Main Street, 1950s
I have a pair of nice 1950s scans for you from Town Square/Main Street USA. Starting with this group of adults who may have just walked through one of the tunnels beneath the train tracks; that gentleman is making sure his camera is ready to go., but the ladies look a bit bewildered. Should the gang walk up the steps and ride the train? Tempting, but so is Main Street. "Dorothy, I want to go to the Wurlitzer store!". In the upper right corner of the image, a fellow stands at the curb - at first I wondered if he was a cast member. But I think he was just an odd duck!
Next is this nice look up Main Street, with a surprising number of people heading towards the castle even though it was the afternoon (based on the indistinct shadows). Why did they all show up so late? Many ladies are still in their poofy skirts, which makes me guess that this is from 1956 (since we can see the Skyway cable in the distance)... by 1957 there was a noticeable shift from dresses to pants for women. This has been "Pants Talk 2026", thanks for coming!
10 comments:
Major-
'Hubba-hubba', "ma'am"... in the 1st image showing quite a bit of shoulder, there along with those massive pearls-! Quite a 'racy' look for a woman of 'your stature', I would say - but then again - what do I know-?
"... (since we can see the Skyway cable in the distance)".
We can-? The only "cables" I observe are those used for decorations suspended above Main Street. (Unless those cables were for use with the first [rarely-seen] iteration of the Skyway in 1955...)
Thanks, Major.
Dorothy, "Don't be silly, Martha. You can visit our Wurlitzer store back home in Kansas anytime! This is Disney's Land! I can hear wild animals over yonder. Let's go see what that's all about." (The name, "Disneyland" hadn't really caught on yet.)
The "Odd Duck" is dressed sort of like Charlie Chaplin (wrong hat though). He's carrying a camera mounted on a tripod. And he seems to listing to one side... maybe he's taking on water. (Pretty sure it's just camera lens distortion.)
The second photo looks really nice! We appear to be on another Horse-Drawn Streetcar, like the one coming toward us. I think we're stopped at the mid-way transfer point, waiting for the other Streetcar to come up along side of us before continuing. I see the horse is wearing a hat, like we discussed a few weeks (months?) ago.The guests all look like extras on a movie set; lots of color, lots of variety.
A couple of interesting, pleasant, and sorta goofy Main Street photos. Thanks, Major.
"Should the gang walk up the steps and ride the train?"
Nobody is EVER going to climb up steps to ride a train. Walt should have put it at ground level! ;-)
Does anyone know if there was ever an employee in the Wurlitzer Shop, who would play a piano or organ as guests walked by or as they looked around the shop? Now that I think of it.....have I asked that question before? And did someone respond and say that there weren't ANY organs or pianos in the shop? When I think of the Wurlitzer Shop at DL, I always think of the organ stores that used to be in most of the malls, with a suit-wearing salesman out front, playing his little heart out on an organ.
In the second photo, is someone in high heels boarding the Streetcar (behind the employee hanging off the side)? Or maybe it's someone in high heels, riding face down on one of the bench seats and dragging her feet?
Thank you, Major
I feel certain we have seen the lady with the yellow purse before, posing in the Flower Mart. And Mr. Odd Duck is carrying a tripod. Imagine lugging that around the Park? Almost as weird as buying a Wurlitzer in the Park. Seriously, any sales figures on those? But in those early days, a sponsor was a sponsor, I guess.
I’m comfortable with the early date assigned to photo 2 since all four trash cans are the plain green style and we know from other posts that these were not replaced until later in 1957. Looks like a sweeper is needed for some road apples too. Park sanitation must be in the early development stages. I think this was taken from the front row of the “other” streetcar, we can just see a sliver of the horse and harness to the right edge.
Excellent views of old Main Street, Major. Thank you!
JG
At first glance I thought Mr. Odd had a cannon for an arm, which certainly would be odd!
My only thought in the second picture is that I could ride the streetcar or buy ten pieces of penny candy at the candy store! What to do????
@ TM!-
"In the second photo, is someone in high heels boarding the Streetcar... Or maybe it's someone in high heels, riding face down on one of the bench seats.?
