Friday, February 16, 2018

Beautiful Tomorrowland, October 1961

Aww yeeeeaahhh....! Vintage Tomorrowland, my favorite. And today's pair of photos, circa 1961, are beauties.

Like this wonderful shot of the "America the Beautiful" building. I decree forthwith that this photo is postcard worthy. Bright, sunshiny, deep blue sky, and an especially nice look at the front of the "America The Beautiful" building in all its mid-century glory. Is the area too sterile? Add flags! It's the theme park equivalent of throw pillows.


I zoomed in a bit, hoping to glean more details from inside the AtB building, but... there's not much to see. I'm not sure what that red "Maltese Cross" thingy is, but it looks like it probably rotated. Maybe.


Also from 1961 is this familiar (but lovely) view of the Moonliner - no longer sponsored by TWA. Birds of Paradise and other bright flowers add colorful accents. If you squint, you can see piles of souvenir hats (with ostrich feathers?) in the distance!


9 comments:

Nanook said...

Major-

These are indeed beauties. So much so, even the rivets of the "waster paper" trash can seem to be gleaming. (Funny - I used to think that flags were the theme park equivalent of area rugs. GDB: The site with all the in-depth info anyone can ever want - or need-!)

Thanks, Major.

TokyoMagic! said...

That first shot certainly is postcard worthy. I'd like to have a wavy roof like that over my front door! And what's up with those weeds growing in the crack in front of that planter (visible in the first two pics)? Someone from the Monsanto exhibit next door, should have sprayed a little "Roundup" around the Tomorrowland entrance area.

Anonymous said...

What are the two antennae in the first shot?

Tom said...

That Tomorrowland... bright, clean, uncluttered, simple, just exploding with optimism like springtime. Beautiful!

K. Martinez said...

"Add flags! It's the theme park equivalent of throw pillows." It seemed to work for Six Flags so well they even named their parks after flags.

The shot down the Tomorrowland corridor is a beauty. I like the flowerbeds here and there in the slurry. Thanks, Major.

Nanook said...

@ Anon-

Those "antennae" are a part of the design of the Tomorrowland buildings, and many images show them adorned with anchor points for - wait for it... FLAGS. (You knew that was coming). Just lookie HERE. Thank you, Daveland.

Major Pepperidge said...

Nanook, I’m sure Howard Hughes and his flush-rivet, smooth fuselage aesthetic influenced the design of those trash cans!

TokyoMagic!, you can have a wavy roof just like that. Buy some corrugated metal, bend if the best you can by jumping up and down on alternate sides, and then install it using hot glue. Charming and stylish. It’s funny, I noticed those weeds too - they sure are thriving.

Anon, those towers are merely decorative - they add some vertical elements to an otherwise mostly one-story, boxy Tomorrowland.

Tom, it’s not quite as “WOW” as the 1967 Tomorrowland, but it is still pretty great!

K. Martinez, I’m sure it has come up before but why IS “Six Flags” called - “Six Flags”??

Nanook, I shoulda read ahead.

Nanook said...

Oh, Major....

The first Six Flags Park was Six Flags Over Texas, located in, well: Texas. And just you guess how many flags have flown ‘over’ the great state of Texas-? To quote from Wikipedia... “The name "Six Flags Over Texas" refers to the flags of the six different nations that have governed Texas: Spain, France, Mexico, the Republic of Texas, the United States of America, and the Confederate States of America”.

K. Martinez said...

Well, thank you for answering the question, Nanook! You certainly saved me the effort. As for Six Flags corporation today, it has nothing to with the original meaning of the first three original parks.