KBF on GDB! Let's go. This is a random selection of slide scans.
First up is this shot of Seldom Seen Slim, who used to be sort of an unofficial mascot of Knott's. The prospector with his trusty burro, wandering the west looking for gold. Gooooooold! It makes me sad that Slim and his burro (I call him "Biscuit") have been removed, it seems unbelievable that there wasn't room for this statue anymore. Slim was based on a real person named Charles Ferge. I'm unclear as to when the SSS statue (sculpted by Claude Bell) was installed, though it appears to be on souvenir maps going back to the mid-1950s.
Seeing that statue reminded me of an email exchange I had with TokyoMagic! a few years back, when I'd seen this screen grab from the Wim Wenders film "Paris, Texas". Right next to Harry Dean Stanton is another "miner and burro" statue that looks nearly identical to the one at Knott's! Here's what TM said: I'll tell ya... that door in the background has "Wheel Inn" on it. That was the restaurant next door to the "Cabazon dinosaurs." Claude Bell created the Cabazon dinosaurs and ran the Wheel Inn for a while, and I had heard... and have seen accompanying pics to back it up, that he had a duplicate of his "Miner and Burro" statues from Knott's, outside of his restaurant. I wonder if those statues are still there. I think the restaurant closed some time ago. Interesting! I sure hope that at least one of these statues still survives somewhere.
Next is this September 1970 view of a mine shaft up on a precipitous hillside (or is it a cliff?). I assume that this was taken from down in the "Gold Mine" where guests could pan for REAL GOLD.
Here's an undated photo of the #40, the "Gold Nugget", I believe that the people in the foreground are standing in Boot Hill, enjoying the humorous grave markers. Is that the Haunted Shack to the left or just some other shanty?
And sticking with the train theme, here's the #41, the "Red Cliff". It's kind of an impressive photo, back when there was so much open space around Knott's. Not to mention the eucalyptus trees that somehow added so much to the look and feel of the place.
Major-
ReplyDeleteThe Wheel Inn closed on September 23, 2013. HERE'S another view of the burro in Cabazon.
Thanks, Major.
The statue of SSS looks very realistic! Surely he found a home somewhere after he got booted out of KBF? If he was a Disney statue he would've ended up in a landfill, but this is KBF, so I'm guessing he lives in somebody's collection or in a museum. If, for no other reason, because he's probably worth quite a bit of money!
ReplyDeleteThe statue in the movie screen grab doesn't look as real as the one at KBF. Kinda rough and beat up.
We get a very rare sighting of an antlered burro lying next to that mine shaft! They used to be plentiful, but then someone decided that ground-up burro antlers can be used as an aphrodisiac, and their numbers dwindled.
Major, I can't say for sure, but I think that IS the Haunted Shack back there. That wood fence next to the Shack looks familiar. It enclosed the area outside the Shack where you could witness water flowing uphill, among other oddities.
Nice photo of the Red Cliff! Seems like they often take photos of trains from this angle, with the cars trailing around a bend in the tracks. The smoke coming out of the smokestack looks like a bear's head. Maybe a koala... or a panda. Or maybe just a teddy bear.
Thanks for the KBF on GDB pics, Major.
JB, I see a gibbons monkey.
ReplyDeleteThese are some nice pics of Knott's. I especially like the last one of #41. Thanks, Major.
ReplyDeleteI’m glad people took pictures of the little nooks and crannies of KBF. I think those little details are part of the lasting charm of a true “theme park”…and why a lot of other amusement parks are just an aggregation of rides.
ReplyDeleteI agree with JB - that is a nice photo of Red Cliff. That paint job doesn’t look half bad when you can’t see much of it.
Thanks, Major!
Oh, and I see Benji in the smoke.
ReplyDeleteI see William Holden's head in the smoke.
ReplyDeleteAnd STANDING in Boot Hill is what I prefer.
I only went to Knott's Berry farm a couple of times, once in the late '50s. I do still have the map they handed out.
Thanks, Major
Zach
Of course, there were also the two sets of "Miner and Burro" that used to stand atop a rock at the corners of Beach Blvd. and La Palma Ave., and also Western Ave. and La Palma Ave. I believe the latter one was removed either when the Roaring 20s was built in 1975, or the following year when the Roaring 20s Airfield was built. The other one at Beach Blvd. and La Palma had been blown up by local hooligans in the early 1980s. They were repaired and placed on top of the new wall that was constructed around the newly expanded park, when Camp Snoopy was built in 1983. There's still a set of the statues atop that wall, but they do not match the originals, so who knows what happened to the multiple sets of Claude Bell's original creations.
