Today I have two shots (with a couple of details) showing Main Street U.S.A. on an overcast day. The dreaded June Gloom!
This first image is nice enough, but the fun (as is often the case) is in the details. There is a "Disneyland 1959" banner on the side of the Omnibus, which makes that bus even more omni than ever. And check out all of those wonderful signs, hanging from wires in the middle of the street, and affixed to every lamp post: fabulous graphics in the very best traditiion of Disneyland poster artwork!
Here's a closer look...
Our photographer has crossed the street for another photo. I can only assume that the bunting and streamers were in place for the parade and other televised festivities, celebrating the opening of the Matterhorn, Monorail, and Submarine Voyage. The clock tells us that it is 10:30-ish, hopefully that layer of clouds will burn off in a few hours. Not likely!
Here's one final detail of two more signs. These were silkscreened on masonite. A large group of the masonite signs and paper examples (as well as a few large cloth banners) were auctioned off a year or two ago, and the poster collector in me coveted all of 'em! I didn't get any though, but at least I have the photos of them.
*I will be out of town for the next couple of days... there will be new posts, but I may not be able to reply to comments, or comment on some of my favorite blogs. I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday!
ah da Signage, signage everywhere.
ReplyDelete1959. Awesome year for the Disney buff, the music buff, the car buff, lotsa buffed peeps. Meep meep! The monorail, the modern equiv of the old steam stereorail circling the park. It can swift you away in the modern atomic way from your hotel, where you'd parked your '58 Chevy you drove here via the new super highway, 'cause this is a nation on the move.
Darby O'Gill, that's a great sometimes under-rated movie. Everybody went to see the Shaggy Dog 'cause of Tommy, Mooche, Tim & Annette but it was a treat too.
And you might've recently seen Third Man On The Mountain with James MacArthur and the same lassie as Darby, Janet Munro... and above all, literally, a certain Swiss mountain. What a stunner to see it on your approach to Disneyland, miraculously built by human hand in the middle of Anaheim, the Matterhorn!
So wonderful, Disneyland '59.
These pictures transmit warmth and piece. They well show a park where people wouldn't get "sore feet". That's how it should always be, if they didn't crowd the park!Vehicles could go by and still add to the whole, rather than getting in the way!
ReplyDelete1959 was a year of great fun at Disneyland and many cool memories.
ReplyDeleteI always find it fascinating how very few (if any) people walk in the street. Oh, to see that again on Main Street!
ReplyDeleteThat first photo looks like a real town, with real company names on the signs, and normal looking people walking on the sidewalks like they're supposed to. Walt knew what he was doing.
ReplyDeleteHappy Thanksgiving to you, Major!
ReplyDeletea lovely group today, Major. looks like its going to be a busy day on this particular morning...so nice to see
ReplyDeletei was also noting how ppl didnt seem to walk in the street like we do today
happy thanksgiving to everyone! :)
Hey Major- thanks for posting these. I ended up with the set of 1959 signpost plaques from the auction and love them!
ReplyDelete