Wednesday, September 09, 2009

1957 Indian Village

I have a couple of very nice Indian Village views for you today, starting with this photo. In addition to teepees and other Indian "houses", the designers thoughtfully provided benches with shades - - rustic shades that recall the checkerboard versions seen in Tomorrowland around this time. The little boy to our left has a shirt that looks like it was made from the same fabric as the lady's skirt to our right. The use of earthen berms was a stroke of genius; other parks that came after Disneyland tended to be flat and featureless, and allowed you to see from one "land" to another. Look at the way this artificial hillside not only blocks out the parking lot on the other side, but enhances the illusion of "wilderness".


Here's a closeup of the sign touting the rafts and the canoes...


Here's a neat sign that I don't think I've seen before, informing guests that all of the teepees and other Indian paraphernalia were props from "the new Walt Disney feature motion picture...'WESTWARD HO THE WAGONS'". That film was released in 1956, and starred Fess Parker, Sebastian Cabot, Iron Eyes Cody, and a herd of Mouseketeers.

3 comments:

Chiana_Chat said...

(Tony the Tiger) Grrrr-eat! (regular) signage here.

I'd sit a spell on those split logs just like Luella and Gaby there. What a neat place. :)

Thanks for the shots plus close up and real nice quality as usual, such a nice warm cast to it.

Nancy said...

what a beautiful blue sky! its the perfect day on the plains

i always marvel at how authentic it looked (and probably felt) in the early days of Disneyland. i can almost smell the fried chicken ... ;D

KN said...

After all, your blog is one of the best!! I love disney cartoon, movies and whatever related to it.. Nice job done.