I am completely baffled as to why I never scanned the following two slides (with details included)... at the time I might have just thought that they were boring. Now, as I go through my old boxes of slides for missing treasures, I really like them, and am happy to be able to present them now.
We're looking down Main Street toward the Train Station on a busy (but not too busy) October day. The sky is overcast and milky-white, which is good for me because I don't have to deal with many deep shadows. I guess that by the late 1960's people were comfortable walking in the street, unlike earlier years when it was treated more like a real street, only crossed when necessary.
I particularly enjoy looking at the guests in this photo. The clothing is still pretty conservative, but bright colors are starting to creep in little by little. The "Summer of Love" was just months before this, after all. Let's have a "Be-In"!
There's a guy talking on his cell phone. Reception is terrible at Disneyland, everybody knows that. I see somebody who must be a sailor, but his hat looks like a large soup bowl. The Carefree Corner was still going strong; There is a banner at the end of Main Street, I wonder if it heralded the attractions in the New Tomorrowland?
Next our photographer turned her attention on the Matterhorn. There's lots of groovy striped clothing - kind of "late mod". And there's the Monsanto House of the Future, which will be removed just a few months after this photo was taken.
Major-
ReplyDeleteThese images really are a nice surprise. I really like the last one, featuring the Matterhorn.
And as far as a "Be-In" is concerned, if I had to indicate a preference, it would surely be towards a "Love-In"-!
Wow, late 60's stripes - both horizontal and vertical-! Just remember... only vertical stripes are considered 'slimming'-! (I almost said sliming). Whoops.
Thanks, Major.
Clothing styles and casual dress really changed in the 60's from the 50's. In the early photos (50's) most men wore suits/ties/hats and now we see only one gent on all of main street in a suit.
ReplyDeleteToday we are lucky if most people wear enough to cover things we really don't need to see in public (at a so called "family" park).
I agree, matterhorn photo is a keeper. Thanks, tgif.
P.S. That hat is only good for Navy bean soup.
Major, that sailor appears to be a member of a foreign navy, but I can't figure out which one. The US Navy issued a similar flat cap from 1852-1963, but they would have been long gone by '67, and none of the rest of the uniform is even close to American.
ReplyDeleteI thought that maybe it might be a cast member costume for the Columbia, but those looked completely different (http://www.davelandweb.com/columbia/images/7_68_KTYC_N15.jpg).
Okay, so after some additional research, the sailor appears to be wearing a standard, warm-weather uniform worn by enlisted rates in several British Commonwealth navies during the period. Most of the photos I found from the era show the uniform worn with white shorts, but I was able to find pictures of Royal Canadian Navy and Women's Royal Australian Navy sailors wearing the uniform with black trousers or skirts similar to the sailor in today's photo.
ReplyDeleteHere's an example showing members of the crew of HMCS (Her Majesty's Canadian Ship) Gloucester in 1966: http://jproc.ca/rrp/rrp2/glo_1966_graduates_b.jpg.
Based on that information, that sailor is likely a member of the British, Canadian, Australian, or New Zealand navies.
Nice research there, Chuck. You've given me an extra hour or so in my day's routine. :)
ReplyDeleteChiming in with my enjoyment of the second pic. I've always liked the look down Matterhorn Way (I think that's the name) from the Plaza. So was the House of the Future still there when the New Tomorrowland opened in 1967? I did a quick check at Yesterland and it didn't mention the exact timing of its removal other than to say that it was removed in 1967.
I love the framing of the Matterhorn by the trees in the Plaza Hub. Actually all the trees work well in this pic. Thanks, Major.
ReplyDeletePatrick Devlin, You are correct in reference to Matterhorn Way. House of the Future and Tomorrowland 1967 coexisted for a short period of six months. It closed on Dec. 1, 1967.
DL Fact #318 No One Cares About: What commenters are calling Matterhorn Way has always been referred to as the Extension by Disneyland. The name refers to extending (some) Main St. vehicles routes into Fantasyland (until, of course, those vehicles reverted back to stopping at the hub).
ReplyDeleteInteresting? No. True? Absolutely! :)
Great pics, Major. Always good to see these views.
ReplyDeleteJG
Nanook, I do like that Matterhorn view, but the first pic with all of the people is my fave! A “Love-in” sounds risky. What if everyone else there is gross? ;-)
ReplyDeleteAlonzo, it is really surprising how quickly fashions changed… even in the 1950’s. In ’55 and ’56, ladies were mostly in dresses, and men often wore jackets and ties. By ’58 or ’59, things got a lot more casual.
Chuck, I think I solved it when I said he was wearing a soup bowl on his head (as Alonzo says, for Navy bean soup)! I agree, I am positive that he is not a Columbia cast member.
Chuck again, it does look very much like the Royal Canadian Navy uniform. This photo was taken on the day of that unsuccessful Canadian invasion!
Patrick Devlin, I have never heard the label “Matterhorn Way”, but who knows. It sounds like a diet. “Lose weight the Matterhorn way!”. I see that Ken has answered your question about the HOTF!
Ken, I’ve always wondered why they left the Monsanto house standing for those few months; did they consider leaving it up longer and changed their minds? We may never know.
Anonymous, thank you for that interesting piece of trivia. It sounds like The Extension name must go way back to the 1950’s (?); as far as I know the vehicles stopped going into Fantasyland in the early 1960’s.
JG, thanks!
@ Anonymous-
ReplyDeleteThanks for mentioning the "extension" factoid. The only reason I'm familiar with the name (other than its being mentioned here before) is a friend and former CM was a Sweep and often worked the "extension".
Remember... the 'devil is always in the details', and we thank you for it.
Thanks, Patrick. Maybe I should start checking in later so I don't end up hogging all the fun. :-)
ReplyDeleteAddendum to my earlier post: the photo I posted is not of crewmembers of a Canadian ship, but rather a class graduating from a RCN electronic warfare training facility. At the time, the RCN followed the British naval tradition of commissioning and naming shore installations in the same manner as ships, so "HMCS Gloucester" was actually a naval shore facility located southeast of Ottawa. Renamed "CFS (Canadian Forces Station) Gloucester" in 1966, it closed in 1972.
I was so excited about finding a photo of people wearing that uniform that I completely forgot about the naming convention. Do I still get credit for effort?
Anonymous, That factoid is definitely interesting. I love insider information like that. Thanks for sharing it.
ReplyDeleteThe US Navy commissions buildings as ships too. A friend of mine worked as a contractor in a building commissioned as a ship in south New Jersey. I believe it's the one that can be seen from the NJ Turnpike as you approach Philadelphia that looks like the bridge of an Aegis destroyer.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of cell phones, it's funny, it sure does look like the man in green shirt walking toward the camera in the second photo has a cell phone. Maybe it's a transistor radio so he can listen to a game?
ReplyDelete