ReplyDeleteI believe the set of figures atop that fountain and the fountain itself, was removed in 1976 when a new entrance to the park was built. Maybe Claude Bell took that set and put them outside his diner in Cabazon? But of course, he would have had the original molds for making them, so he could have just cast another set for himself at any given time.
Major, you are right about that mine shaft being on top of the hill above the Pan For Gold attraction. I don't ever remember Bambi being up there on the hill! They must have removed him at some point. And the Volcano would have been just over that hill
I see a demonic-looking Lillian Disney in the smoke from the train.
Thanks for the Knott's pics, Major!
I certainly remember the KBF Miner, but I did not know his name. Major, we have just returned from a trip to the Eastern Sierras where, among other places, we visited Ballarat camp, home of the real Slim. I’ll send you my photo of his obituary, posted on the wall of the Ballarat Trading Post.
ReplyDeleteThe hillside cabin pic is the hill above the Gold Mine. Like Rainbow Ridge, it’s a forced perspective structure and I always wanted to climb up there.
Train pics are always welcome, Thank You!
JG
Hmmm...I thought I posted this, but I don't see it. The photo of No. 41 is in the classic "3/4 wedge" style, as JB notes. And the headlight reflector probably absorbs more light than it reflects! Man, is that thing dirty!
ReplyDeleteJG, obituary? I refuse to admit that the “real” Slim is dead. He’s like Elvis, still popping up where you least expect him! I’m sure lots of people wanted to climb up to some of those cliffside features, which is why they had a “no climbing” sign at the bottom of them!
ReplyDeleteSteve DeGaetano, it’s very possible that Blogger ate your comment, it seems to happen now and then. I wish I knew why. I noticed the dirty reflector too! Did they use a car headlamp for the light?
Nanook, thanks for that photo!
ReplyDeleteJB, I agree, Slim is well sculpted. When he’s not on that rocky fountain, you realize how small he is - his burro looks to be about the size of a German shepherd. I’d really love to know what has happened to the various copies of SSS! I’m sure the example in Cabazon got plenty of abuse from dumb people. So far there has been no confirmation about the Haunted Shack, but I’m feeling pretty positive about it. Ya gotta admit that a photo of a train with the whole thing curving back in the distance is a good way to do it!
Lou and Sue, is the monkey in the room with you right now?
K. Martinez, I know I have a few especially nice 50s KBF slides, but I can’t find them! Frustrating.
Chuck, I’ve always wondered if Disneyland was considered a “theme park” because it has multiple, distinct themes? I believe that there were a number of western and fairy tale parks around, even before Disneyland.
Chuck, hmmm, I’m trying to see Benji, but it’s just not happening!
zach, I don’t think I saw Knott’s until around 1970, so I’m jealous of your 1950s experience.
TokyoMagic!, oh yeah, I forgot about the SSS statue at the corner of Beach and La Palma. Jeez, what is wrong with people? “Blown up by local hooligans”, I’d say it’s unbelievable, but unfortunately it is all too believable. Thank you for the photo of that statue (you’re right, it does not match), at least there is *something*, though… what’s wrong with Claude Bell’s nice sculpts? You could be right about Bell himself keeping the statues, but as you said, he must have had the molds and could have put thousands of the statues everywhere. Which is what he should have done. “Honey, there’s a prospector and burro statue in our front yard again”. That deer is sort of charming in its primitive appearance, but it’s not really that much worse than the static animals along the Rivers of America. Gosh, I guess you really don’t like Lillian Disney!
Major, the electric generator on steam locomotives put out 32 volts, so unless the voltage was reduced, a car headlamp wouldn't last long! They probably just used regular 32-volt locomotive headlamp bulbs.
ReplyDeleteI sorely miss the Gold Mine pit. It was such an interesting area, walking through the old mine down to the gold panning area. Tip: go deep with your pan - that gold's heavy!
ReplyDeleteI like the train passing through the Haunted Shack / Boot Hill area. I always thought the Haunted Shack would work well as a dark ride. Boot Hill was much more interesting at night without the coaster trains wooshing through. It was very creepy with the heartbeat grave, and the decrepit old hearse with the distorted dirge playing from it.
Look at all that space for the Train to pass through!! - if only Knott's had the benefit of space!! Why did they never build a resort in Florida?? Even so, I think they did a great job using what they had as they turned the parking areas into expanding the theme park.
Thanks Major!
Steve DeGaetano, I can’t argue with your logic!
ReplyDeleteOmnispace, maybe it’s because I was a kid, but when we would pan for gold, the employee/prospector would scoop the dirt for me, and often would eventually take the pan from me and finish the process. Maybe he knew that most kids would take forever?! And lose any gold dust because kids are lame?