Crowded New Orleans Square! - August 1969

You might look at today's photos of New Orleans Square, and think to yourself, "What a gyp, we've already seen these!". But you would be wrong! 

August, 1969 was a big deal in Disneyland history. A certain Haunted Mansion made its debut, drawing record crowds. And while we don't see the Mansion in today's pictures, we sure do see how mobbed the rest of New Orleans Square was. It's hard to tell, but it looks like many of the guests were in line for "Pirates of the Caribbean" (which is in the building with the cupola on top). 

I can just imagine walking from Main Street through Frontierland, and feeling your heart sink as you realize that you will be spending the next 90 minutes (or more?) in line.

Things let up a little bit as we pan eastward, with the River Belle Terrace visible through the trees. Why would you eat when you might have a chance to see the original Hat Box Ghost in the Haunted Mansion?!?

Two From September, 1971

Have any of you GDB readers out there ever taken a guided tour? I know they still offer the tours, but wonder how many people partake. I could be the "annoying guy" (a role I was born to play), and ask stupid questions, just like I do here! 

I was a little surprised that the guide's name tag doesn't have just her first name. "Tracy", or whatever; (it says "A. Bronwyn" - if you know her, have her write in. She's probably a GDB reader!). It seems like being a guide could have been a fun job, if you had the right mind set. Throw in a few erroneous "facts" for extra laughs. "The Mark Twain was the first steamboat to break the sound barrier, which of course helped win the vote for women". "There is a bomb shelter under Sleeping Beauty Castle, just for Walt Disney and his family, with enough food and water to last 10 years". Stuff like that.

Meanwhile, over at the Flower Mart... nothing is happening! As usual. I've always wondered if Walt and/or the Imagineers ever had any other ideas for luring guests down West Center Street? I love the Flower Mart because it is nostalgic, but admit that I probably would have walked right past it - unless my mom forced us to take a look (which she would).

Airplanes and Related!

Airplanes are cool, there is no doubt about it. And old airplanes are even cooler. Today we'll look at a few planes (and related).

This first shot is from an undated, unlabeled slide that had turned a hair-raising shade of magenta. I did my best to restore it, though it still looks a little weird. 

A crowd has gathered to see a big 4-engine bomber up close and personal. I believe that this is a B-17 Flying Fortress; my brother agrees with me, adding the caveat that there were many variations on the basic B-17 design. Wikipedia says: "...it was a potent, high-flying, long-range bomber that was able to defend itself, and to return home despite extensive battle damage. Its reputation quickly took on mythic proportions, and widely circulated stories and photos of notable numbers and examples of B-17s surviving battle damage increased its iconic status". Nearly 13,000 B-17s were built over the years, but as of now, only 10 remain airworthy.

I am now anxiously awaiting a comment to tell me that this is not a B-17!

Here's one that is "related" to airplane photos; a picture of a vintage airport. In this case, it is Dallas Love Field, in a photo dated March, 1958. Love Field was Dallas' main airport until 1974, when Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport opened. 

Two nattily-dressed gentlemen pause in a parking lot full of fabulous cars (look at 'em all!). Pale blue was the popular color, though a single bright red number can just be seen in the background to our right. Did you know that Love Field was the first airport to feature moving sidewalks?

And finally, here is a 1957 photo of a Frontier Airlines DC-3, waiting to sweep you away to a destination west of the Rocky Mountains. Dating back to 1950, Frontier was formed by a merger of Arizona Airways, Challenger Airlines, and Monarch Airlines. As you might be able to see, their slogan was "Serving the Rocky Mountain West". The nose says "Sunliner Mesa Verde", so you airplane nuts out there might be able to find out more about this particular plane, if you desire!

Frontier Airlines ceased operations in 1986, though there is a new, different airline with the same name.

Beautiful Rainbow Ridge, March 13, 1958

I've already posted most of the slides from March 13, 1958, but there are still some nice ones left - like today's!

The low attendance (I think it was in the neighborhood of 5,000 people) on this day allowed for an excellent shot of Rainbow Ridge. It is a good looking small-scale western town, in spite of its artificiality. The muted colors look as if the buildings have been exposed to blistering sunshine for decades.

Oh man, there's already four people in line. It's not worth it! You can see one of the trains heading through the tunnel that exited into Bear Country. I wonder what the red-shirted cast member is doing? I wish I could read that white sign to our left, but no such luck.

How's this for a lovely shot? Taken from the Mark Twain, we look down into the empty corral where you could catch a Conestoga Wagon or Stage Coach. Looks like there are a few people in line for the pack mules - assuming the rain didn't start, this would have been an awesome day to ride the mules.

That Mighty Matterhorn!

Today I have two very nice Kodak Instamatics featuring the Matterhorn. 

What a beautiful day it was, with that deep blue sky and brilliant sunshine; attendance looks light. You can see some people on the aqua Peoplemover train, so it was "open for business". The square Skyway buckets are color-coordinated in hues of yellow and aqua. The slurry doesn't look very blue here, but that might have to do with the fact that these images are from scanned negatives; sometimes you have to do some creative adjustments when scanning those. 

This next one must have been taken at around the same time as the previous photo. As I learned a few months ago, the Peoplemover passed right above the Skyway station, so that's how we get this neat view. 

