Vintage Los Angeles

Happy Fourth of July! I hope you have a nice picnic lunch with hotdogs, potato salad, and corn on the cob.

I decided to pay tribute to Vintage Los Angeles today - for the heck of it - with two nice old views. This first scan is from "sometime in the 50s", looking North on Vine Street in Hollywood (Sunset Blvd. is behind us). There's the old NBC Studio to our right. Other fun details, ABC/KXCA Studio to the left (CBS was just around the corner on Hollywood Boulevard), the Santa Fe offices, and if you look closely, you can see the sign for the Brown Derby above the gentleman in the white jacket. One interesting note... I frequent the "Vintage LA" Facebook page, and the woman who runs it owns the fraternal twin to this slide - taken moments apart, same cars on the curb, same clouds in the sky. Hers is better! Still, I'm happy to have this one.

Next is this unassuming photo of a place called the "Sidewalk Coffee Corner". Looking it up, I discovered that it was from the venerable Robinson's department store at Seventh, Hope, and Broadway. Robinson’s food service in its flagship store included the aforementioned roof-top tearoom, which was remodeled in 1955 and renamed The California Room. In 1954, a quick-service restaurant was built on the seventh floor and named The Round Robin, playing on its circular design reminiscent of a birdcage, and the store’s name as well.  The California Room and Round Robin were exported to several of the branch stores as well.  The downtown store also had a “Sidewalk Coffee Corner” for light snacks. I had to color-correct this one, with limited success, but I'm happy to have this rare interior from one of Vintage LA's important stores.

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EXTRA! EXTRA! I recently had lunch with my friend Mr. X, we met at the Smokehouse in Burbank. A good old-fashioned place with dark wood and red leatherette booths. X showed up carrying a long cardboard box. He then pulled out a genuine silkscreened attraction poster - America the Beautiful (circa 1967). And then he GAVE it to me! Incredible. It's one that I never owned. I can't even remember how long it's been since I acquired an attraction poster. Many years, for sure. Take a look, it's a beauty. I am very grateful to Mr. X for his generosity! And it's perfect for the 4th of July.

Mark VI Autopia, June 1967

There's just something about the classic Autopia; I love the various styles that Bob Gurr cooked up over the years (even though versions he dislike, such as the Mark V cars), I love the winding miniature highways, and the often-smiling faces on kids and adults alike. 

Big Sis is returning to the Autopia load area, based on her expression I'd say she had fun. I'm a little confused about the fact that we are seeing Mark VI cars in June of '67, since the familiar Mark VII cars were introduced this year - but we all know that date stamps can lie. Perhaps the photos were taken many month earlier. It's also a bit strange that the cars are slightly different shades of blue. Where are the yellows, the greens, the candy-apple reds? Looking in the distance we can see...

...Kid Sister, in her "Peter Max"-colored dress and proper white cardigan. She's not smiling, perhaps she had a premonition of the future, since it feels like the Autopia's days might be numbered. I hope I'm wrong! Hey look, a white car, what an exciting color variation!

The Mark VI cars always remind me a bit of manta rays.

Pack Mules and Gullywhumper, August 1962

I have a few nice slides from August, 1962, starting with this fun look at Pack Mules as they returned from their trip through Nature's Wonderland to the safety of Rainbow Ridge. A few lesser-seen buildings are visible here. This attraction looks SO appealing to me now - sure, the Mine Train was incredible, but you could see Nature's Wonderland from different angles, such as from a "natural arch" bridge.

Next, the Gullywhumper loads up with a new load of passengers. Sitting up top would be great, but how about the two crates at the bow? There's a gun for warding off rabid elk (don't worry, the gun didn't hurt them, it was filled with puffed rice). 

Dining at the Disneyland Hotel

I have a very fun piece of vintage paper ephemera for you today - a little foldout flyer (only about 5" X 3" when closed) touting the surprising number of places where guests could go to drink and dine. Everything from a casual coffee shop to something a little more sophisticated and "grownup". I really love this one!

There's the cover, with a stylized Sun, perhaps evoking an "endless summer" in SoCal. "The whole family will enjoy the California Dining Room". At the bottom, a "special menu for children" is mentioned, you can find these quite easily, a menu that doubled as a paper mask of Mickey's smiling face (they also had a Pinocchio mask at some point). I used to have several of them, until my visiting cousins decided that they were junk. Into the trash they went!

The item unfolds to reveal six panels on each side, each featuring a different establishment for refreshment and relaxation. I had no idea that the Disneyland Hotel had so many options!

Next to the aforementioned cover is the Monorail Bar (not to be confused with the Monorail Cafe), and the Crown and Pillow, where "you'll have a jolly good time". Many of these places emphasize the availability of alcohol, clearly something that the parents and conventioneers demanded after a long day. 

