Main Street, 1970s
I have two slides from two separate lots that look like they were taken on the same day. And maybe they were! There's no way to be sure. As you can see, both were taken on evenings with dark clouds scudding across the sky. Scudding, do you hear??
The sun hasn't set, but those rain-adjacent clouds are making it feel later, so many of the lights on Main Street have been turned on already. This first one his helpfully dated "March 1973", and that feels about right. There's plenty of cold-weather clothing (California-style) on display. The leaves on the trees are pretty sparse, but that just gives us a better look at everything.
This next scan is from an undated slide, but like I said, it almost feels like it could have been taken mere moments from the previous image. Look at the flags, there's a stiff breeze blowing. Everyone loves wind! It's only about 4:35, but it gets dark early. Maybe the park closed at 8:00 PM, something that would leave me outraged!
14 comments:
Major-
"Scudding"-?? Major, are you going to tell us now that you're some kind of meteorologist-? Is there no end to your talents...
Thanks, Major (AMS)
Think I'll go into that GAF Photo Salon to pick up a few View Master reels. Always enjoyed going to the Sunkist Citrus House for donuts and orange juice.
Even Hallmark Communications Center was still open. Lots of great memories of that era. Thanks, Major.
Hmm, are you sure the clouds weren't sidling? Like crabs? Sorta like scudding, but different.
Looks like a bunch of unattentive guests are about to be squished by a horse-drawn streetcar. No matter, the Killer Swans will eat good tonight! I don't see a single trashcan through all these people! Y'all get out of the way! As you noted, Interesting lighting in these photos. It leaves one with a feeling of expectation; like something is about to happen.
Even though these are from different batches, the second photo looks as if the same photographer just turned around and got a pic facing the other direction. Oh, and look! A trashcan! I knew there was at least one on Main Street! I can't tell if that streetcar is coming or going. Either way, looks like more Swan food.
It's rare to see how Swan food is mad. Thanks, Major.
^ How Swan food is made... not mad. Looks like we all posted our comments within seconds of each other.
I don't know if I've ever noticed that there are U.S. flags on the Hallmark Communications Center, The Market House, AND the Main St. train station. I just checked, and it appears they are all still there, even though some of the tenants have changed. There is even one on top of the Main St. Emporium. I know they take down the one in Town Square every evening, but do they lower all of those other flags every night?
TM: they do not need to lower the other flags as they are "show flags" and not "official" flags: they are vintage in design, but modern in construction which leaves them out of the rules of flying American flags. In my time there were only two "real" flags: in Town Square and in the front of Tomorrowland. Looks like everyone is very chilly here in Anaheim, so it must be a very frigid 68 degrees or so. These shots of Main St. are lovely: with the "trees that do not have scale" Japanese Elms: and you can see through them beautifully. Mr. sideburns looks like the only tough one there: sans a cardigan or coat. I'm not sure I've ever sported the "Humperdinck" look: maybe I don't have the face for it so I never tried. Possibly I will try. There is the GAF shop where my "Lilly Belle" photo came from: from it's "photo studio". Note that the costumes in those photos did not have backing: they only faced forward. You had to wear these little cotton "suits/aprons" before you put on the ridiculously heavy costumes. I remember that coat being exceptionally heavy: like some suit of lead that you would wear prior to getting x-rayed. Thanks major for the trip back to Match Game '74!
Bu, thank you so much, for that information on "show flags" vs. "official flags"!
Major, I love these, thank you.
Amazing to see a Main Street pic where no trash can is visible, but photo 2 rewards us with two, so it’s not a total loss.
Photo 1 lady is holding one of those wild 70’s bags. I wonder what treasure she scooped up? I’d rather have the bag now.
The GAF sign is wildly out of place in the 1890’s, but it’s Disneyland and I don’t mind a bit.
Now I will be trying to use “scudding” in a sentence all day!
JG
Nanook, I went to the Bryman School of Meteorology, so I know my stuff!
K. Martinez, it sounds like you have your Main Street agenda all planned out! Donuts and orange juice, the breakfast of champions!
