Here are four more vintage scans (1978) from the Mysterious Benefactor. As you know, all of hundreds of scans are from Frontierland, and just Frontierland!
This first one is by far the most interesting and unusual - a look inside the Shooting Gallery, with its targets and rather minimal painted landscape (which was repainted nightly, according to "Disney News" magazine). I don't recall ever seeing anything quite like this before. I'd forgotten about the miniature "lake" that would absorb errant shots so that the pellets wouldn't ricochet all over the place. The ceiling appears to be some sort of soft material that would serve a similar function. The targets include ducks (in the water), flying geese, owls, bison, bunnies, and a few other critters I can't quite identify.
OK, I know this looks familiar, and that's because I've already shared a number of photos from inside this Frontierland shop. But hey, here's one more!
EXTRA! EXTRA! GDB friend TokyoMagic! found a leather keychain that he bought at the Davy Crockett Arcade leather shop. I love the early Mickey design - if I remember correctly, the horse was named "Tanglefoot" (but I won't bet any money on it). Thanks, TM!
Hoo boy, there are a ton, and I do mean a ton, of Mark Twain and Columbia images coming up. I'm not quite sure how to deal with them. Just share them all? I will probably cherry-pick the best of them. But in the meantime, here's a nice look at the dock, with guests all patiently waiting for their turn to board the returning Mark Twain. Notice the prominent fire hydrant, was that there in case of a boiler explosion?
Old steamboats use drum brakes instead of disk brakes, so they don't stop as efficiently as a modern boat. It's true! I'm kind of surprised to see that there were still so many trees, and some nice grassy areas along the shore in 1978.
THANK YOU, Mysterious Benefactor!
Major-
ReplyDeleteYou've really been treating us to some uncommon images of late - and the first one is no exception. (I wonder if the material used on the ceiling is Tectum-??)
Sure gotta love the uncluttered, natural beauty of the Rivers of America, as seen here. I feel more relaxed just looking at them.
Thanks, Major - and the M B-!
Love the Frontierland Shooting Gallery pic. I don't think I've seen that good of an image of its interior before. Always pics of people using it standing outside, but not this great interior shot. I used to love the sound of the shooting galleries before they went electronic (Frontierland) or were eliminated (Adventureland).
ReplyDeleteAs for the ton of Mark Twain and Columbia shots. I don't mind if you share them all. Thanks, Major and M.B.
Toy guns! Bonnets! Fringed purses! Leather pouches! Ethnic dolls! Dead rabbits! Exinwest! Obscure Karen Grassle references! Who could get tired of that shop?
ReplyDeleteLooking at that Shooting Gallery shot confirms that I never even looked inside this Shooting Gallery as a kid. Not familiar at all. I do remember the one in Adventureland, though, as well as the one at Knott's. I guess I never stopped here until after the photo-electric conversion.
The fire hydrant at the dock was there for service dogs to sniff.
In the last photo, if you zoom way in on the crowd in the distance, you can make out a yellow-costumed food vendor standing by a red food or drink vending stand.
Thanks again, Major & MB!
I love that rare shot of the shooting gallery. Are all those little spots on the scenery, actually "dings" in the paint?
ReplyDeleteSeeing those leather key chains in the lower right corner of the second pic, reminded me that I bought a leather key chain in that store, shortly after I started driving in 1980. It has a "black and white" Mickey on it, riding a horse. I remember choosing it over a Steamboat Willie design.
Thank you for sharing these, Major and M.B.!
These appear to be later photographs of the Davey Crockett Arcade than the previous ones because the EXINWEST is now in the display case facing North and no longer in the case facing west . Also part of the EXINWEST Frontier Outpost set can be seen .... that kit was announced in 1977 in Europe but didn’t hit the America Market till 1979/1980 in the FNR (EXINWEST’s sole North American distributor) dealer catalog.
