More From Keith
Hooray! It's time for another batch of scans from 1958, courtesy of Keith Schad. Keith's wife's grandfather Harold took these, back in the day, and we are lucky to get to see them now.
From aboard the Mark Twain one could get a surprisingly elevated view of a busy Frontierland, and the muddy river. Is that the Dominguez Palm just to the right of the Golden Horseshoe?
Down on the lower deck, and up near those folding chairs on the bow, stood my wife's great-grandma Caroline Hill, great-great grandma Helen Hill (Harold's mother) and Harold's sister, also Helen. I love pointing them out! Rainbow Ridge can be seen behind them.
There are the three ladies again this time near the crazy Clock of the World. Want to know what time it was in Paris? No problemo! I sure wish I knew what was in that big blue shopping bag that one of the ladies is holding. Maybe several original animation cels from "Sleeping Beauty"!
THANK YOU, Keith!
16 comments:
Major-
"Rainbow Ridge can be seen behind them".
And... Mineral Hall-!
What is the sign appended to the triangular panel blocking the upper portion of the Frontierland Tri-level AP-?
Thanks. Major.
"Is that the Dominguez Palm just to the right of the Golden Horseshoe?" Ancient Astronaut theorists say, "Yes". It's either that, or The Dent. I guess we'll never know for sure.
The vignetting and muted color gives this image a more realistic feeling, like an actual busy port town in the 1800s.
#2: I like how the ladies' hats are all similar, but different. You just know that they rummaged through the hat selection, probably in Adventureland, and made sure they each got a different style of hat.
That white bucket is imploring us to "waste", not just paper, but EVERYTHING!
#3: The attraction posters on the right side of the picture; I don't recognize the one to the left of the Columbia. I also don't remember seeing those big yellow sculptures to the left and right side of the image before.
Thanks to Keith & Family for the photos, and to Major for... well... something. ;-)
Phirst picture - palm trees, popcorn wagons, and power lines in a phenomenally picturesque photo (please phorgive me - I had a carton of p’s in the phridge that I needed to use up bephore it spoiled). Note the bridge over the canal connecting the Jungle Rivers of the World with the Rivers of America, which is how Asian carp ended up in the Mississippi River Basin.
Second shot - note how you can clearly see the Skyway and the pointed tip of Fan 1 over the top of Mineral Hall from this elevated angle, but they were invisible to the naked eye when standing in the plaza in front of Casa de Fritos. This shows that the first generation of Imagineers really, uh, knew stuff.
Third thing - the posters seem to be, um, posted in a combination of random order and planned symmetry. Posters for Alice and the Columbia are in the same position of both sides of the street, but the rest are different. And the tri-level Frontierland poster shows up twice on the right-hand side. Omniforminous symmetry!
Note that one of the Helens has just snapped a photo of Harold snapping a photo of the other Helen.
Nanook, I believe that sign says “Satellite View of America.”
JB, that’s the poster for Tom Sawyer Island.
Thanks again, Keith and Keith’s Wife!
Those gals look like "Fun Time USA"...are those stereo cameras? Folding chairs on the upper decks of the Mark Twain? "Sorcery". River Belle Terrace looks so far away...but it's not. There's a crane there what seems to be Main St. (?)....or maybe it's lifting JC boats into the water? Lots of nice trees....how nice to see without a sea of Stroller-Town. Kids need to walk. Thanks Keith!
Bu, the crane was on the roof of the Golden Horseshoe, in the back corner towards the Silver Banjo Barbecue/Wheelhouse.
I know we’ve seen pictures of it before (and I even remember posting some links to some in a comment), but darned if I can find a good example. Best I can do is this one featuring Guy Williams as Don Diego de la Vega (a.k.a. “Zorro”) and Henry Calvin as Sgt. Demetrio Lopez Garcia in the roof of the Golden Horseshoe; the crane appears in the extreme right of the photo. I know we tend to roll our eyes at some of the cross-promotional things done at Disneyland, but I would have given Mike Cozart’s Casa de Fritos poster to have seen this in person.
BTW, for those of you who are unaware, both seasons of the 1957-59 Zorro TV series are now streaming on Disney+.
OK, I finally found one other GDB post with the crane, but not any links to other pictures:
Golden Horseshoe Exteriors, 1958.
@ Bu-
Those are definitely not 3D cameras - the lenses are never stacked, but side-by-side. I do believe the gals are carrying Argus Argoflex Seventy-Five cameras, however.
