Nice Tomorrowland, April 1973
If you happen to love Tomorrowland that way that I do, you'll do a little jig when you see these. Maybe you'll even leap into the air and click your heels together the way Fred Flintstone used to; joy takes many forms.
It's April, 1973, and we're looking eastward. Was this photo taken from the Rocket Jets platform? I'm really not sure! It's certainly an unusual view, with the Carousel of Progress building to our right. You can get a sense of how big that GE sign really was. We get glimpses of the Autopia and even a Monorail, along with some nice landscaping.
Those folks walking down the ramp just saw the beautiful model of Progress City, maybe they were talking about the possibility of living in such a place someday. Little did these guests know that the Carousel of Progress would close just five months after this picture was taken, on September 9th.
Did somebody say Monorail? There's the Mark III Monorail Blue, sitting at the station, and probably being refilled with uranium or plutonium, or one of those other "iums". Note the sign for the GAF Photo Trail, replacing the Kodak Picture Spots in 1970.
30 comments:
Major-
That first shot appears to be taken from the [upper] loading area for the Rocket Jets - just outside the Gantry Elevator. I'm curious what that extension ladder is doing [evidently] sitting in a planter in the third image...
Thanks, Major.
In #1, there's that rare multi-trunked palm tree from Madagascar(?) Malaysia? I can't remember where.
I count 5 trashcans.
In the close-up, I thought the little kid in red pants, coming down the ramp, was wearing a Mouse-ears hat. But I don't see any mouse-ears.
In #3, I dunno, Major. Looks to me like the Monorail is being refilled with people. MONORAIL FUEL IS PEOPLLLE!!!
The group of guys at the bottom left look like they just concluded a meeting of the Chess Club before heading to Disneyland.
Nanook, maybe one of the workers noticed a light that won't light on one side. So he took it back to the workshop to fix it. (Will anybody get that reference?)
Thanks, Major, for today's Tomorrowland pics.
@ JB-
Don't feel badly if the reference sails above everyone's (collective) heads; no one [commented, at least] to my reference to "The Outsiders", from Monday's post. (Where are the movie & literature buffs-??) It was a sad reference, let's face it; but still...
look!!! The color to GAF Photo Trail sign is faded just like GAF color film and slides are!! Several months ago a house not far from mine had a sign sticking in its lawn saying it had been treated with GAF Fertilizers ..... I wonder if it’s the same company?? If it is, there’s a very good chance their lawn will fade to a reddish color.
What a glorious Tomorrowland this was.
CORRECTION : the GAF sign was in the lawn , but the sign said the house had been roofed with GAF products. Grass or roof .... I hope they don’t turn red!!
JB, I got your reference! Nanook, I read The Outsiders in seventh grade, but I never saw the movie. I didn't realize that Leif Garrett was in it, until I just now looked it up. I wonder why his acting career didn't take off, like it did for everyone else in the film? Maybe he was just made for dancin'.
That last pic is taken just a few steps away from "Three Fences"!
Monorail Red is juuuust visible at the left due of the first photo.
Interesting headwear on a few folks. Aside from that weird, earless Mickey Mouse skullcap on the red-pantsed kid on the ramp that JB pointed out, there’s a family along the bottom edge wearing identically-colored floppy hats in red, white and green, and there’s a groovy, American flag visor on a person in the crowd coming down the ramp. It stands out even more because it’s in sunshine and most of that crowd is in shadow, symbolizing something. I’d share it with you all, but it’s so deep that even I don’t comprehend its meaning.
The GAF Photo Trail…well, that explains the cerulean blue sky.
JB, for 53 years, I’ve put with it now, but this year I’m saving up all of my half-lit bulbs and leaving them out one night with milk and cookies so they can be repaired. If you aren’t reading this in Boris Karloff’s voice, you’re a mean one. And no, I have no idea what you are referencing.
Monorail Red is also juuuust visible at the left edge of the first photo. I figured you guys were due a correction.
Nanook, I thought everyone would know what "stay gold" meant. But I guess they didn't see it painted on their middle school stairs for three years like I did.
I wish there was a video of coming down that ramp--after hearing "Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow," I bet it was great to come outside and see the Skyway, Peoplemover, and Rocket Jets.
Just two months later, I would be here! Fortunately, we avoided being pumped into the evil monorail as fuel.