ReplyDeleteTo the left of the counter above the doorway to the Frontierland Hat shop part of the arcade appears to be artwork from the TV series chapter scene intro cards for Davey Crockett - that’s Davey on horseback on a hillside looking at Washington DC across the Potomac. I wonder if other artwork panels from the show were displayed in the shop?? It’s even possible the artwork could have been the original used in the TV production. In 1996 Walt Disney Imagineering began searching the parks for original artwork used during attraction productions or that was displayed in the park “on stage” or in backstage offices. At WDW it was discovered all the turn-of-century scene artwork used in the 1971 Hall of Presidents pre show was on the walls of the Penny Arcade and City Hall ..... the original set painters guides - done full-size of the first version stretching portraits by Elmer Plumber ( based on Marc Davis’ concepts) were founding : 2 in a backstage cast area and 2 in a maintainence break room! ( these were redone to look more realistic 19th century portraits by Clem Hall and are the style guide used today but are nolonger hand painted)
In Disneyland backstage offices dozens of scene paintings for the production of Johnny Tremain, Summer Magic and other live action films were discovered being used as “office and lobby art” I wonder if that Disneyland Secretary ever wondered why a painting of Boston Harbor was on the wall above her desk!??
I'll add my admiration for that shooting gallery photo.
ReplyDeleteChuck, trying to conjure that image in my mind of the shooting range and only partially successful. I keep getting a smaller interior of the gallery. Not so vast. Something about the colors too.
Do like that little duck shadow in that one bright spot of sunlight on the left side.
Pics of the Frontierland shop are always welcome. Window shopping at it's best.
Thanks M.B and thank you Major.
Like Chuck, I think I never actually saw this version of the shooting Gallery. In fact, when I think of it, I only remember the electronic version. This is especially weird in that I remember the CMs loading the rifles with the little plastic tubes of shot. Ah, life's mysteries!
ReplyDeleteThe shop is a treasure trove of non-IP goodness! Now, I don't even bother to look around. All the shops seem to have the exact same thing, and those "same things" are really stupid and boring. Blech!
Once again, thanks to MB and Major!
If you ever visit a National Park, make sure you stop at the gift shops. Some of them are huge and can take an hour or more to browse. Spendy original artwork sits next to the tackier cedar souvenirs. It's great fun, and I never miss it. Every year some yutz tries to take a selfie with a bison, and the bison is forced to 'splain things to them. He would have been better off buying a plushie one at the souvenir shop. Can't get enough RoA shots. It's just so darn hard to beat. Thanks Major and MB.
ReplyDeleteAdd me to the chorus of admiration for the Shootin’ Gallery picture! I’ve never been able to form a clear mental picture of it before. Now I just want to grab a toy gun and go all pew pew pew! Look out, Yosemite Sam!
ReplyDeleteI love the log ceiling beams in the gift shop. I wonder if anyone actually ever bought a sunbonnet? I’ve never seen a picture of anyone wearing one in the park.
Looking at the girls in the shop, all I can think of is the old Nair commercial with the “Who wears short shorts?” jingle.
JC Shannon: I love those crazy gift shops! You just reminded me of a little cedar “bill” (or letter) holder that my parents had forever. It looks like a little napkin holder, and it’s made out of cedar, with rough edges. Hand-lettered on the front is:
ReplyDeleteBILLS
Some are old
Some are new
Let’s pay ‘em now
No more past due
I still have it, as I can’t part with it.
Thanks, MB and MP - great pictures!
Nanook, I have never heard of “Tectum”, but assume that Tectum is mined in Brazil specifically for shooting gallery ceilings! And there really is something about that view of the riverfront, with all of the trees (are those still there?), so peaceful and pretty.
ReplyDeleteK. Martinez, same here, I was very excited when I found those photos among the Mysterious Benefactor’s many scans. There were three other views, but they are all basically the same, with minor variations, so I picked what I thought was the best of the four. I think I’m going to have to be selective about the Mark Twain and Columbia photos; there’s a lot of repetition, and some of the Columbia photos are so dark that they are almost silhouettes.