FYI: I am moving to a new apartment today, so I will be unable to respond to comments for a day or so. In theory my internet will be up and running by tomorrow, but "stuff happens", as you know. Hopefully I will be back in action soon - in any case, there will be new posts every day, as usual! 

1964 New York World's Fair

It's time for more images from the New York World's Fair! These are kind of so-so photos, but I'm using what I have already scanned.

Not far from the Chrysler Pavilion, and next to U.S. Rubber's giant tire Ferris Wheel, you could find the Lowenbrau Gardens. It was, "... an open-air Bavarian-style restaurant set in a village square. The square is surrounded by five buildings, including a bell tower and a gate". "Every now and again, Lowenbrau's brewery wagon, drawn by four massive horses, can be seen in the streets outside, or traveling about the fairgrounds".

Love those luminaires!

The Mormon Church pavilion was a very popular photo subject; I suppose that it did stand out amidst the other ultra-modern, geometric buildings. Here we see the three-quarter scale replicas of part of the Mormon temple in Utah. 

In official Fair guides, several mentions are made of an "artificial cloud" that would be seen around these three towers. "A white cloud, visible for a great distance, hovers around the three towers...". There is even an artist's rendering showing a large cloud around it (which is weird). And yet I have never seen this cloud in actual photos. Presumably some sort of special-effect was intended, and it must not have worked out so well in real life.

This photo is not much to look at, but it is a bit interesting because it shows the inner courtyard of the massive United States pavilion. I have plenty of exterior photos of that building, but this is my only interior. 

Kneat Knott's! - November 1960

Today's vintage Knott's Berry Farm images are cool because they feature subject matter that you don't often see in photos.

Like this one, showing the interior of a print shop, complete with printing press. It's fun looking at all the details, like the visors hanging on the wall (I can't tell if they have green eyeshades), the old portraits, a can of ink, and so on. That press is a cast iron beast; I'll bet it still works!

Now we're at the blacksmith's shop (I've never seen an interior of that before). Our smith wears a sort of clip-on microphone, presumably as he explains the art of making horseshoes. "You get this metal super hot and hit it like a crazy person! Any questions?". How many places needed to employ a full-time blacksmith in 1960? Lucky for him, Knott's had lots of horses and mules, and even a few burros. 

More "Classic GDB"!

For today's reruns, I thought I would choose a theme: the Omnibus! Double decker vehicles are awesome. Why not a triple decker? Bob Gurr, I've got ideas. 

Here's a lovely shot of the Omnibus up at the Hub (when does it stop becoming the Hub and start becoming the Plaza?).  It appears to be waiting to take guests from Tomorrow and take them back to Yesteryear. In 1974 the Peoplemover was still going strong (with its original colors), it's kind of neat to see them juxtaposed like this. Note the cold-weather clothing on the guests. (Originally posted in 2011)

Here's another unusual angle showing an Omnibus as it attempts to run over those two hoodlums who are brazenly walking in the middle of the street. The people on the top level are in for a treat.

I suspect that this photo was not actually taken in June (you know how that goes), but the weather could be a case of SoCal's famous "June Gloom". Hey, if you look really carefully, you can just see the Carnation truck in the distance.

Now an Omnibus waits in front of Main Street Station; there's a popcorn wagon (behind the Horse Drawn Streetcar). And beyond that is the building with the "Liberty Street" sign. Notice the red, white, and blue bunting, banners, and flags, possibly leftover from the 4th of July!

Two From September, 1971

It's a "Cavalcade of Mediocrity"! Brought to you by Pepsodent tooth powder.

I admit it - "mediocre" is too harsh to describe this pretty, pastoral scene. In fact, the more I look at it, the more I am inclined to give it a thumb's up. I think our photographer was at the Indian Village, near the location where the "Golden Bear Lodge" (now known as the "Hungry Bear" restaurant) would eventually go. 

OK, this one is mediocre. The color is weird, and there isn't much to see. I'm going back to bed.

Santa Cruz Beach & Boardwalk, CA

Happy 4th of July! 

I hope all of you will be enjoying your picnics, barbecues, fireworks, and days at the shore.

Speaking of days at the shore, today we're going to head up to Santa Cruz, California (about 75 miles south of San Francisco). It  now has the oldest surviving amusement park (the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk), which dates back to 1907. I'm sure GDB pal Ken Martinez will have some info to add to this post!

I absolutely love this first beautiful photo - those Kodachrome colors just pop! I also love the many variations of beach umbrella designs; it made it easy to locate your spot on the sand from far away. Monterey Bay looks like it is full of blue dye (just like my hair, har har). Don't you wish you could step into this image? To our left is the Boardwalk, with the famous "Giant Dipper" roller coaster.

Here's an unusual view taken from out in the bay (from the back of a whale). The Giant Dipper was built in  1924, and can reach speeds up to 55 mph. It is one of the most popular coasters in the world, having thrilled over 60 million riders. Wow! 

And finally, one of the concessions along the boardwalk was this "Skee Roll" establishment. Skee Ball machines have been around since 1909, and are still found in many carnivals, arcades, and even popular restaurant chains (we used to play Skee Ball at a Shakey's Pizza Parlor when I was a kid). This place is doing bang-up business. I wonder what prizes you could get when you redeemed your precious strip of paper tickets? 

I hope you have enjoyed your visit to Santa Cruz!