Two Skyway Views, 1950s
I have a pair of extra-nice photos taken from the Skyway, probably from around the time when it was brand-new (it opened on June 23, 1956). It's only natural that guests would be inspired to snap lots of pictures from their gondola - how often did anyone get to see the world from 80-ish feet up? (If you happen to know how high up the Skyway actually went, let me know!).
So, here we are, late in the afternoon on what feels like a post-Summer day (just a hunch). Monstro the Whale is down below, and he's so mad that he's spouting. It looks like he's chomping down on the little lighthouse, doesn't he know how much cholesterol those things have? In the foreground, the crown of the "Fan 1" goes by, just far enough that we can't stick our gum to it.
Next is this interesting view looking down on the Mad Tea Party. There are a few (very few) guests in teacups, and we see about the same number of NASA cast members milling around, maybe they are looking for loose change. To the left, a mysterious hatch is open! I had no idea such a thing even existed. It probably leads down to Walt's Other Apartment. Nobody would ever expect to find him there. Posters for the Mickey Mouse Club 3D Jamboree can be seen at the upper edge of the photo, and there's that fun little ticket/souvenir booth in the upper right.
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On Friday, two readers expressed an interest in a plaque that is applied to a lamp post in Town Square. Once our electricity was restored, I decided to see if I could decipher what that plaque said. Here's a closeup, with a tiny bit of Photoshop sharpening applied.
I actually can read all but one key word! It says:
MF'D
BY
XXXXXXXX
IRON
WORKS
LOS
ANGELES
CALIF
If you can figure out what the mystery word is, please let me know! I imagine that I see it starting with "CON", but it's really hard to tell.
6 comments:
Major-
"In the foreground, the crown of the "Fan 1" goes by,"...
Make that Fan 2.
In spite of the feeling of great height, thanks to special optics, that actual running height of the Skyway is merely 9-¼ feet. Crazy, I know-!
That 'mysterious hatch' is where the tea is brewed.
Great work on blowing-up the text on that light standard casting. I'm going to guess "Llewellyn Iron Works" as a possibility.
Thanks, Major.
I thought that Monstro spewed mist from his blowhole. But here it looks like smoke of some kind. Does Monstro vape? And I suppose that lighthouse that he's crunching on could be considered an "edible"... Monstro the stoner! This is a side of him we haven't seen before! (And I don't mean the camera angle.)
There's a well-dressed giant climbing around on the Italian Alps above Geppetto's village.
Hmmm, this Teacups photo is a real puzzler. Only two guests in one teacup. (Maybe they aren't 'guests'?) Obviously, with that hatch(!) open, the ride isn't rotating. And that one NASA guy seems to be trying to get the Cup working by rocking it and bouncing on it. The discovery of that hatch makes this a significant day in GDB history! Right up there with The Dent, Killer Swans, AEDs, Fudgie, and The Stain. ("Fudgie and The Stain" were a popular group on the Tomorrowland Stage in the early seventies.)
I found a "Cardenas Welding & Iron Works" in the Los Angeles area. Wonder if that could be it? Although, the first three letters of the mystery word do look like "Con", like you said.
A 'red letter' day! (The discovery of the hatch, or maybe I should say, The Hatch.) Thanks, Major.
I want to know what sounds that wooden Mad Tea Party platform made as it rotated. Did it rumble?
I love how they're trying to repair the ride as the guests just sit there in the other cup staring.
@ JB-
Interesting thought; but as "Cardenas Welding & Iron Works" wasn't around in 1955, seems quite unlikely.
'Llewellyn Iron Works' started in 1886 and in addition to "structural steel for every purpose" and architectural iron [decorative railings] (the interior of the Bradbury Building, fer instance), was famous for their line of Street Lights. "Their incandescent multi-globe electroliers became so associated with the Llewellyn company that any street light of this style began to be referred to as a Llewellyn. In the early 1900s, Llewellyn street lights were installed in many of the major streets of downtown Los Angeles, most notably on Main, Hill and Spring Streets. More were eventually installed in other commercial districts in the city, and they became the most common street lights in early 20th century Los Angeles".
And we know Disneyland acquired old street lights from the West Adams neighborhood in Los Angeles, using the original decorative bases to surround the flag pole base at Disneyland, [and later, at WDW], so maybe... Naturally, this doesn't guarantee these original light posts were manufactured by Llewellyn - or the 'decorative bases' came from Llewellyn electroliers, either.
Another point of interest is Llewellyn Iron Works and Baker Iron Works merged in December, 1928 forming Consolidated Steel Corporation. Along the way, both companies manufactured elevators. I've seen plenty of Llewellyn Elevators, most-notably in (both) the Bullock's and The Broadway Downtown department store locations, and [again] the Bradbury Building - to name but a few. Those original elevator mechanisms, which were running well into the 1960's, ran extremely-well, easily giving both Otis and Westinghouse Elevators a serious run for their money.
Nanook, oh dang, I hate it when I get things wrong. WHICH NEVER HAPPENS! I’m pretty sure that the lamp post does not say “Llewellyn” Iron Works, even though I know that they were (still are?) a big iron works in LA going back at least to the 1920s.
JB, I think that Monstro is spewing water vapor and not smoke, it just looks particularly misty there. I like eating lighthouses, but mostly the “flamin’ hot” flavor. I’m guessing that squirrels got under the MadTea Party ride. “You were right Frank, it’s squirrels again”. That’s why Disneyland is now full of owls, they keep the rodent population in control. The problem with that plaque on the lamp post is that whatever company made it has probably been gone for decades; I tried to do a search for defunct iron works in LA, but obviously had no luck.
Andrew, is the platform on the Mad Tea Party no longer wood? Maybe they now use high tech, space age materials, like molybdenum (I just wanted to type “molybdenum”). I really do wonder what’s going on in that second photo, but we’ll never know.
Nanook, as I said before, I did see Llewellyn Iron Works when I did some research, but even with the poor image quality, I can’t get “Llewellyn” when I look at that closeup photo. I know that Disneyland acquired old street lights, and even gas lamps (from Philadelphia?). Hmmm, “Consolidated Steel Corporation”, that starts with “CON”! Could it be abbreviated like “MF’D” was?
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