Tuesday, February 02, 2021

A Pair From March, 1958

Here's a pair of scans from a beautiful March day in 1958, with blue skies and gentle breezes (look at those pennants on the castle!). Most of the ladies and gentlemen are dressed so nicely (there's even a few fedoras), it always makes me assume that they came to the park after church. Who knows! There's not much to say about this familiar scene, except that it is pretty and I would love to be able to step into the photo.


Looking to our right is the craziest durned house! But it has style. As small as it is, I see plenty of post-war bungalows in old Los Angeles that probably have less square footage. At the risk of sounding like a broken record, the landscaping does wonders, making that modern home look warm and inviting. Notice Snow Hill to our left, with paths up to the top for a nice view, or for a place to smooch. 


 

26 comments:

"Lou and Sue" said...

The gentleman in the black suit, wearing a fedora and positioned "above" PUSH, is missing a leg. Poor guy...

I see some kind of yard work taking place, to the left - but it doesn't look like a lawn mower??

Nanook said...

Major-
The decided lack of guests makes each picture seem so tranquil and relaxing. Those pennants add such a nice touch to the medieval-ness of the castle. A picture really is worth a thousand words.

Thanks, Major.

"Lou and Sue" said...

BTW, my comments (above) were for Photo #1.

Regarding Photo #2: I see that, before the Matterhorn arrived, the Skyway buckets went through Monsanto's House of the Future.

Thank you, Major!

TokyoMagic! said...

Sue, I think that man does have two legs. One leg might just be bent, with his foot resting on the concrete bench seat. Or he's doing a high kick in the air, and he is about to jump onto that post and start his rendition of "Singing In The Rain."

That might actually be a lawn mower. My dad had one with a "catcher" that looked just like that.

"Lou and Sue" said...

TokyoMagic! Remember when WDW had the "permanent" umbrella on the lamp post on the "back" street in Disney's MGM Studios, with water coming down, so that you could recreate "Singing in the Rain"? Maybe our gentleman, posted today, was the inspiration?! And WDW had Gene Kelly (Singing in the Rain) in the Great Movie Ride, too! I miss both of those...

Regarding that lawn mower, I do recall the old push mower my dad and grandpa used, but we must've had the cheap version, as it didn't have a grass catcher. That's probably why I didn't recognize it, here.

TokyoMagic! said...

Sue, I loved The Great Movie Ride and I am not happy about them ripping it out. That umbrella photo spot must have been removed by the time I visited....or else, I just missed it. There was a wax figure of Gene Kelly in Movieland Wax Museum (up the street from Knott's), with perpetual "rain" coming down on him, but now that is gone too. I suppose these days, most people don't know about Gene Kelly, or that movie.

Chuck said...

Pssst! Does anyone have any idea what TM! & Sue are talking about?

Andrew said...

I remember that photo-op, Sue. I did that but didn't see Universe of Energy...

DrGoat said...

Chuck, I think they're talking about a ride in Universal Studios. I'm not looking it up so that's my best guess.
Nanook pretty much said it. I would step in to that photo in a heartbeat. I guess we would have to put on a tie and jacket to blend in. With a fedora of course.
Lou & Sue, don't you know there's one legged men all over the place. Like "storks on a roof" as it were, matey.
Neat photos major. Thanks.

Anonymous said...

The House of the Future isn't that small. Around here we have a couple of Futuro Houses (which look like flying saucers). They look cool, but they are SMALL. However, while the House of the Future was never actually put into production, the Futuro Houses were! (although fewer than 100 were made). Here's a link to the one here- https://thefuturohouse.com/Futuro-Royse-City-Texas-USA.html

"Lou and Sue" said...

Andrew, you would’ve loved the big dinosaurs; it was a good attraction (before they added Ellen and made it rather corny).

DrGoat, now I understand...that gentleman is just resting/roosting.

Anonymous said...

Makes sense that he is resting, since the HOF would be franchised by Restinghouse.

Sorry.

I love photo 1, that is the best.

This view always reminds me of St. Louis Cathedral in Jackson Square, New Orleans, and you will never convince me that the similarity is accidental.

https://www.google.com/maps/@29.9572239,-90.0625407,2a,75y,308.83h,95.48t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sbjH07Js7f_hD1xbhYKqRFQ!2e0!7i13312!8i6656?hl=en

JG

JC Shannon said...

I agree, I would love to step into either picture. Where are Mr Peabody and Sherman when you need em? Goat is right, a suit and fedora was the order of the day in 58. In Montana, we don't wear suits. If we want to step out, we wear our good boots (no horse poop on em) unfaded jeans and a hat not made of straw. This ensemble works equally well for both sexes. If it's a formal affair, we just don't go and we RSVP with a copy of "I've got Friends in Low Places." Thanks Major.

zach said...

I want to say one word to you. Just one word. Plastics.

Think about it. Some of the people in the first photo were born in the 19th century.

Great photos today. thank you Major,

zach



Major Pepperidge said...

Lou and Sue, maybe that man left his leg on “Peter Pan”. Now he has a hook for a leg. Good eye on the yard work, I wonder if that gizmo has a hopper that holds some sort of fertilizer? And why are they doing it in broad daylight with guests around?

Nanook, guests really could have a more tranquil Disneyland experience back then, if they were willing to wait until a weekday in the off season. Ah, those were the days.

Lou and Sue, I forgot to mention that in photo #2, we are seeing a rare photo of the Hamster Skyway, the gondolas could hold two hamsters (or three if one was a baby), and part of the cable went right through the Monsanto house.

TokyoMagic!, maybe the man is doing a “silly walk” like John Cleese used to do? I hope he didn’t have a habit of doing random high kicks in public. And yes, that thing looks like a bag to catch grass. But again - why are they doing it in the middle of the day??

