A Pair of Random Pix
Here's a pair of random snoozers, for better or worse.
This first one is date-stamped "December, 1967", and shows the Monsanto House of the Future. Of course the actual photo could have been taken weeks or months earlier, but the plastic house was not long for this world. I couldn't find an exact date, but the House of the Future was demolished in December of '67. It's sad to think about it being cut and smashed to pieces.
The colorful flowerbeds were part of the "New Tomorrowland" that had opened on July 18th; ordinarily I think of them as being swirls of Bright yellow and vivid purple. but they look sort of whitish and a soft violet here. I can't decide if that's because they really did look that way later in the year, or if the color of the photo has faded.
Next is this perfectly nice, but pretty uninspiring photo of the south end of Tom Sawyer Island, circa 1969. The shore is softened by hundreds of what I assume are yellow narcissus flowers, while the mill is in the process of being covered by some sort of vine - it's a great look! Say hello to the raft to the left, and to Rainbow Ridge, just visible to our right.
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I'm still away from home, but will be home in just a few days!
13 comments:
Maybe it's just me, but there is something classic about the design of the House of the Future. I don't feel that the exterior design was horribly dated or that it's look was tied to the 1950s.
It's too bad that they couldn't have just left it there and still featured the very latest in interior designs and appliances. It could've actually been a cool, smaller version of an "Innoventions" display, instead of the huge boring monstrosity that Innoventions actually was.
I guess even if they had kept the HOTF around past 1967, it probably would have eventually been torn out in 1998...or painted brown. But twenty years after that, they could have painted it hot pink to match the Castle! Tinkerbell and her friends could be living inside of it today!
I love the low-to-the-ground look of the HOTF. The palm trees on both sides of the the entrance to Tomorrowland '67 were some of my favorites. I especially love the juxtaposition of the Swiss mountain with palm trees which gave Disneyland that sense of surrealism. Thanks, Major.
I always thought the HOTF looked a lot like the Jupiter 2. Like the Moonliner, it was very cool for it's time. The Old Mill added to the overall neatness of Frontierland, I miss it as well. As long as we have these old photos, we can still enjoy the gone stuff. Thanks Major.
I like how you can see right through the HoF to the trees and mountain beyond. A house like that would have spectacular views in the right setting...and, now that I think about it, could be a bit difficult to maintain privacy in in a residential neighborhood with small plots of land. You'd need a pretty tall privacy fence to screen out your neighbors, which would then completely ruin the visual effect of the house.
Ken, I love the visual contradictions of that corner of DL, too, and the funny thing is I never consciously noticed them until you pointed that out a few years ago. My brian just accepted it as "this is what DL looks like - and it looks awesome!"
TM!, the HoF - House of the Fairies. [shudder]
I think the first pic is from the Kodak Picture Spot we saw a few days ago. Getting that bit of tree branch in the upper right helps the perspective. And I like that there are a couple of people just entering the scene. And the palms and swirl effect of the planters. There's a lot to like.
I was around when you could fish from TSI. My parents said no for some reason that escaped this young kid.
Now I want to commandeer a raft.
Thanks, Major,
Zach
Hello, raft! Hello, ridge!
Yeah, I’m with TM!; they should still have some kind of exhibit of cutting-edge home technology. Give us all something to look forward to. It wouldn’t necessarily have to be in a freestanding structure like the HotF. Someplace like Innoventions in EPCOT would be a great place for it.
I love how the framing of the first picture makes it look like just some futuristic house in a well-landscaped neighborhood near a mountain. If I didn’t already know it was in a theme park I probably wouldn’t have guessed it from this shot.
Major-
As you discovered, the exact date for the HoF's demolition is very illusive. It doers appear, though, the House closed on December 1, 1967.
@ Chuck-
House of the Fairies-??!! It sounds so awful, had the structure survived up to the 'Princess Era', Disney may very-well have used it for just such a purpose. Merciful heavens-!
Thanks, Major.
To me it looks like a trip in the old time machine. Just feed the E-Ticket right in to the MR. Fusion and set the time circuits.
The HOF has water (falling) behind it and the river has been paved over. The cabin has the water (falling) wheel next to it. Same house different century????
If the HOF had a smaller version would it be called Hof's Hut?
@ Alonzo P Hawk-
Ahhh... very clever-! Hof's outlasted the HoF.
