New Orleans Square, May 1984
You might not realize it, but today is no ordinary Sunday! Not only will we be seeing more photos from Lou Perry and his daughter Sue B., but I have the pleasure of sharing this great photo of Lou himself when he was five years old. Why? Because today is Lou's 92nd birthday! Amazing. He sure was a cute kid. I'd like to thank Lou and Sue so much for their generosity, and definitely want to wish Lou a VERY happy birthday.
And now on to today's photos. At 144 feet above sea level, many Disneyland guests feel short of breath, or even dizzy while visiting Frontierland Station. But it's one of those "hard facts" that Walt was talking about. In the early days, the park provided coca leaves to chew on, just like the Indians in Peru use to combat altitude sickness. But it turns out that churros work just as well.
I've mentioned it before, but I was surprised to learn that this station was not renamed "New Orleans Square Station" until September of 1996, in spite of the fact that New Orleans Square had been around for 30 years at that point.
Lou turned 180˚ for this shot of the Ernest S. Marsh, coming in for a landing. The train sure looks spiffy.
The old Frontierland Station was moved across the tracks in 1962; it's out of reach for the guests, but it still look great. We're looking toward the water tower and the tunnel that takes the train past the Haunted Mansion and on to Critter Country (or Bear Country, in '84).
And how about another shot of the Ernest S. Marsh? OK, here you go.
And finally, here's the entrance to (and exit from) Frontierland. I've always liked that the sign overhead is made from two boards with a split in the middle, giving it that authentic frontier look. We've got Davy Crockett's arcade, and the Pendleton shop was still there (until April of 1990).
HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Lou, and thanks to Sue!
26 comments:
Major-
WOW - what a beautiful set of images from the Frontierland Train Station area [and the Frontierland entrance]. Matched only by the image of a five year old Lou-!
Thanks Lou (and Sue) for providing this continuous cavalcade of remarkable images from Disneyland for all of us to share. It has enhanced the GDB experience in countless ways. Happy Birthday, Lou-!
(Thank you too, Major-!)
A very happy birthday to you, Lou!
And yes, thank you Lou and Sue for all of the wonderful images you have shared with us! And thanks to the Major, for posting them.
That is an odd detail about the Frontierland/New Orleans Square train station sign. I wonder why it took them so long to change it? I'm looking at a Spring 1975 DL guidebook, and the station is listed on the "New Orleans Square" page and not the "Frontierland" page. Was it just an oversight for all of those years?
By the way, those kids in that last pic would all be in their forties now! Yikes!
Happy birthday Lou! Thank you for your service to our country, and thank you for the endless hours of enjoyment your photos have given me and all us Junior Gorillas. A big thank you to Sue as well. Major, no wonder I'm always dizzy up here at 6,000 feet, no churros.
Those shots of the Earnest S. Marsh are beautiful. I say frame worthy all day long. I'm betting the book Lou is reading in the first pic is about photography. Thanks Major.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, LOU!!!
I always enjoy a collection of L&S originals and today's are especially great. I think my favorite is the train pulling into NOS Station. An interesting fact is that they almost called it Poughkeepsie Station until cooler heads prevailed.
Again, happy birthday, Lou! Thanks so much for sharing with us!
I'm always happy to see a post featuring photos by Lou Perry. I"m particularly amazed at the first one. Self-portraiture at age 5. Impressive!
The portion of New Orleans Square that fronts the railroad is one of my favorite corners of the Park, and Lou does a fantastic job of capturing its essence. It's amazing how it manages to convey the feeling of an entire city, even though in the back of my head I know there's a jungle just beyond the eastern tunnel portal, the North Woods (this is 1984, remember) just beyond the western potal, and the Happiest Parking Lot on Earth just behind the berm.
It's funny - I was an adult before it really hit me how odd it was that the station platform retained its "Frontierland" signage so long after the opening of New Orleans Square. Even today, the platform signs still have "Frontierland" in smaller letters underneath "New Orleans Square." I believe the depot's perpetual association with Frontierland was written into the 1966 revision to the California State Constitution.
I sincerely wish you the happiest of birthdays, Lou! I thank God for people like you, who see the beauty and wonder in the world around you and then document and share it with the rest of us. You raised a pretty neat daughter, too. I'm so glad you both found and joined our little community.
And, you know, a very merry unbirthday to the rest of the Junior Gorillas, too!
Happy Birthday, Lou! And many more. Very dapper, I might add.
Thanks for the photos of one of my favorite areas of the park, even today.
Thank you, too, Major and Sue,
zach
Happy birthday, Lou!
Happy Birthday, Lou. Sue, thanks for introducing us.
Very grateful to you both for your sharing of these pictures that provide endless entertainment for the GDB gang. Much appreciated.
I have a picture of my uncle in a similar flat cap taken at about the same time, I’m guessing.
I’ve always loved this little corner of Disneyland, whatever it is called.
Thanks Major.
JG
Happy birthday to Lou,
Happy birthday to Lou.
We love all the pictures
That were shared here by Sue!
144 feet? Gross!
Happy birthday, Lou! We are truly lucky to enjoy your wonderful pictures so often on this site! By the way, has Sue told us when her birthday is? I mean, she seems to keep track of everyone else's...
