Who doesn't enjoy staring at a burning building? I know I do! And in Freedomland's "Old Chicago", the great Chicago fire of 1871 was reenacted every 20 minutes to the obvious delight of the crowd. Actors portraying olde-tyme firemen (did they all have handlebar mustaches?) extinguished the blaze, and would recruit members of the audience to help man the hoses. I believe that a similar attraction was considered for Disneyland in the early days, but my guess is that Walt Disney did not think it jibed with his vision of Main Street.
Now we're in "Little Old New York", and about to enjoy the "Horseless Carriage" ride. It was described as "...an antique car ride in a 1909 model Cadillac through a mock-up of New England". The cars look neat, but as is the case with most Freedomland attractions, the "atmosphere" isn't so hot. That wall in the background looks like the great wall on Skull Island.
We're still in Little Old New York, looking at the waterfront buildings (some looking very "New Amsterdam-ish"); see the Macy's Store? To our left is what can only be the "Harbor Tug Boats" which, like the two magnificent sternwheelers, took you on a tour of the Great Lakes. I guess it was the equivalent of having the Mark Twain, Keel Boats, and Columbia all plying the same waters. Meanwhile that tug boat has a little paddle wheel on the side that looks more decorative than functional.
Oh boy, there's more Freedomland to come!
Wow, the cars have no track! I want one!
ReplyDeleteI never gave it much thought, but is a Horrendous Disaster (hundreds died) really the proper event to make an attraction from? I suppose Walt probably passed on "Old Hiroshima - 1945"...
ReplyDeleteThose little Cadillac's look fun - I wonder how well the side wheel held up? WOW - the theming is pretty lame.
Yeah, it has that no-talent vibe. Same one I get when I visit Ports-O'-Call Village in San Pedro, or the Old Old Towne Mall in Torrance.
ReplyDeleteOf course, people have a real tolerance for that, so what was the real reason Freedomland went out of business? Corruption? Short operating season?
Here's a real challenge: Anybody got pictures of this place under 6 feet of snow in the dead of winter?
No doubt corruption (it is New York, after all) and winter each played its part in the well-deserved demise of Freedomland, but remember not to discount the intrinsic "badness" of the whole thing. Disneyland was built by people with experience making movies, in terms of building the sets and effects of films but also in terms of storytelling. That expertise (along with the fact that it was the project of an obsessive-compulsive who invested vast amounts of himself into it) makes Disneyland Disneyland. Walt made it great because the whole thing was a labor of love and not just a money-making project (though it was that too). Just look how cheap and shabby Freedomland is from every viewpoint. Its not even the cheap and shabby that's characteristic of traditional American roadside attractions, which is at least genuine. This cheap and shabby is fake, and it was clearly designed with the sole purpose of making a cheap buck (it is New York, after all). Can you imagine the owner of this place with an apartment inside the park? I don't think so.
ReplyDeleteVery interesting to see!
ReplyDeleteWow, Anonymous has some strong feelings about Freedomland! I have to admit that I would love to have been able to visit the park, even though it does look like a lot of it was done "on the cheap". It has that "Six Flags" feeling. And yes, the fact that Walt had a slew of incredibly talented artists working for him helped tremendously. Look at the interior of the Golden Horseshoe, or the amazing variations of architecture on Main Street.
ReplyDeletei had not thought of it that way but yeah, we are really so lucky to have had Walt Disney's vision guide much of what has come since then....
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