I been enjoying the comparison between the two "houses" everyone has been making this morning. I love the Monsanto House photo, with the structure seemingly nestled at the base of the Matterhorn.
Not sure what to say about the "faded" Tomorrowland flowers except perhaps the brighter varieties only grow in the summer? Why didn't they just plant Ice Plant everywhere?! Ice plants were everywhere in the 60's, especially along the freeways - the plant of the future.
The old mill house looks amazing in its setting with the vines growing onto it. It could be the subject of one of the French impressionist masters.
Major, I don't know if you realize it, but you have a very rare image of the HoF! An early morning shot of it taking a shower, freshening up for the start of another day.
Love the pink and white swirling flowers - sort of looks like magical Disney snow is blowing around at the base.
I agree with everyone about TSI and the old mill - love it!
Thanks, Major!
TokyoMagic!, I agree with you, I don’t think that the Monsanto House looked outdated. But it might be because right now, mid-century design is so popular? Just a wild guess. If the plastic house didn’t already exist, and some designer came up with that four-lobed “mushroom” design today, I would still think it was cool. “Innoventions” was a real disappointment; I could see how something like it might be fascinating, but it just wasn’t futuristic enough. And arg, the thought of the Monsanto House being used as a princess meet ‘n greet is gross!
K. Martinez, I guess that the designers didn’t consider that land would be so valuable that it would be better to build UP, and take advantage of what square footage they had. But... I agree that the design looks great!
Jonathan, it definitely looks like some sort of kooky space ship - part of its appeal if you ask me! I love the Jupiter 2 and wish I had a large scale model of it, one that you could lift the top off of to see the detailed interior.
Chuck, the House of the Future always makes me think of some of the homes up in the Hollywood Hills - built on a hillside, with spectacular views of L.A., or the San Fernando Valley depending on which side of the hills the house was on. That would be an ideal place for something like that design, with the small “footprint”. I think that there were plastic blinds for some privacy for the bedrooms, so that probably wouldn’t be as much of a problem.
Zach, that might have been taken from a “Picture Spot”, though Disneyland had a lot of nice vantage points that weren’t official! I guarantee that your folks said “no” to fishing because your mom didn’t want to carry your fish filets around for the rest of the day!
Melissa, I love the idea of a display of truly cutting-edge home technology, but these days things advance SO quickly. This year’s amazing phone will be snoresville by next year. How about a display showing how we will all be replaced by killer robots?
Nanook, maybe the date is elusive because it took several days? I’d think we could still be given a more exact date though. Lie to me, I don’t care! The thought of the Monsanto House painted in hues of purple and pink and blue is very depressing.
Alonzo, you make an interesting observation - some things appeal to people, even a century apart. I would still love to have a nice big water feature (waterfall, pond, etc). One the main reasons I don’t look forward to the inevitable removal of the Submarine attraction is that the big body of water will be gone. “Hof’s Hut”? You mean David Hasselhoff??
Nanook, wait, what’s “hof’s”? I’m missing something.
Omnispace, yes, somehow that futuristic house fits just fine with the Matterhorn Mountain right behind it. Who woulda thunk it? Walt, that’s who! Ice plant has pretty flowers, but ugh, I used to have to battle that stuff. It would grow over into our yard from a neighbor’s, and it was HEAVY and grew amazingly fast. I guess it was drought tolerant though, so that’s something. Instead of the cabin looking like a scene from a French Impressionist painting, I think it looks like a Thomas Kinkade painting, which is even better!
Lou and Sue, you know how much I love to have photos of people (and things) taking a shower! It’s one of my sub-categories. The flowers do look at little “snowy” in that one image... I still don’t know if they were actually subtle in color, or if the film just faded. Glad you liked these!
Beautiful comparison shots here, Major. Nice juxtaposition of past and yesterday's future.
I think the date for the HOF photo is likely to be correct since the interior looks like all the furniture is removed, as it would be prior to demolition.
I think the flower color is accurate, judging from the close-up in the foreground, I think the pink flower is an annual vinca (periwinkle) which comes in several shades of pink, and also white. Maybe these were the first in"carnation" of the soon-to-be-famous swirled beds?
I miss the old mill and will not repeat my rants about the wretched mess that Fantasmic made of TSI.
Thanks for posting these, much appreciated.
JG
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