Details at Knott's, February 1961
Among my latest Knott's Berry Farm scans are some images that are, shall we say, less than captivating. But they do show some fun details that we don't necessarily see that often, so let's take a look!
First up (and most conventional of the bunch) is this photo of Goldie's Place, with its saucy leg dangling out the upper window - shield your child's eyes from the way it wiggles in a "come hither" manner! Goldie knows what men like.
There was a time when flamingoes were the "must have" ornament to any locale, and that included Knott's Berry Farm. Walter Knott provided a pond just for these graceful (but odd) birds.
I'm going to have to rely on the expertise of my well-informed readers (TokyoMagic!) for any information relating to this building. If I had to hazard a guess I'd say that this was near the Gold Mine where guests could pan for real gold. The building is about as rustic as can be.
Our photographer was mighty impressed with the door latch fashioned from a few naturally-bent branches and some nails. It'll keep the bears out, don't you worry!
Stay tuned for more Knott's photos.
18 comments:
Major-
"Come hither"-! Hubba, hubba. Oh. Major...
Even that gal-flamingo is doing the "come hither" leg wiggle, too! Cute!
Besides the kicking leg of one of Goldie’s Girls there was sometimes a recording coming from that window of a lady giggling! Major I do believe that “4-pane” door is from the miner’s cabin located to the left of the upper mining camp tunnel entrance. Actually really located to the left of the shaft building located to the left of the entry tunnel.
I think you're spot on about that building, Major. My guess is that it was removed when GhostRider opened in 1998. I hope that I'm not swiping this opportunity from TokyoMagic!, as he is definitely the best Knott's expert. Thanks for the post!
Looking at Google Maps, "Pan for Gold" is currently "temporarily closed" as well. Noooooo!
Mike and Andrew are correct about that little buildings being from the old Pan for Gold area. There is another pic of it here in this old GDB post from 2009:
https://gorillasdontblog.blogspot.com/2009/08/four-from-knotts-september-1969.html
And according to a comment on that post, from "outsidetheberm," he has the original recording of the monologue that was playing inside that peek-in!
As for that leg's "come hither" look and the voice coming from inside.....I want to know if it was Bea Benaderet who provided that voice, and if she could be heard snapping her fingers and saying, "Razzmatazz!"
Very nice. Thanks, Major. I hope I didn't forget to thank the proper person like I did yesterday.
@Sue - Ha, ha! That was a good one!
It would be hard to 'lock' that door from the inside. Perhaps the bear used it to lock in a 'snack' for later.
I had a little bottle of gold from Knott's in the 50's. It's lost. But I do have a map of the park showing the antique cars right next to the parking lot.
Fun pics of small details, thanks!
Captivated dz
Nanook, I wonder if Walter Knott had a memory of an actual old west bordello where a comely leg could be seen from an upper window?
Lou and Sue, hmmm, the flamingo “come hither” isn’t working.
Mike Cozart, I never knew that there was a recording of giggling from Goldie’s! Awesome. Thanks for the verification on the location of the cabin.
Andrew, I’ve sure seen plenty of photos of the “Pan For Gold” area, but never noticed the details like the door latch made from branches! The iHop across the street from Disneyland is also listed as “temporarily closed”, and if that doesn’t drive home the seriousness of this situation, nothing will.
TokyoMagic!, GDB? I refuse to go to that blog, that guy is crazy. Amazing that outsidetheberm has the recording from the peek-in - actually, when Mike Cozart mentioned the recording of giggling from Goldie’s, I immediately wondered if outsidetheberm had it in his collection. I know who Bea Benaderet was, is your comment a Betty Rubble reference? Or who knows, she could have been on I Love Lucy too.
K. Martinez, I just wanted to give credit where credit was due! I don’t need ALL the glory. Just 92% of it.
dzacher, bears are well known for their ability to use tools such a lathes, circular saws, and drill presses. They can fashion many wonderful things, I saw it on PBS. Bummer that you lost your gold dust! I still have mine somewhere - I combined several bottles into one, and it still looks like next to nothing.
Goldie's kicking leg and giggling is one of the things that is stuck in my mind to this day! Thanks for that memory.
I've got to tell you that the gold in your vial probably came from the pouch that the 'old prospector' had around his waist. One of the most vivid memories I have was watching him from the side as he surreptitiously placed a pinch of gold into the pan as he helped you swish the water around. I kept mine for a long time too, but it got lost too.
Thanks Major
Excellent pics, Major. I remember Mom harrumphing at Goldie's leg. Not sure about the giggles, but that would be in character for sure. Interesting that Knotts would have something so racy. Disneyland would never have anything like this. Walter Knott seems so proper in his photos, I bet he was a funny guy when Mrs. Knott wasn't listening.
I'm not sure if the flamingos I remember were at Knotts, or at the Fresno Zoo. Could be both, I suppose. I remember the plastic ones we had in our yard too, right next to the bird bath.
That cabin looks like some real ones I have seen during my time in Scotts Valley, west of Yreka, but I agree, the door latch seems more picturesque than functional.
I am 99% sure I still have my gold dust. I'm going to look for it some weekend.
JG
The lady in Goldie's window must be the girlfriend of the leg-dangling pirate in Pirates of the Caribbean.
I take great personal pleasure in pronouncing "flamingo" as "flamigno" (rhymes with Lou Ferrigno.)
I'm depressed that I have no memory of either the miner's shack or the firehouse. I do remember both a miner's shack and the firehouse at Columbia State Historic Park, so I've rebounded a bit.
Andrew, thanks for finding that great photo and IDing the little shack. Every time you do something like that for a place you've never been brings me hope for our future generations.
Thanks everybody else for your memories of soundtracks and locations of things, and to you, Major, for bringing us together again and starting the conversation.
Melissa, on my (unknowingly) final trip to Discovery Island during our family vacation to WDW right after I graduated from high school, I referred to them as "flaming ohs." It's stuck as the preferred family pronunciation.
Whoops! There's no firehouse today - that was in the 2009 GDB post that TM! linked to.
I still don't remember it, though.
Major-
Of course, Bea Benaderet was on I Love Lucy - the first season: "Lucy Plays Cupid", to be exact. It's the 'six degrees of separation' thing - you just can't escape it.
@Chuck, there is a "Flamingo Hotel" here in town, dating back to the late 40's maybe. Noted as the Oakland Raiders summer camp, Jayne Mansfield also stayed there. Very much of the Mad Men era. The sign is a rotating neon pink flamingo, locals and old timers like me refer to the place as "The Flaming O".
JG
JG, that's awesome. Sounds like I'm in good company.
Floozy Flaming-O Flamigno failed.
Yes, the reference was to Bea Benaderet on "I Love Lucy." She plays an older spinster lady, who likes the local grocery store owner (played by Edward Everett Horton). Lucy tries to help her, by having her practice a "come hither look." When she tries it out, she ends up blinking a lot while snapping her fingers and saying, "Razzmatazz! Razzmatazz!" Ricky see's her doing that and thinks the old lady is having a seizure.
So anyway, in short (I know.....too late!), when I hear the phrase "come hither," I think of Bea Benaderet, who by the way, was the original choice to play Ethel Mertz on the show, but couldn't take the part because she was under contract to another studio.
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