I've read that book to our kindergarten classes every year for at least 10 years. Can I quote it? Yes. Yes, I can.
And, yes GAF film is the worst.
Happy Friday!
JB, that's a 19 trunk palm from Senegal, according to the Marty Sklar- penned souvenir book on sale when these pics were taken. There were all sorts of landscaping tidbits revealed in that book, including how a 100 year old grape vine was uprooted, turned upside down, and used for the tree above Mr. Rat's House in Storybook Land. I had no idea what that was about until the Major showed a SBL photo from its earliest years; the grape vine is gone by the time of "40 Pounds of Trouble" in 1962.
If I were running Disneyland, I'd uproot another grape vine, and bring back a revolving show in the Carousel Theatre.
Here's to the Major, Senegal, and Tomorrowland '73!
JB, I agree, no less than 5 instances of Trash Receptacle Mark VII (Tomorrowland blue and silver) in photo 1.
I’ve always been impressed by the cantilever of the canopy over the ramp. It’s a shame no one can figure out what to do with this building today. Disney is so out of ideas they have to buy them from Lucasfilm.
Andrew, One commenter some time back said the view from the top of the ramp was the final act of the CoP show. You saw the model of the City, then walked out into the light to see it all around you. And he was right.
Also, Fantasyland is not closed.
Thanks Major!
JG
The monorail is not in the station. It is above the Fantasyland Autopia load/unload area. The Matterhorn is behind the photographer.
Stu, isn’t The Outsiders a little advanced for Kindergarteners?
Nanook, thanks for the confirmation on the photographer’s location in photo #1. The ladder is just sitting there! ;-D
JB, the palm tree is from glamorous Oxnard! (Not really). It sort of looks like that kid’s “Mouse Ears” has a bill, like a baseball cap? Maybe? Human beings actually make great fuel, we’re so full of clean-burning fats. I get your reference, it’s from that scene where Hamlet fixes that light!
Nanook, I have never read any S.E. Hinton books nor seen the movie version of The Outsiders, so I guarantee that any references to either went over my head. Also: I don’t know how to read.
Mike Cozart, ha ha! Yes, GAF sure made some crummy film. It probably looked great for about a year, and then… disaster. GAF Fertilizers, how apt!
Mike Cozart, I honestly wasn’t sure GAF (as a company) still existed, to be honest.
TokyoMagic!, I saw “Rumblefish”, does that count at all? It had a cool soundtrack. And a character named “Pony Boy”, which isn’t weird at all. Just think, our photographer was SO close to the Three Fences!
Chuck, yep, there’s “Ol’ Red”! Maybe that Mickey Mouse hat is a yarmulke? Something for everyone! I had to wear a cardboard yarmulke when I visited the Dome of the Rock many years ago. No problem! Matching floppy hats, now THAT’S a great idea. Next family reunion, for sure. 1970 was a bit early for Bicentennial Fever, so I guess that person with the striped visor was just generally patriotic. Hey, that sky IS cerulean. Or maybe manganese blue, hard to be sure. I’ve always thought it was such a stroke of genius for Chuck Jones to get Boris Karloff to narrate (and voice) the Grinch, one of Karloff’s last great roles.
Chuck, I stand corrected!
Andrew, I guess “stay gold” is just vague enough to mean a lot if you think about it! I wish there was a video coming down that ramp as well, just as you described. We need ILM to create it via CGI!
stu29573, I’m glad you weren’t turned into fuel, that’s always so humiliating. “I knew I should have done my homework instead of watching TV!”. And I see that you are bragging about being able to read. Not cool! ;-)
Stefano, how in the world did they find a 19-trunk palm tree that was all the way in Senegal? Were they specifically looking for such a thing? Was there a marketplace for landscapers who were “in the know” the way Bill Martin probably was? I remember reading about that upside-down grape vine, I suppose that something like that would eventually start to decay and break. I wish you were running Disneyland!
JG, I agree, that cantilevered canopy is very striking, and I like nighttime views where you can see the seemingly randomly-placed lights glowing. I don’t know if Disney is out of ideas, but after watching a video about Avenger’s Campus, you might be right. Your description of walking out of the final scene of CoP to see Tomorrowland below you (hopefully lit up at night!) makes me wistful.
Anon, ah, thank you for the correction.
Chuck, not if you read it in a “baby voice”.
@ MIKE-
You bet the 'GAF" of roofing material(s) fame is one and the same. (GAF does stand for General Aniline and Film - no matter how dreadful the film 'was').
