Hey! Here's a pair of Snoozles for you. We'll start with this gray and depressing image (from September of 1967) of Main Street Station, taken by the guy who filmed the "Batman" TV series. He loved those Dutch angles! He also loves Edam cheese, wooden shoes, and Dutch processed cocoa. I'm sensing a theme. The theme is LOVE.
Next is this photo from October, 1963. I believe that the photographer wanted to get a picture of the Burning Settler's Cabin, but the timing was off, so we can barely see the thing. Or maybe he liked the Keelboat, parked in that little portage - Mike Fink stopped by every once in a while to deliver a box of home-made Tollhouse cookies.
Major-
ReplyDelete"Mike Fink stopped by every once in a while to deliver a box of home-made Tollhouse cookies."
I had heard Mike was partial to giving out Mission Pak dried fruit instead.
Thanks, Major.
Ha! This pic actually looks like half of two different pics, separated by that dark green line of hedges. It looks like two slides got stuck in the slide projector at the same time. It's either 11:00 am or five minutes 'til 12:00. Hard to tell with these clock hands. The lady in the foreground doesn't seem the least bit concerned that a rampaging bull elephant is charging right at her! White petunias today. Ant the floral Mickey is looking a bit skimpy again. I do wonder why the picture is so tilted. Was the photographer rushed? (Doesn't appear so.)
ReplyDeleteMike Fink delivering cookies; what a softie. I think we can only see one(1) pixel of the relaxing settler. Maybe Mike Fink was making the cookies inside the settler's cabin, and left a tray of cookies in the oven too long...
The first pic is a little strange; I don't know what to make of it. The second picture; well like you said, a little late. Maybe the photographer had to run up two flights of stairs to get to the top of the Mark Twain before snapping this photo. Oh well, at least they're in focus! Thanks, Major.
Of possible significance: The keelboat is clearly one of the ride vehicles, with steps and railings, benches on top, and open sides. No attempt to match the floating shipping crates Davy and Mike raced on the TV show.
ReplyDeleteParking on low-capacity days? Sidelined for repairs? Decommissioned? Maybe temporary camouflage for exposed concrete or some such?
The TV shows deployed at least three boats: Two grubby ones for the race, and a frilly one evidently intended for passengers (found abandoned -- a victim of the river pirates). Recall hearing the actual film props were adapted for the park -- anybody have the facts?
It's interesting that the three posters on the right are for the same three attractions as we saw in the pic from last Tuesday, which was from 1963....four years earlier. One difference this time is, the Enchanted Tiki Room poster does list United Airlines as the sponsor. I wonder if there were designated posters which were supposed to go into designated frames, and the people swapping them out weren't supposed to veer from that?
ReplyDeleteThanks, Major! And a happy Snoozle Sunday, to ya!
That is an odd time to snap a photo if the photographer was trying to capture the cabin, as it was just coming into view and would be more visible in just a few seconds. Maybe they really were focused on the keelboat.
ReplyDeleteInterestingly enough, on December 11th of 2018 you posted another photo from October of 1963 of the same subject from a slightly different angle. It’s obviously not from the same lot, as the aspect ratio is different (square vs rectangular) as is the lighting (strong shadows vs. muted “flat” lighting), but interesting that two photographers caught the same, unusual setup…and that their pictures both came into your possession. Only an exorcist can take them from you now.
DBenson, the film props originally debuted at Disneyland on Christmas Day of 1955. They were replaced by Fiberglas replicas around 1957-58. Around 1965-67, the original bench seating that ran the length of the cabins was replaced with shorter benches that ran the width of the cabins and was aligned with the window/doors, which allowed guests a view of both sides of the river. At that time the Gullywhumper was also converted from two window/doors on each side of the cabin to match the three on each side of the Bertha Mae.
Thanks, Major!
Yeah, weird angle. I keep trying to scroll down. Love the Santa Fe logo and the casual conductor who reminds me of my father at work for Southern Pacific but he always had his coat on.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Major.
Zach
There’s that Santa Fe sign that I love. The stylish lady (Lee Radziwill?) looks like part of the poster art. I just noticed the boxwood hedge that helps screen the train wheels from view. Are the locomotives self-conscious about their appearance?
ReplyDeleteThe keel boat is in an unusual spot. I don’t recall seeing one parked there until the 1990’s after the ride was decommissioned, and after the cabin fire was extinguished. It took a long time for CAL-Fire to show up, they air-dropped retardant from Dumbo. Mike's cookies were the best though.
Thanks Major, a fine crop today!
JG
Nanook, I like dried fruit just fine, but come on… Tollhouse cookies? It’s a no-brainer!
ReplyDeleteJB, I kind of wonder why that little hedge was placed just so - did it act as a sort of fence, to discourage rowdy guests from hopping the train tracks to pose next to the Mickey floral portrait? I wonder if the lady next to the bull elephant is the wife of the guy who took the picture? If not, why is she just standing there? Go into the park already! Mike Fink’s Tollhouse cookies were thoughtful, but sometimes all he had was buffalo tallow instead of butter, so the flavor was, er, “savory”. We can only guess at the mental state of the photographer is picture #2, in my opinion he was just goofy.
DBenson, as far as I know, the ride-vehicle Keelboats were the only ones, until they built that one that was displayed partly sunk (a victim of river pirates I guess), and then the later one that was next to the cabin. I forget, is there still a Keelboat near the present cabin scene? Gosh, I haven’t seen the Davy Crockett shows since I was a little kid, I didn’t remember that there was a fancy boat that was shown to be abandoned.
TokyoMagic!, I’d have to look it up, but wasn’t United Air Lines the sponsor for the Tiki Room from the very beginning? Perhaps not. As dumb as it sounds, I always get miffed when I see one of those posters because I never managed to get one. And with the prices they are now, I never *will* get one! I truly have no idea how they decided to display which posters and how often they were changed out.
Chuck, well of course you remembered a photo from the blog from seven years ago! I sure didn’t. I have a friend who is always saying things like, “Remember that great photo you posted with both the red AND blue Monorails?”, and I never do remember. Meanwhile, it is kind of strange that the two Keelboat photos are so similar, even though they were taken years apart. Perhaps I made an error somewhere along the line. Thanks for the info about the various Keelboats!
zach, it sounds like your father had The Disney Look, even while working for Southern Pacific!
JG, yep, I always love seeing the Santa Fe logo in Disneyland. Or other places too! See my comment to JB regarding that hedge, it’s the only reason I can think of to have it there. Unless you are right, and somebody decided that train wheels were unsightly?? Wait, there was a Keelboat cabin fire? I don’t know about this!