All of the graphics are great, but I especially like the art for the Disneyland Hotel Lounge. The Coffee House sounds like a place I'd want to go, perhaps to enjoy a nice club sandwich and maybe a milkshake. Next, take the "Looking Glass Elevator" (I've never heard that before) up to the "Top of the Park" in the Sierra Tower. So... was the elevator mirrored??

The obverse features six more cafes and restaurants.

Several mentions of the Marina help to date this flyer to post-Spring 1970, when that feature debuted. More cocktails could be had at the Palm Court Lounge and the Shipyard Inn, along with seafood, more English atmosphere, and even dancing in the Oak Room. I wonder if Anaheim locals ever went to these places even if they weren't staying at the Hotel? 

And the last three, starting with Blum's of San Francisco, the Sailmaker's Den (love some of these names), and The Country Kitchen, which had Mediterranean cuisine (surprisingly).

Somebody was selling a different version of this flyer on eBay a year or so ago; maybe someday I'll get one of these (because I love variations), but I'm very happy with the one I have.

More Stuff From the Box

Hey hey! It's time for more STUFF FROM THE BOX! The award winning-feature that the Kardashians are talking about. "What awards, Major??". BIG ONES, don't worry about it.

On many occasions, I've mentioned my fondness for old employee pins and badges. What I can't do is explain why I like them, but why even try? These first two were given out to Texaco employees, "Safe Driver" pins - perhaps these fellows drove the big trucks full of volatile gasoline? I actually like the "14 Years" pin more than the "21 Years", you'd think that by 21 years they'd add something fancy like a diamond chip or a photo of Marilyn Monroe.

I saw this Easter Seals badge at a collector's show in Glendale (CA), and the "Space Ranger" theme appealed to me. I'm assuming it is from the 1950s. Easter Seals (now "Easterseals") is a non-profit organization that provides services to people with disabilities and their families.

Next is a tiny (roughly .75" high plastic button - not a pinback button, but a button that could be sewn on to your shirt. It'll help keep your shirt closed so that you don't look like a slob. I've seen other buttons from the 1939 New York World's Fair, but this is the first time I've ever seen this particular variety - not that I have looked very hard.

Another employee pin! Given out for 15 years of service with the Westinghouse Corporation. The fact that I have previously shared a photo of a similar pin, only it was for 25 years of service, takes the wind out of this one's sails a little bit.

Yet another sub-category of collectibles that I like is airline-related pins. Many employee pins can go for big money, so I don't have those - as a rule. The two below were surely worn by employees, maybe flight attendants. I find them visually appealing, my favorite is the one on the left, just because the red enamel is so striking. but the blue one on the right is nice too! The "five" probably meant that the employee could eat five lobsters in one sitting.

And finally, here's a nice brass pin featuring the Shmoo, from Al Capp's "Li'l Abner" comic strip.  Shmoos are among the stranger concepts in any comic: The unusual creature loved humans. A Shmoo laid eggs and bottles of Grade A milk in an instant, and would gladly die and change itself into a sizzling steak if its owner merely looked at it hungrily. Its skin was fine leather, its eyes made perfect buttons and even its whiskers made excellent toothpicks. Shmoos multiplied much faster than rabbits, so owning a pair of Shmoos meant that any family was self-sufficient. There is another larger brass Shmoo pin that I will share here if I can ever find my example.

I hope you have enjoyed today's STUFF FROM THE BOX!

Frontierland / Big Thunder

Let's continue our long series of Big Thunder-related scans, graciously shared with us by the Mysterious Benefactor! We left off from the last installment with some photos of Big Thunder cast members, and the first three continue that trend.

As I said the last time, it's clear that the photographer thought it would be fun for these folks to have some bubble gum. Well, OK. I guess it gave them something to do besides sit there and smile. In my dad we chewed tobacco and let the juice run down our chins, but I guess that won't do now. I thought that this young woman might be a ticket-taker, but to be honest I don't know if they still used tickets when these photos were shot.

We saw this guy last time, and I swear he looks so much like actor Anthony Michael Hall (from "The Breakfast Club" among others). The Ray Bans seem like they might not work with "The Disney Look", but he's not in Disney Jail, so I guess it was OK. On a hot summer day, shades might have been needed for mere survival.

It's the gal from the first photo again - I'm posting these in the same order that they appear in the MB's folders - I just realized that gum in general was frowned upon in Disneyland (it's a pain to deal with when folks drop it on the ground), I think the photographer should have given them all switchblades to brandish instead.

We're done with gum! Here's a pretty photo of a small cascade pouring through the town of Rainbow Ridge - for some reason I thought that the town's name had changed when The Mine Train Through Nature's Wonderland closed, but nope, it is still Rainbow Ridge. 

A dramatic angle!

Next is this nice look at some of the theming, with mine equipment and machinery, old crates and casks, etc. I wonder if "Burke" was the name of an Imagineer? 

