there it is. I would like to visit Danny's Hideaway. Isn't that the name of "The Nannies" ex boyfriend, also of Flushing, Queens? I'm wondering if this was the same visit as the "sunny" photos you previously posted (thanks for the links). I thought it was Mrs. Disney in that first photo in the white sweater, but I think not if Walt was not there. She wasn't a fan of "shop work" like her husband unless she was compelled to make appearances- just my POV from my limited contact. I just came back from Palm Springs where they have their own dino's. Featured in the Pee Wee movie. I was there with my 24 year old co-worker- who asked "who is Pee Wee". "Oh dear...I'm old" I said to myself. She was impressed with the Dinosaurs which ARE impressive...but the question "why did they build these dinosaurs next to a Burger King and why?" Well..because Hadley's wanted you to stop for dried fruit and dates. Which we did. And the dates were delicious.
Tokyo, I hadn't noticed the T-Rex petting the Brontosaurus. (I'm sure they were still called Brontosauruseses back in '64, not Apatosauruseses.) If you zoom waaaay in, you can see an ant petting the sole of the lady's shoe. And if you had access to an electron microscope you could see a dust mite petting the ant. And the dust mite... well, you get the picture. Petting has no scale!
I can't see enough of the Brontosaur to tell if it is petting anything.
Bu, haha. I DID notice the trash on the ground and think "that wouldn't happen in Disneyland".
I can't answer the pretzel question, but I once bought some cotton candy at one of those traveling parking lot carnivals that pop up from time to time. It didn't have any coloring added to it, also no vanilla or other flavoring; just plain sugar. And it tasted like old, stale, rancid deep-fryer grease. I ate two or three bites and threw the rest in the trash. I learned my lesson.
Now that Major has posted that picture of the Disney animators next to the rock in Central Park I want to go there and have my picture taken in front of it. Perhaps it will become famous like the Abby Road album cover.
Bu, I’m still not sure a lot of people would think that those Disney artists were “great”. I DO, but you know how easy it is for people to dismiss the work and artistry of others. And animated films (and amusement parks) are probably considered “lowbrow” to put it mildly. And I’m sure that back in the day, there were plenty of cigarette butts on the ground, though the army of sweepers did their best to keep them under control. I assume that “a pretzel is a pretzel”, I’ve had them at ball parks, amusement parks, and county fairs, and they all seem to be about the same - although I had one in Minnesota that was about 12 inches across! I never watched “The Nanny”, so I’m out of my depth, even though I’ve always liked Fran Drescher. I don’t blame Lillian Disney for wanting to stay out of the public eye, I wouldn’t want to be the subject of attention either! I mean, more than I am as a world-famous blogger, that is. Sad that somebody doesn’t know who Pee Wee is, but then again, Jay Leno showed a photo of the Beatles to a young woman at Universal City Walk, and she had no idea who they were.
JB, I think I’ve heard that the Brontosaurus has made some sort of a comeback, and that perhaps it isn’t a verboten term. I forget WHY though. Politics! “Petting has no scale”, let’s make t-shirts with that phrase on them. We’ll make millions, even though nobody will understand what it means when taken out of context. Weird about that cotton candy, almost every time I’ve had it, it has tasted exactly the way I’ve expected it to. Except that one time it was cherry flavored, and I had no complaints about that.
Sunday Night, ha ha, take off your shoes for the photo and there will be rumors that you died!
I believe that third photo was taken at or near the Transportation Pavilion. You can just see the Port Authority building in the upper right corner. The glass wall and the color/pattern of the Luminaires place it right in that area.
I like the style of the Stadium View Inn - very midcentury. The current Holiday Inn keeps more of that look than I expected.
The snackbar picture appears to be the Brass Rail in the Transportation area, according to the map at nywf64.com I suspect the glass wall to the left is part of the Chrysler pavilion.
Thanks for the pics from the World's Fair.
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