The company started as the Standard Paint Company in 1886, located in Bound Brook, NJ. It's unclear how the German company IG Farben gets involved, but was organized into American I.G. - later renamed General Aniline & Film. In 1925 Agfa Film became part of IG Farben. In 1928 Farben acquired Ansco, forming Agfa-Ansco. The Agfa-Ansco interests in the U. S. and Binghamton factory were taken over by the U. S. government in 1941 due to its ties with Germany. The Ansco company was merged with General Aniline as General Aniline & Film in 1939. The company was the last business to be sold as enemy assets to American interests in the 1960s. It continued to do business after World War II as Ansco until 1967 when the company adopted the parent's name of General Aniline & Film (GAF), and a variety of cameras as well as films were sold under this name until the business was shut down in the early 1980s.
Not to be forgotten, in October 1966, GAF acquired Sawyer's Inc. - famous for their View-Master Personal Stereo Camera. (In 1951, through their purchase of Tru-Vue, Sawyer's gained access to their stereoscopic film strips, along with killing their only real competition). AND... that takeover gave Sawyer's Tru-Vue's licensing rights to Walt Disney Studios. Sawyer's capitalized on the opportunity and produced numerous reels featuring Disney characters. The takeover would pay off further in 1955, with View-Master reels of a "certain theme park in Anaheim..."
Major-
SO... you say you've never read any of Susie Hinton's books, nor seen The Outsiders, and yet you mention the character of 'Pony Boy' as being in Rumble Fish, which you did see. Hmmmm.... Ponyboy Curtis is a character from The Outsiders, not Rumble Fish. Have you been smoking any GAF roofing materials as of late-? (Now I'm worried).
Major and Mike Cozart, re GAF other products.
Yes, GAF is a major manufacturer of roofing products, both low-slope (flat) membranes (think strip malls etc.) and steep slope shingles (think houses). Their roofing products are generally well-regarded in the industry. We purchased a new shingle roof from them this past year and it shows no signs of turning red.
GAF is an old, old company, they originated in the 19th century. During the 60's there was a trend for mega-conglomerate corporations that had businesses in all kinds of categories. For example General Electric had a Finance and Loan division as well as making jet engines. At some point, GAF was involved in making and distributing a wide range of chemical and industrial materials, photographic film was one category. Over time they have divested most of these and have settled down into a roofing product manufacturer. GAF making fertilizer is new to me, but could be. The google search doesn't lead to a company website, just re-sellers.
They "may" supply some "private label" membrane products to other retailers, but I'm not sure. That's pretty common in roofing where everyone wants to have a product in a given category but doesn't have a factory to make it, so you get someone else to put your name on their product.
JB, take care not to make a fuel of yourself.
JG
@ TM!-
More Three Fences HERE Thanks, Daveland.
Still hoping that somebody will market reproductions of the old Kodak Photo Spot signs. The ones with a metal silhouette of a photographer perched on top. I keep seeing ads for reproductions of other Disney signs, so why not?
The story is that Art Linkletter hosted the Disneyland opening day broadcast for the film concession instead of cash. One version says the cash-strapped Walt Disney pitched that offer; Linkletter has claimed it was his own idea. Always wondered how that worked, and whether it was in perpetuity.
JG, regarding mega-conglomerates...a few years ago, I had occasion to dive into our crawl space and access one of our sewer drain cleanout plugs to remove a clog created when two pounds of expired deli ham were run through the in-sink disposal rather than thrown into the trash. I was surprised to find the Mead Corporation logo
, which I had previously and exclusively associated with paper products, embossed on the side of the 3½" cast iron pipe. Apparently, Mead acquired the Woodward Iron Company in 1968, although all production shut down around 1973. The pipe in our home is most likely were some of the last production examples to come out of the Woodward foundry and still sitting in the plumbing supply system when our house was built in 1976.
And the thought of mega-conglomorates brings to mind this commercial campaign from 1984.
Thanks, Nanook (and Daveland). That’s the best photo of Three Fences, yet.
Chuck, “mega-conglomerate” as in multi-companies—or as in mega-clog??
NANOOK and JG : as bad as the film was its kinda nice to know that GAF is still around! I know I’ve seen ads in vintage National Geographic for ANSCO color film and there “ color latitude” slogan.