@ Chuck-
I guess it does say that. You do have good eyes.
Thanks.
I don't think I've ever noticed that the Tomorrowland Clock of the World uses 24 rather than 0 for the midnight hour. Maybe the 0:00-23:59 convention wasn't standardized at that time.
Thanks Keith and Family for these fun pics!
No less than four wood-grained trash cans in that Frontierland view. Hand-carved, I bet. I was going to mention the rooftop crane, but, no need now.
Chuck, I have been enjoying Zorro on D+, I read the episode budget in 1957 was $80,000.00. Boggles the mind, but it is evident in the results. I keep expecting Dr. Smith to show up.
I cannot figure the World Clock. Someone please just let me know when lunch is, so I can wander over to the Pirate Ship and get a tuna sandwich.
JG
Yeah, those ladies in the second pic are waaaay up on the Texas deck! Never saw chairs up there before.
JG, better order lunch now on Genie+ so you don’t have to wait in line. And don’t be late to pick it up. You know what happens if that happens.
What strikes me is how well the landscaping has grown-in in such a short time. Oh and flashbulbs based on that one camera. "Remember, please refrain from flash photography." KS
Nanook, good eye! And darn I can’t quite decipher that sign, unfortunately I’m away from home and can’t view the higher-res image.
JB, I wish I had a palm tree named after me. But all I have is a crummy dwarf planet (“Pepperidge 335876”). Why can’t I have a palm tree? I’m sure you’re right about the hats, none of the ladies wanted the same style as the other. The poster to the left of the Columbia poster is the Tom Sawyer Island poster! And those yellow “sculptures” are the back sides of triangular signs, legible from the other side.
Chuck, there really is something about Frontierland in those early years, it just had a feel that changed a lot over the next few years. It almost felt like a new town that sprang up along a river in a short amount of time! Boy, that bridge is hard to make out from this distance, but you noticed it! I never mind seeing the Skyway from Frontierland, it’s kind of comforting. It always watches over me. As for the poster, is it the FIRST version, or the second? Huh? HUH? Sorry, I’m jumpy.
Bu, I don’t think those are stereo cameras, though I don’t quite get the need for the two lenses. Maybe one is for the viewfinder and the other is the actual lens for the film? The crane is there for the eventual need to lift tons of plush dolls! The greatest merchandise ever.
Chuck, I feel like we (on the blog) have discussed that crane before, but I forget if we ever decided what it was supposed to be for. Did those saloon gals need bales of cotton? Also, after a brief mention somewhere (not sure it was here on GDB), I’ve watched the first few Zorro episodes. Old fashioned fun, and Guy Williams is a perfect star.
Chuck, thank you for saving me five bucks (I already owe Daveland so much money).
Nanook, maybe those ladies are actually from Neptune, on that planet they have their eyes one on top of the other. They are wearing realistic latex masks. I’ve done my research!
Dean Finder, maybe they figured that “23:59” would just confuse the general public?
JG, not only were those trashcans hand carved, but they cut down an entire Sequoia tree for each can. Don’t worry, the rest of the tree was used for toothpicks. We don’t want to be wasteful! And AHA, it was YOU who mentioned “Zorro”! For some reason Disney+ started me on episode one of season two, I thought, “Gosh, they just dive right in without much exposition!”. I’d love Dr. Smith to call Zorro a “bubble headed booby”.
Steve DeGaetano, I wonder if they placed chairs there during the slower season? We’ve seen the Mark Twain’s upper deck so crowded that chairs would just be obstacles.
Chuck, what DOES happen if you are late??
KS, it’s true, the foliage in Adventureland and Frontierland really flourished in those first two or three years, it’s pretty impressive. They must have used Miracle-Gro.
Chuck, thanks for the AP ID. Now that I can see the larger image, I have seen it before. But in this small, diffuse image of the poster, Tom's hat and hair looks like some sort of conflagration; half of Disneyland is on fire!
And Major, your crummy dwarf planet is waaaay off in the Oort Cloud. Why, it can't even be seen with the naked eye! An Anaheim palm tree would be much more convenient to see and travel to, and probably prettier too.
Thirty Helens agree: it's fun to shop at Disneyland!
Chuck, you should make some p psoup
That really is a great view from the steamboat. And yes, Frontierland really was more frontiery back then.
^ Took me a second or two to figure out "p psoup". hahahaha!
Post a Comment