Chuck, you ain’t kiddin’… that shop is so chock-full of stuff that it would be hard to take it all in during a single visit. I’m unsure about the shooting gallery pic… is it the one that was inside the Davy Crockett Arcade? Or the one across the way? The electronic version of the main Frontierland shooting gallery is a bust, I tried it once, and it was profoundly un-fun. I can see the person in the yellow outfit, but did not know that the vendors ever wore costumes like that in Frontierland! I have a nice photo from around 1973 that shows a vendor from an area not far from there, and his costume is a combination of orange and yellow, if I recall correctly.
TokyoMagic!, yes, I’m sure each one of those spots is a “ding” where the paint has been chipped off by a pellet. Do you still have your leather keychain? I probably would have gone for the Steamboat Willie design!
Mike Cozart, the jpegs have the same date as the other Davy Crockett Arcade interiors, and I assumed that they were all taken at about the same time. The images look about the same as the ones that I shared on November 13th of 2020, anyway, but you have a talent for observing much more closely than I do! Do you think that the artwork is the ACTUAL artwork from the Davy Crockett TV shows? It is certainly possible, but gosh, it seems amazing to think that they wouldn’t use copies. I suppose the likelihood of somebody walking off with a framed artwork was pretty slim. I love Marc Davis’ artwork for the stretching portraits so much that I have always found Clem Hall’s versions to be a disappointment. He loses the crazy eyes on some of the characters, and generally removes some of the weirdness. Just my opinion, of course. Gosh, imagine working in an office surrounded by original artwork from those classic Disney productions!
DrGoat, it’s possible that the lens made the shooting gallery look larger than it did to the eye. Think of ads for “spacious” apartments that you see online, and then it turns out that the actual apartment looks dinky. Same with houses, actually. I wish I had lots more interiors of Frontierland shops!
ReplyDeleteStu29573, I honestly don’t ever remember setting foot in the Davy Crockett Arcade. That might just mean that it didn’t stick in my brain, which is certainly likely. I also remember watching the CM load the rifles using those plastic tubes! I thought it was pretty cool. You might have gone to one of the other shooting galleries around the park; Adventureland, or even the other Frontierland shooting gallery.
Jonathan, funny, I have been to some National Parks, but don’t ever remember going into large gift shops. It might be my particular bias, when I go to the “great outdoors”, I try to avoid too much commercialization. Sometimes you can’t help it though, like when we needed a folding chair for my dad. I like to feed bears by holding a slice of bread in my mouth and letting them come to take it away. Some fun! Pay no attention to the scars.
Melissa, I admit that I now have a strong urge to shoot at little moving targets! How good (or bad) would I be? In my memory I was pretty bad, ha ha. But now, with the wisdom and experience that I’ve accrued over the years, I’m sure I’d be a deadeye. I’d assume that some sunbonnets were sold, but you’re right, I don’t remember seeing anybody wearing one in a photo. And everyone who grew up in that era remembers that Nair jingle!
Lou and Sue, I wonder if your parents bought that bill holder at Disneyland! I suppose they could have purchased it at many other places too. All I need is a souvenir to make me feel guilty that I forgot to pay my internet bill!
Oh boy, more pics from the MB trove, the gift that keeps on giving.
ReplyDeleteThe blue ribbon goes to the Shooting Gallery, and I do vaguely remember this view, but the lake is rather new to me. I'm sure it was always there.
Tokyo, yes, I believe all the spots are "hits", a lot of after-hours painting to do. All the critters in the center row moved, including the birds taking off. If you look closely, the center three rows faced and moved in opposite directions. The birds in the trees were static, and I think the ducks in the water were also fixed, at least the ones on the ends. the center group might have dipped underwater behind the greenery scrims.
Nanook, I am pretty sure that the ceiling is not Tectum, which has a texture almost exactly Top Ramen before it is boiled. The ceiling here looks to me like a wood fiber board similar to Homasote, which is very sound-absorptive, cheap, and exactly the same color as the photo. That material would develop a shredded appearance like we see in the photo after a few weeks or months exposure to direct fire.