Chuck, I really want to see a train come out of that facade in person someday. It's one of "favorite corners of the park" too - in pictures, at least!
In the second-to-last shot, the Ernest S. Marsh seems to be unsure if it has enough clearance to make it through that tunnel.
Thanks to Sue as always for sharing these pictures.
Nanook, I had to do some scrambling to get today’s post ready, since I didn’t know that today was Lou’s birthday until yesterday (and I wasn’t home)!
TokyoMagic!, the only thing I can figure about the station’s name is that it had already been called “Frontierland Station” for 11 years (when New Orleans Square came along), and why change it? Then after 30 years somebody decided it was time.
TokyoMagic!, isn’t that nuts??
Jonathan, yes, for sure, we must thank Lou, but we must also thank Sue, or else we would have never seen any of Lou’s pictures! 6,000 feet sounds pretty high; but I assume you are completely used to it. I do wonder if I would huff and puff trying to do the most mundane things. I tried to figure out what Lou’s book was, photography is as good a guess as any!
Stu29573, I love any photo of the DLRR, be it far away or (better) close up. It’s funny how a little learnin’ about those trains made my opinion of them grow to a great degree!
Chuck, you’ll notice that I changed the watermark on Lou’s photo, since I couldn’t credit him with taking that one! I figured he wouldn’t mind. I’ve mentioned it before, but I used to date a young woman who worked for Disneyland, decorating New Orleans Square for Christmas. She started late at night and worked until daylight, the poor thing. Anyway, she and I went to the park so she could photograph the results of her work, and while waiting at New Orleans Square station, she asked a CM if we could cross the tracks so that she could get better photos of the decor over there. To my amazement, he said, “Sure!”, and let us leave the line and cross over. I really couldn’t believe it. We both snapped lots of photos in quick succession and ran back to the station, feeling as if we’d gotten away with something. I think Sue will be seeing Lou today, I hope that Lou sees all of the birthday wishes from the Junior Gorillas.
zach, I wonder if Lou was in his Sunday best? I like his cap. Maybe he dressed like that every day in 1934 (when he was five).
Jason Schultz, hooray!
JG, just think of the hundreds of photos that we’ve enjoyed thanks to Lou. And Sue! Not only are the pictures great, but it helps to keep this train rolling, so to speak. One post a week means 52 times I don’t delve into my shrinking inventory. I have a photo of my grandpa as a young boy wearing a cap like that, though it would have been taken a few years earlier.
Melissa, I don’t know what melody your poem should be sung to. (Kidding).
Melissa, Quentin Tarantino would be in heaven.
Andrew, Sue’s birthday is May 17th! I try to keep a record of such things when my brain is working. I hope that you get to visit Disneyland sometime… as soon as things are nice and safe. That tunnel does look kind of small from this angle, but I’m pretty sure it will make it!
Been away for a while. Happy Birthday Lou!! KS
Happy Birthday Lou! So glad that your wonderful pictures can now be seen and enjoyed by people all over he world!
Sue -Thanks for sharing Lou's Pics with us all.
Major - It wouldn't happen without GDB and your support each day. Much appreciated.
Happy Birthday Lou! Sue- thanks for providing all of the pictures.
-DW
Happy birthday to Lou, wishing you an amazing day and year. Thank you Sue for your generosity in sharing the photos. New Orleans (I also didn’t know it was called Frontierland for so long) Station was always where I liked getting on the train after riding my favorite ride.
A great big Happy Birthday to Lou!!!! Wow - 92 - congratulations. Thank you Sue for sharing all the great photos your Dad took over the years. Lou, I'm so glad you decided to document all your trips in this way and now here in the 20's they can be shared for all of us to enjoy.
Sunday Night, it is a pretty amazing thing to consider - Lou never could have imagined that people all over the country (and even the world) can now enjoy the photos that he took 40, 50, or 60 years ago. I hope Sue sees your kind words!
DW, hear hear!
Kathy!, for so long I only boarded the train at Main Street, it somehow felt weird to board in New Orleans Square or Tomorrowland. At some point my friends and I would actually use the train for transportation, if it wasn’t too crowded of course.
Irene, yes, 92 is an age worth celebrating. What a life Lou has led, I think we should all be so lucky. Nice to hear from you!
Happy Birthday, Lou!
Happy Birthday Lou! Sorry so late. Such an honor and pleasure that you and your daughter Sue are in our lives. So many thanks.
Thank you Major for bringing us all together.
What Dr. Goat said.
JG
Major and Jr. Gorillas:
My heartfelt thanks for your wonderful birthday wishes and thoughtful comments! --Lou
Wow! You folks are THE BEST and I'm so glad to be a part of Gorillas Don't Blog - thank you for being so kindhearted! I'll, again, read all your comments to my dad, tomorrow, so that he doesn't miss any of your later-added comments. --Sue
MRaymond, DrGoat, and JG… thanks for adding your good birthday wishes for Lou!
Lou and Sue, ah there you are! I know you had a busy day today. I hope hearing all of the good wishes from the Junior Gorillas makes Lou very happy.
Many happy returns, Lou.
Great photos as always
Can't beleive I missed this post. Happy belated birthday, Lou!
Thank you Sue and Major for today's post.
Post a Comment