JB, crabs skeedaddle - I know because I also went to the Bryman School of Marine Biology. I always feel sorry for the drivers of any Main Street vehicles, especially today - folks just stand there like logs. And not smart logs, either! Something did happen right after these photos - a tornado. You’d think more folks would talk about it. Rod Miller was lifted into the air, flew thousands of feet, and landed right where he’d been sitting originally. And that is Schrodinger’s Streetcar, it is both coming and going.
JB, if I was swan food, I’d be mad.
TokyoMagic! I’d bet dollars to Sunkist Citrus House donuts that those flags stay up all night. Rules be damned!
Bu, I’ve heard the story about how some of those flags are missing one star, or have some such anomaly that exempts them from the rules, but… is that for real? I’ve never seen a clear picture of such a flag. The idea is so crazy. Ha ha, I noticed the guy with the sideburns, though admittedly it is hard NOT to notice him. I’ll bet he went to Woodstock. The “Humperdink look”, I like it. Now I have a whole new way to dress. Why did you have to wear the cotton “aprons” before you put on the costumes at the GAF store? Was it a sanitary thing? Did it somehow prevent wear and tear to the costumes? Maybe both? I always liked that feeling of the lead vest that one wears when having dental X-rays, maybe I need one of those weighted blankets.
TokyoMagic!, I still need to see the “show flags” in a clear picture! Does some company specialize in those?
JG, I knew you were going to mention the lack of trashcans in that first photo! Those colorful bags are not that rare, though sellers want a lot of money for them. The design is one of my favorites. I agree that GAF doesn’t really work on Main Street the way Kodak did, but they had to go with it. JG to a waitress at the local coffee shop: “Why don’t you try scudding a cup of coffee down this way?”.
BU is correct regarding the flags. General Services obtains and handles official U.S. FLAGS for the American parks. All the others are handled by decorating and are technically historical props. For decades all the historical flags used in Disneyland as well as nautical flags were provided by the same company who made the hat badges for the DL RR , Tour guide badges etc . I cannot think of the name right now … I think they were located in Torrence. “______bade & banner company”. Today they are sourced by several companies.
The blue Disneyland flags ( mark Twain, Columbia , Frontierland , Fire House and the orange Mickey flags as well as castle banners are hand made and sewn by Disneyland Decorating.
Disneyland can keep official U.S. Flags up overnite as long as the flag is illuminated.
Major, Schrodinger's Streetcar, eh? "Coming and going". Sort of a fourth dimension thing, like a Klein Bottle. To this day I refuse to look into Schrodinger's Box, so I can pretend that his cat is purrfectly fine and healthy. And he is! (As long as I don't look into the box.)
Mike is correct, US colors can be displayed anywhere 24 hours/day with proper illumination, not just at Disneyland, otherwise must be taken down at dusk.
I would like to see some images of the show flags, I am guessing there is are small tweaks to the number of stars, or even stripes, that are not noticeable from a distance, but it would be fun to see what the designers came up with. Maybe one four-pointed star, or 51 stars, etc.
On our scout outings, we had a portable flagpole with solar powered lighting, so we could have the US Flag on display 24 hours in the middle of the Death Valley back country.
Major, I tried scudding weeds in the garden with a string trimmer, it was somewhat more fun than just weed-wacking.
JG
Major-
Wasn't it the Bryman School who ran those insipid TV commercials, that had the 'actor-nurse' grossly mis-reading the line: "You'll be working for doctors WITH patients..." Why in tarnation would 'with' be emphasized-? (Don't most, if not all, doctors actually see patients-?) Madison Avenue fails again.
Nanook, I vividly remember one of the Bryman School commercials, which played over and over for years. It started with footage of a lady sitting at a desk, being handed a stack of paperwork, with a line asking, "Are you stuck in your job with no real chance to get ahead?" Later in the commercial an actress/nurse would state, "In just a few short months, you could be helping a doctor with patients, or ruuunning the front office. Call now for a free brochure!" I remember her giving a little extra enthusiasm to the word "running." I seem to remember them updating the commercial in the eighties, with pretty much the same script.
And then there were the Schick Shadel commercials which ran over and over, as well.
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