I'm pretty sure I went to school with the young lady in the shop with all the legs. Her or maybe her sister. I don't mind seeing more of the shop, Major, as long as she is in the picture.
Chuck and Major, I think you are right about the fire hydrant placement, if there were any genuine hazards in the Park, the various steam engines had to place high on the list. I love the little pergola or pavilion too. Such a great design. The current color scheme is a little more complex and lighter, but nothing like the damage done to the Castle or Main Street, and the hydrant is still there, along with a chest undoubtedly filled either with emergency gear or service dog treats.
https://www.google.com/maps/@33.8122702,-117.9205981,2a,75y,17.01h,81.42t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s9Jbn9dOrTeoAAAQ3j7CRKA!2e0!7i13312!8i6656?hl=en
Cheers all.
JG
This is unrelated to today's pictures, but I wanted to share anyway. I just watched an episode of 77 Sunset Strip with some scenes shot in Pacific Ocean Park. I recognized it immediately because of pictures I've seen here at GDB over the years!
ReplyDeleteKnoebels has a shooting gallery like this, but I've never done it. Light gun shooting galleries (probably not the right word) are newer but are also kind of rare - when you take a flash picture in the dark, all the targets go off!
ReplyDelete@ JG-
ReplyDeleteHomasote makes more sense; and as you point out, the texture we see in the image more-resembles that product.
@ Melissa-
ReplyDeleteI remember that episode, from Season One (1959), and featuring none other than actor Jay North - who Played Dennis, in the Dennis the Menace TV series - also debuting that same year.
Melissa, where did you find that show? I have looked for it streaming and cannot find it.
ReplyDeleteI vividly remember the theme music, but nothing about the plots.
JG
Major, I do still have the key chain. I actually remember being torn on choosing the design, but I thought the "western" Mickey looked more appropriate on the leather.
ReplyDeleteAndrew, I can't remember where I was, but I do remember seeing a shooting gallery somewhere, that had a sign with a warning, "Absolutely NO Flash Photography!" I remember someone explaining to me that a flash would trigger all of the targets.
Melissa, also on an unrelated note......right now on MeTV, Lesley Ann Warren and James MacArthur are in love with each other, on Gunsmoke. It's almost like watching an old Walt Disney movie! George Kennedy is also in the episode, so it's also a little bit like watching Earthquake, but without Victoria Principal.
@ TM!-
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing the keychain.
Major-
That sure looks like Tanglefoot to me.
Major, I'm pretty sure this is the main Frontierland Shooting Gallery. Compare with this 1968 photo from Daveland.
ReplyDeleteDrGoat, here's a recently-posted photo of the Big Game Safari Shooting Gallery. It jogged a whole slew of memories when I saw this. Maybe this is closer to what you remember, too.
Andrew, why didn't I ever think of doing that?
JG, that chest probably holds both.
Mike Cozart, I remember noticing the artwork from the Hall of Presidents hanging in the Penny Arcade on my honeymoon in 1993.
ReplyDeleteI thought that kid looked familiar! I don’t think 77SS is streaming anywhere; I was watching a borrowed recording.
ReplyDeleteI guess it is tangentially related to today’s pictures: Efrem Zimbalist Jr. had a recurring role on Maverick, the title song of which mentions riverboats. It’s all tied together! Conspiracy!
Melissa there is also a Twilight Zone filmed at POP - "In Praise of Pip".
ReplyDeleteI thought that kid looked familiar! I don’t think 77SS is streaming anywhere; I was watching a borrowed recording.
ReplyDeleteI guess it is tangentially related to today’s pictures: Efrem Zimbalist Jr. had a recurring role on Maverick, the title song of which mentions riverboats. It’s all tied together! Conspiracy!
Sunday Night, I finally saw "In Praise of Pip" about a month ago. Decent - if bittersweet - episode. And seeing PoP in its prime was pretty neat ("In Praise of PoP?").