Lou and Sue, I’ve never heard about that umbrella at Disney’s MGM Studios before. Did the rain only come on for short bursts? I’m trying to figure out how guests would get under the umbrella without getting wet. My grandfather in Minnesota had a really old-fashioned lawnmower, no gas engine or anything, a push mower with the spinning blades that were so interesting to me. “How does that thing cut grass?!”. But it did.

TokyoMagic!, it does seem sad that yet another classic big AA ride has been removed from a Disney park. That was not a wax figure of Gene Kelly that you saw, that was actually Gene Kelly! And everybody knows who he is - he’s the guy in “Xanadu”.

Chuck, just smile and nod and don’t make any sudden moves. We don’t want to upset them!

Andrew, maybe “Universe of Energy” was down the day you were in EPCOT? I never went to that park of course, but I would sure be bummed to think that I walked past one of the classic attractions.

DrGoat, does Universal Studios (Florida) have any sort of ride that referenced classic movies? You’d think that they would, but I am unaware of any. The Disney connection makes sense because they spent a lot of money to MGM for the use of the name and their movie properties.

Stu29573, I’ve seen other “future house” concepts, often meant to be produced in large numbers and presumably be low-cost, and I think they often want to use limited land more efficiently, so… they tend to be small. When Elon Musk gives me that billion dollars just because I’m cute, I will build my Monsanto House, but I’m gonna make it BIG! I’ve seen those Futuro Houses in photos, but somehow thought they were in Europe, and had no idea they were in Texas. I think many people would be thrilled to have a small home like that, compared to other less-nice options.

Lou and Sue, oh, I didn’t know that Ellen was added to that ride, I guess I thought she was always a part of it. You learn something new every day.

JG, you know, that’s not a bad bit of wordplay, even though it made my nose bleed! I can see a slight similarity between the castle and St. Louis Cathedral, but I’m sure it is coincidental.

Jonathan, Mr. Peabody and Sherman are visiting General Custer right now, I hope it goes better for them than it did for him. I thought everybody in Montana wore Nudie suits all the time, the more colorful and gaudy, the better (hey, if Johnny Cash wore a Nudie suit, I can too). And they wear great big hats too, at least 3 feet in diameter. My version of Montana is fun! And yes, the jeans have to be unwashed and very stiff. I’d like a pair of ostrich-skin boots, please. Or maybe snakeskin.

zach, plastics, eh? Makes ya think. I’ve heard that they lock in freshness, which is all I care about. Are you saying that some of the people in that first photo are VAMPIRES?? Walking the earth, tormented by their thirst for blood? Or maybe they're just people in their 60s.

Melissa said...

Back when the castle looked like a real castle.

Oooh, them gol-durned smoochers! *shakes fist*

Anonymous said...

Major, for me, the similarity is not so much in the appearance of the buildings as it is in the vantage, a building with peaks and minarets seen across a park with fountains. And when I know how much Walt liked New Orleans, that he built his own version, it just seems like a natural inspiration.

JG

"Lou and Sue" said...

Major, the rain came down when you pushed a button.

Sunday Night said...

Picture 1 is so wonderful. We have seen hundreds of photos of SBC here on GDB but the spareness of the guests, the sunshine, a guy mowing like it was a neighborhood front lawn! And that gentleman in the brown suit just sauntering along at an easy pace…..picture perfect.

Nanook said...

@ Lou and Sue-
"the rain came down when you pushed a button". What a coincidence - that's how we control the rain up here in Seattle. (Whoever is constantly leaning on the button - please step aside-!)

Major Pepperidge said...

Melissa, it is still shocking to see just how extremely pink and blue the castle is now. Ugh.

JG, I would love to know when Walt first visited New Orleans. I’ve read about his fateful visit to a curio store there, where he saw a mechanical bird in a cage, but have no idea if that was his first visit or his twenty first. He probably loved being there for Mardi Gras!

Lou and Sue, a BUTTON, of course! I feel kinda dumb now.

Sunday Night, I do sometimes get a little burned out when I find vintage slides of the castle, but you are right, seeing it on a beautiful sunny day with a blue sky, looking so relaxing and pretty, it’s pretty great.

Nanook, I was only in Seattle for about four days, but I never got tired of the rain! What amazed me was the number of people who didn’t wear rain gear, didn’t carry umbrellas, etc; they just seemed resigned to getting wet.

Chuck said...

Seattle - where people don't tan,,,they rust.

zach said...

JG, Walt loved New Orleans at Mardi Gras. He was heard to always yell 'Show me your mechanical birds!'

Nanook said...

Major-
As the climate here is changing as it is all over the globe, our rains are becoming more "saturated". A typical Seattle rain was more akin to 'misting' or a 'light drizzle' - so unless one was spending a great deal of time outdoors, it was easy to dress without any sort of 'rain gear'. (And please don't get me started on the annoyance of too many folks now carrying umbrellas...) Yeeesssh.

Omnispace said...

That's a beautiful photo of the castle. I wonder if it was s Sunday - everyone seems to be in their finest.

I like the wider shot of the House of the Future. I was only able to see a photo of it in one of my parent's older guides and for the longest time I never knew quite where it was situated in the park. For some reason it seemed like it was in an out-of-the-way corner. This photo does a great job of showing it's context right off the Hub, but also in a natural setting with the Snow Hill as a complimentary backdrop. My mental image of it is finally complete.

The Skyway makes a nice showing in both photos!

Anonymous said...

@Zach, I bet you are right!

If there is anything that I think of in connection with New Orleans, it is mechanical birds.

Just think of all the cool things that resulted from that one trip. Boggles the mind.

JG