My new insult tag line : you Worthless LOW-SLOPE MEMBRANE!!
Mike, LOL. Perfect.
May your roofs never turn red.
JG
Chuck, that's a fascinating story about the CI pipe. I remember Mead mostly for Dixie cups, which is odd since Mead did not ever make Dixie cups. No idea why they are called Dixie cups, and not, for example Yankee cups instead. Maybe because Yankee Candles was already taken.
Also, I think Mead bought Dunder Mifflin at some point.
You are correct, Beatrice is a classic example of a mega-conglomerate that grew so big that they acquired themselves since there were no other companies left with which to merge.
Some others that come to mind are United Technologies (eventually bought by Raytheon), Eaton Electrical, BASF, which makes everything from recording tape to foaming agents for rigid board insulation, and finally Honeywell (which later went into the sliced ham business), bringing us full circle with your story.
JG
Being an Olympic year, I sometimes like to smile into an invisible camera and say "BEATRICE". Beatrice also was another Disneyland sponsor: being Hunt Wesson being Orville Redenbacher being me wearing my Orville Pin not knowing that zillions of people would be clamoring over it 40 years later. Or rather me NOT wearing that pin because it put awful holes in my yellow polyester shirt and it was heavy so the shirt hung down where the pin was placed in a very specific spot that I don't remember...but I think it was on the pocket...on the little stripes. The pin looked better on my Bear Country suspenders- the most awesome of costumes- however, the pin looked out of place in 1800's Bear Country, and 1900's Main Street, and 1850's Frontierland. The Viewmaster Sawyer family did sell to GAF....one of the Sawyer family married one of my employees...I always bragged that the Viewmaster Heiress worked for me. She said the only thing they got out of the deal was one of the Viewmaster cameras that they took pictures with at their wedding. She lives in a mansion...I think there was more. I am still enamored with Viewmaster be it GAF or otherwise- although nothing is left of that boyhood collection. The Senegal was a Senegal Date Palm...and it was a thing that was written somewhere and we talked about...it bore little tiny dates from what I remember and was humbly impressive. I don't think it got the credit it deserved. I agree that the ramp on the Carousel of Progress was the last act of the show. It was very dramatic to come out and go down the ramp. Clearly it was very intentional and had nothing to do with ADA accessibility as I'm not sure that was even a thing back then. At the top of the ramp and through a little gate is the Tomorrowland Office where I picked up my paycheck. For such an impressive building, the backstage areas were always rather plain and glum- with normal furniture you would buy at Office Depot or somewhere. The paychecks came out of a cardboard box...for real...and Fantasyland is closed.
Nanook, count me amongst those who didn't get The Outsiders reference. Like Tokyo, I haven't seen the movie either. Well, bits and pieces over the years, but not the whole thing.
Mike, about the faded Photo Trail sign: Truth in advertising! I got 2 chuckles and 1 guffaw out of your GAF fading lawn and roof story.
Tokyo, yaaay! I'm glad someone got it!
Chuck, the lady to the left of the sun-lit visor (you're right, the meaning is much too deep) appears to be wearing the same kind of floppy hat as the family at the bottom of the pic. Again, the meaning is just too deep to contemplate! Maybe those hats are red, white, and blue, and these folks are celebrating the Bicentennial a couple of years early?
Yaaay! Yes, in Boris Karloff's voice... or in Thurl Ravenscroft's voice if you're singing it.
Stu, Yaaay again!
Stefano, Thank you! I always forget where that tree originally came from.
JG, then 5, it is! I guess if you've got more money than you know what to do with, then buying ideas is a whole lot easier than coming up with your own.
Major, Yaaay! Yep, you know your Shakespeare!
DBenson got me thinking (always a dangerous thing!), were Walt Disney and Art Linkletter pals? And that's how he came to host that opening day show?
And Generalissimo Francisco Franco is still dead.
Nanook, now I know everything I ever needed to know about the GAF company! At some point in my slide-collecting life, I actually did look into GAF (partly because of their association with the Viewmaster company, as well), so I might have known some of this info. But as usual, my brain is like a sieve, and it all disappeared. I know that, at some point, Viewmaster reels using GAF transparencies were known to turn horribly red. I have some of those! Thanks, GAF.
Nanook, I can only assume that I have seen pieces of “The Outsiders” on TV, but I don’t believe I have ever seen the entire movie. Obviously I conflated it with “Rumblefish”, though! S.E. Hinton was hip for a very brief period. How did that happen?