ReplyDeleteLast weekend, I also watched the Fantastic Journey episode "Funhouse," which had segments shot at Queen's Park (a.k.a "The Pike," a.k.a. "NuPike") in Long Beach. The exterior of the Laff in the Dark was prominent in a couple of shots. No Elmer McCurdy cameo, though. My wife referred to it as their "totally Scooby-Doo episode."
JG, I definitely remember the water in front of the shooting gallery - I wonder how many thousands of pellets they could dredge from it every evening? And were they recycled (assuming they were lead)? I also wonder how long shooting galleries just like this had been around. These are nice, but don’t appear to be revolutionary in any way; maybe they had some just like them at Coney Island or someplace like that. “Tectum”, “Homasote”, two great tastes that taste great together. Imagine being such a poor shot that you hit the ceiling! I’m afraid there aren’t more pictures of Ms. Legs, sadly. Thank you for the Google Maps link, very informative!
ReplyDeleteMelissa, funny, Chris Merritt showed a clip from that episode when he gave a POP presentation, some creepy old guy claimed he was a “responsible adult” in order to accompany Jay North.
Andrew, I love that video clip! I’ll bet flash photos were frowned upon there. It reminds me of a toy shooting gallery thing that my family had when I was a kid. The rifles had lights that shone on a photosensitive target, and we loved to run in and shine a flashlight on the targets while somebody else was playing, to spoil their fun!
Nanook, I think you guys are making this stuff up.
Nanook, YES, that’s the one!
JG, you can see a clip from that episode HERE.
TokyoMagic!, thank you for sending the photo of your keychain! I have to admit that I was imagining something different, your design is very appealing, especially since the Steamboat Willie Mickey has been kind of overused these days. I used to have a flip book with Mickey and Tanglefoot. And watching old Gunsmoke episodes (as my brother does) on MeTV is amazing, so many familiar character actors. It’s fun to look for them!
Nanook, it’s hard to tell, it might be his twin brother Crazylegs!
Chuck, ah, thanks for the link to the Daveland photo. Is there any chance that HIS photo is misattributed? I love to stir up trouble! Man that Big Game Safari shooting gallery looks much more involved and fun!
Chuck, interesting! I’ve never mentioned how I once interviewed at Imagineering. Didn’t get the job (boo), but they were working on “The American Adventure” at the time, and I saw an artist painting some beautiful artwork for that attraction.
Melissa, I’d love it if there was a streaming service that offered old shows like that! “Gunsmoke”, mentioned earlier, looks so amazing in crisp, beautiful black and white, they must have used the original film masters.
Sunday Night, yes, that is a classic. Yet another Billy Mumy appearance.
Melissa, you can say that again! ;-)
The weekend before last, MeTV ran a Columbo with a couple scenes filmed at the Long Beach Pike. There were shots of many of the outdoor flat rides, the gaming area, including a shooting gallery, and the facade of the Laff In The Dark attraction. Leslie Nielsen was one of the guest stars, but he wasn't jesting.
ReplyDeleteTM!, wasn’t Patrick McGoohan in that episode, too?
ReplyDeleteHey, Chuck! Check this out:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.shopdisney.com/alice-in-wonderland-mad-tea-party-mug-400928113323.html?isProductSearch=0&plpPosition=43
:)
Cool, Sue! Hope it doesn't chip as easily as the one I have.
ReplyDeleteMelissa, I didn't notice Patrick McGoohan in that episode, but I might have missed him. I just checked the episode description and didn't see him listed. Geez, I knew Gunsmoke ran for a very long time, but I had no idea that it was on for 20 years! And it was a radio show before that!
ReplyDeleteWow, lots of good additions to this thread!
ReplyDeleteI'm glad I came back to look.
Tokyo, what a cool keychain, I'm glad you still have it.
Major and everyone, thanks for the info on old TV etc. I's still discovering YouTube.
Best to all.
JG