THANK YOU, Mysterious Benefactor!

Twain Snoozles™, May 1971

Today's Snoozles are not so terrible, really - they're just sort of "same old, same old". But I'm happy to see our Mark Twain gleaming in the sunshine on our Big River, it's still a pretty sight. And, ya know, it makes me thankful that we still have the steamboat and river here in Anaheim. The Old Mill looks great, and I like the Canoe in the scene.

After carefully applying the parking brake (I love that old-timey ratcheting sound!), the Mark Twain unloads at the dock. This is (of course) pre-Big Thunder Mountain, it's almost surprising to see hillsides covered in trees and shrubs, and no southwestern rock formations.

The Magic Kingdom, November 1982

I recently scanned a batch of slides from Florida's Magic Kingdom, date-stamped "November, 1982" - over 40 years old! - and while they are a little bit on the dark side, it gives them a certain dramatic atmosphere that I find to be visually interesting. 

Let's begin with this photo in Fantasyland, with It's a Small World right in front of us. That taller building definitely echoes medieval architecture that you might see in Yurp. I'm assuming that a dark ride is near us to the left, any idea what that would be? The good old Skyway glides overhead, against some pretty clouds.

The Richard F. Irvine was the only steamboat on the Magic Kingdom's Rivers of America by 1982 (the "Admiral Joe Fowler" had been destroyed by me in 1990). And of course it was refurbished and renamed the Liberty Belle in 1996. I wonder if they got tired of explaining just who the heck Richard F. Irvine was to guests? The dark shadows give this a film noir feeling.

Even with the dark areas, this is a very pretty scene. All gone now, incredibly.

Here's locomotive No. 3, the Roger E. Broggie. Please let me know if you have any idea where this photo was taken (Frontierland of course, but was the train stopped at a station?). Also, could a guest walk up to that low rope fence and lick the locomotive? I'm not asking for me, just so you know, but for a friend.

And finally, howsabout a beautiful look at the Star Jets (atop the Wedway Peoplemover station). I love the "lifting body" (is that the right term?) vehicles, still circling a mighty Saturn V rocket. I'm sure there's some interesting stuff at ground level, but we can't see it.

Stay tuned for more WDW scans!

Leftuggies™

It's Friday, and that means that I have a pair of above-average scans for you, to start off your weekend on a high note. This first one is undated, but I believe it is from the early 1970s (or late 1960s?); it's a very nice view of the entrance area to Tomorrowland, with the curved track for the Peoplemover overhead, along with two trains. Did they do "rope drop" back then? Tomorrowland appears to be roped-off, and other than a few cast members, it's devoid of people, I'm not sure how else this photo would have been taken. The "flying whale" fountains are in the center, by those wonderful metallic bas-relief panels that I love.

Next, (from 1973-ish) comes this photo of the Small World Stage, where the Kids of the Kingdom entertained a pretty solid crowd; Stage decor hints at a patriotic theme. By 1973, Linda Piesik (former Kid of the Kingdom and friend of GDB!) had moved on to bigger and better things, but the KotK still sang songs of positivity, love, friendship, and monkeys - four of my favorite things.

More Disneyland Hotel

It's time for even more November 20th, 1980 photos from the grounds of the Disneyland Hotel - photos taken by Lou Perry, and scanned and shared with us by his daughter, Sue B. It's hard to believe that these are over 45 years old!

The Marina was built in 1970, and changed the look and feel of the Hotel in a major way - it's fairly incredible that they devoted so much space to this miniature "ocean". But I love a good water feature. Especially a swamp; I told Jack Wrather that people want to see smelly swamps full of alligators and snakes and nutria, but he had other plans. FINE! 

It's hard to get a sense of scale, but those boats look kind of teensy - maybe they were built at 5/8 scale? I also wonder how deep the water is in the Marina - my guess is that it is several thousand feet deep. There were giant squid and gulper eels at the bottom.

The next two photos were taken from what looks to be a 5th or 6th-floor height, presumably where Lou's room was. He had a nice view of the Marina! It's not exactly bustling with guests, but I suppose that, being November, it might have been a bit chilly? Well, not necessarily... "Jason's Disneyland Almanac" tells us that the high temperature was 81º that day, which is very pleasant. However, it did drop to 44º at night, so there might have still been a morning chill in the air.

Different time, probably a different day (boats have moved around). The Hotel buildings cast large shadows across the area at certain hours. I see those paddleboat, which look fun, but are in fact a real workout.

From this angle, the Marina looks a little odd, a mash-mash of building styles and a variety of objects added for visual interest, like that buoy nearby. I'll bet it all looked great at night though!

THANK YOU, Lou and Sue! There is one more installment of photos from the Disneyland Hotel from Lou's November 1980 trip.