I prefer your second option, but suspect due to forced perspective we're seeing the ankles/high heels of a woman crossing Main Street behind the street car...
The Wurlitzer Shop was full of contemporary pianos and organs (for display) along with player piano music rolls (which could be purchased by guests). There was at least one organist, Dee Fisher, who played daily concerts at the shop , who was also the exhibit's first manager... "The Wurlitzer staff wasn't actually selling the instruments from the shop; it was strictly an exhibit, with trained personal on-hand to explain the functions and operations of the floor models - and to let you know exactly where in your hometown you could buy one just like it.
"Every evening at 5:00, manager Fisher would sit down at a mighty Wurlitzer and play a full concert of Disney movie tunes, which would be pumped out throughout Town Square on the park's PA system. The concerts were so popular, Disney recorded one and released it as a commercial album, Echoes of Disneyland".
Nanook, I almost didn’t share that first photo because that woman is showing too much skin. As you know, this is a family blog. And ha, I guess I thought that the far “cable” is just one of those cables for decorations - so perhaps these photos are “pre-Skyway”.
JB, I sometimes think about all the time that I and my friends spent in the local Wurlitzer store. To this day, the sound of a cheesy electric organ makes me smile. I do see “Disney Land” written on a lot of older slides, it’s kind of cute. I would love to know the story about the “odd duck”, I’m sure he’s harmless. There seems to be some sort of overcast marring these a bit, the lack of sunshine has sapped some of the fun from them.
TokyoMagic!, I forget, was there a theory from some that people wouldn’t climb the steps to ride the train? I don’t recall hearing of a performer in the Wurlitzer shop, but it seems like a no-brainer. He could have told dirty jokes too. Gosh, now that you said it, there really was a store that sold pianos and organs at our local mall, I never went in it.It always surprised me that they managed to hang on as long as they did. I guess that really is a woman’s leg with a high-heel, it almost looks like a little dog.
JG, hmmm, you might be right about seeing that lady before, I post these things out of order to “mix things up”, and right now my brain is numb so I can hardly think. I’ll bet that the Odd Duck took some great photos if he was willing to lug a tripod around! We’ll never know. Now that I am aware that there is no Skyway, these definitely have to be earlier than I thought. Which is OK! I’ll never remember Chuck’s name for dating photos by way of the trash cans, but it seems scientifically viable, at least in those early years. As for the need for sweepers, I’m sure they did the best they could!
stu29573, ha, maybe he pitched for the Yankees? I would ride the streetcar, but then again I have never set foot in the Candy Palace, so maybe I don’t know what I’m missing.
Nanook, perspective? You believe that hoax?? We all know that people actually get smaller as they walk away from you, but nobody is willing to admit it. I’ve always wondered if the Wurlitzer store also had jukeboxes on display, they made some real classics. There are few photos of the interior, and I don’t believe I’ve ever seen a jukebox in there, so I guess it seems unlikely. What a missed opportunity! Maybe those were not something that a private individual would tend to buy, since they were for diners and such. Thank you for the information about Dee Fisher, that is very cool to know.
Major, the word you are looking for is Disneyoskubalchronology. While you were looking, did you happen to see my car keys?
TM, ha! Now I can’t ‘unsee’ that poor exhausted lady lying face-down on the bench seat of that streetcar. :oD
Nanook, I think you are right about the forced perspective and the lady actually being behind the Streetcar. But Sue and I prefer to think of her as having face-planted onto the bench seat, while trying to jump aboard! ;-)
Thanks also for that info about the Wurlitzer Shop. The fact that they didn't actually sell the instruments in the shop is the part that I wasn't remembering correctly, not that they didn't have them on display. And I think I have a digital copy of that "Echoes of Disneyland" (shared by a fellow Jr. Gorilla), so that's something else that I was forgetting!
I forget, was there a theory from some that people wouldn’t climb the steps to ride the train?
Major, yes. Walt was supposedly given advice from at least one amusement park owner, that "people won't climb stairs" for a ride and that he should put the train station at ground level. Walter Knott must have listened to that same "Carney" and followed his advice. But now, Knott's management has to forever worry about kids derailing the train by stacking silver dollars on the track. ;-)
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