JG, so much learning! My brain can’t handle it! Time to watch cartoons! I’m glad your shingle roof isn’t turning red, although I do like the look of Spanish tiles. Sounds like GAF was similar to Monsanto, getting involved in everything under the sun. That’s how you become a global enterprise, I suppose. Thanks JG.
Nanook, there it is!
DBenson, if only I had a CNC milling machine, or one of those water jet machines. I could make my own Disneyland signs, and sell them on Etsy, laughing all the way to the bank! You make a good point, why have they not created collectible versions of the Photo Spot signs? I guess they would have to eliminate the Kodak reference, but still, I’d love to see that one. It seems hard to believe that Art Linkletter could put one over on Walt Disney, but it’s possible that Walt was so grateful for Art’s support that he threw him the Kodak concession bone anyway.
Chuck, yes, if I hear “Mead”, I think of paper products. Who kknew they had anything to do with cast iron pipes!! Why did I think that you were going to link to that famous “1984” Apple commercial by Ridley Scott?? I did not expect “Beatrice Foods”!!
Lou and Sue, only a TRUE Disneyland fan can appreciate a photo of three fences!
Mike Cozart, I know what you mean, even if I didn’t love GAF, they are a part of my childhood, much like Kodak.
JG, I don’t think I’d have the courage to call anybody a low-slope membrane!
JG, oh man, did Mead make Dixie cups? I was literally talking about Dixie Riddle Cups an hour or so with a friend. We saw a man inexplicably laughing, and my friend said, “Is he just nuts?”. And I said, “He probably just saw a Dixie Riddle Cup!”. “Dixie Cup” just has a nice ring to it, you have to admit. Your quote about Beatrice reminds me of the famous one about Alexander weeping because there were no more worlds to conquer.
Bu, I want to see hidden camera footage of you smiling to random strangers and saying “Beatrice!”. Did you have a Disneyland-specific Orville Redenbacher pin? I’ve never seen such a thing. It’s probably worth ten million bucks! But you threw it away, along with your “Action Comics #1” and your Faberge Easter Eggs. You should always wear heavy corduroy so that any pins will hang properly. Life hacks. I don’t think I’ve ever worn suspenders, and I have no plans to start now. I’m sorry to hear that the Sawyer heir you knew did not walk around wearing clothing made of money! You’d think that they would have been able to ask a big big price. I wonder what ever happened to the Senegal Date Palm? Hopefully somebody saved it and it still lives to this day. I’m sure ADA accessibility was NOT a thing in the late 1960s, but who doesn’t love a good ramp? Nice to have you back and commenting!
..... Major ..... GAF’s big achievement was the development of RED DYE #5!!!!!
( I’m kidding of course)
Your mention of FABERGE EGGS makes me think of two things: one was that in the 1970’s “faberge eggs” were extremely popular with craft people and hobbyists. People would purchase real emptied eggs like ostrich and other large type eggs and have opening doors that lead to miniature scene or micro dioramas . The eggs would have plastic beads and brass fittings .... I remember too it was difficult to get period scale figures for model railroads because the crafting ladies ( men too I suppose ) would cone into the train stores and buy them all up! This was during a time a dealer had to purchase assortment and couldn’t re- order specific sets from the manufacturer.
The other thing that struck a memory was from a boss of mine at WDI in the model shop. A long time model maker himself he would often go around and check the progress of his team of model makers .... he would sometimes observe your work and say ... “wow.... it’s like Faberge...” I eventually figured out when he says that to model makers it was not really a compliment but was saying “ you are putting too much detail or you are spending too much time on the piece. Lol!!
So now when I hear “Faberge” I think of gaudy crafts or something that’s too time consuming!!
Nanook, the grape vine is covering even more of the fence, in that photo.
Major, I remember watching over the years, as the trunk of the grape vine, which went through one of the holes in the fencing, grew larger and larger. I just assumed it was damaging the fence at that spot where it was growing through it. Apparently, it was just growing larger on either side of the fence, but not bending the opening, because when they eventually removed the grape vine, the fence looked unscathed. And they cleaned up that rust along the bottom of it, too. I wonder if anyone left at the company, even knows how far back that piece of fencing goes? I'm guessing it goes back to 1959, when the Subs and the Fantasyland Autopia were added.
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