Sunday, December 30, 2018

Frontierland, October 1963

I have two very snooze-worthy images for this Sunday post. I hope they induce dreams of adorable puppies and kitties. 

Both are likely taken from the top deck of the Mark Twain; I understand the impulse to take pictures when you are suddenly much higher up in the air than usual. Everything looks so different! In this first one, we see the Golden Horseshoe Revue. What a grand theatre in this frontier town; it is kind of a cousin to the elegant Mark Twain, if you know what I mean. 

Looks like the ice cream vendor has a few takers. I wonder what sort of selection he offered? To the right, it looks like two boys have souvenir hats - a cowboy hat and a sombrero. Remember when there were large areas of grass in Frontierland? Neither do I.


Looking to our left a bit, we can see such wonders as the Matterhorn (including the Skyway), Sleeping Beauty Castle, Casa de Fritos, the Shooting Gallery, that cute little bandstand where one might see the Gonzalez Trio, and the Zocalo (to our left, behind the flags), where souvenirs could be had.


12 comments:

TokyoMagic! said...

I wonder what the purpose was, of that doohickey (wench?) on top of the Golden Horseshoe building.

It looks like the father near the bottom of the second pic, has already visited the ice cream vendor. Either that, or he's speaking into his Mr. Microphone, "Hey baby, we'll be back to pick you up later!"

Nanook said...

Major-

I love the 'dueling hats'-! And in the second image, the forced perspective always makes for a great shot.

@ TM!-
Perhaps it's the rare model Mr. 'Edible' Microphone...

Thanks, Major.

Chuck said...

That giant fishing pole is too far from the river to catch many catfish, unless maybe they were fishing for Jim Hunter.

K. Martinez said...

If that ice cream vendor has frozen bananas then I'm in. Frozen nutrition is a treat! Nothing snooze-worthy about these pics. I like 'em. Thanks, Major.

Melissa said...

Look at all those seats on the porch of the Golden Horseshoe! Imagine that nowadays.

Major Pepperidge said...

TokyoMagic!, I’ve always wondered about the function of that crane thing. Did it really do anything, or was it based on something that some old buildings in the 1800’s actually had on their roofs? The father definitely has a Mr. Microphone, you can tell that he is dancing while speaking into it.

Nanook, Frontierland ain’t big enough for those two hats. I once thought I had one of those rare edible Mr. Microphones, and it turned out to be a soap on a rope.

Chuck, I don’t know who Jim Hunter is, but I’m sure he is a fine person with many leather-bound books in his library. The ultimate indication of class!

K. Martinez, I have a weird thing about bananas… I like just a plain banana. I don’t like them on things or in things, frozen or otherwise. It’s crazy, I know. Try to get a smoothie without banana in it; it’s not easy!

Melissa, oh fun, I guess it’s almost time for the next show. I wonder how long the line eventually got before they let everyone in?

JC Shannon said...

I love a good scan and a good mystery. The winch on the top of the Saloon appears and disappears over the years. Perhaps it was used to lift something heavy, but what? In the second photo there is hardly anyone there. I want to visit the park on that day. No lines, no waiting. Let's all meet up at the Submarine Voyage, the Ethan Allen is all ours. Thanks to Major P. and everyone in the GDB family for the comments.

Anonymous said...

Chuck, it looks like the Major struck out on your Jim Hunter pitch.

Chuck said...

Yeah - I guess he's not much of a catfish hunter.

Major Pepperidge said...

Jonathan, they used to do a sort of “wild west” shootout on the Golden Horseshoe building, maybe that crane was used for a thrilling stunt. It’s amazing to see how laid-back and pleasant the park looked back then, it’s one of my primary reasons for wanting a time machine. Oh, that and buying Google stock for a few bucks a share.

Anon, hmmm, “struck out”… apparently Jim Hunter manufactured matches.

Chuck, so Jim Hunter makes matches and also fishes in the Mississippi. I feel like I’m getting warm.

Melissa said...

He hunts men named Jim.

Anonymous said...

In photo two, the Matterhorn is doing it's part as a reasonable stand-in for the snow-capped Rockies. Just overlook the Castle and it works fine.

I have no idea what the crane on the saloon roof is used for, or intended to resemble, but maybe lifting furniture or heavy items (trunk luggage) to the upper floor.

Many old buildings in Amsterdam were very long and narrow, since taxes were levied on the width of your street frontage. This made stairs inside very steep and short. Many building fronts to this day still sport the protruding crane beams used to lift the furniture into the upper floors since the stairs were too tight to carry up beds, armoires, pianos, etc.

This blog has an article with photos >> https://mjwrightnz.wordpress.com/2012/10/28/amsterdams-taxing-narrow-houses/

There might be a similar intent here, but not sure.

These are exceptionally nice pictures, Major. Cannot replicate today, if only for the reduced crowds.

Thank you.

JG